Sean Payton to the Washington Commanders? Well, that’s what at least one prospective Washington buyer envisioned before Payton eventually recently agreed to coach the Denver Broncos.
In an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio with Adam Schein at the Super Bowl, Payton was asked if he considered returning to New Orleans during his year away from coaching in 2022.
And things got interesting.
“Yeah, and look, it’s a trickier one because it involves someone that I’ve hired, [Saints head coach] Dennis Allen,” Payton said. “And we’ve worked together on two different stints. But I think in the end, for me, it was looking really closely at these teams [Broncos, Cardinals, Texans & others].”
Here comes the good part:
“Everyone’s waiting to see what happens in Washington,” Payton said. “And there was some interest from some potential ownership groups that are gonna be bidding on, that currently had bid on that team, that were getting ahead of the game saying, ‘Hey, if we get awarded this team, would you?’ And so there were a lot of different things at play.”
Schein responded, “That’s interesting.”
“That’s a place that’s had great tradition,” Payton said. “Like, when I came into the league, Adam, my first two years were Philly. My next four years were New York Giants. And then my next three were the Cowboys. My whole entire NFL career prior to New Orleans was the NFC, the NFC East. And what happened to that program?”
“Listen, that place, my uncle loved the Washington franchise,” Payton said. “Last year, we go there to play, and pregame, I’m looking up in the crowd. A third of the fans are Saints fans. And I’m like, ‘what happened to this place?’ That was one of the six pillars.”
Payton concluded, “that was a special place…….. it’ll come back.”
What Payton didn’t say was which potential bidder or bidders contacted him. That would be something. And it sounds like he was very interested but didn’t want to sit out for another year. Could you imagine a new owner in 2024 with Payton as head coach?
Wonder what Washington’s current head coach Ron Rivera, Payton’s old NFC South rival, thinks about this?
“There were a lot of different things in play.”
Sean Payton tells @AdamSchein there was interest from potential Commanders’ ownership groups that reached out about him coaching in Washington D.C.
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— Mad Dog Sports Radio (@MadDogRadio) February 10, 2023