Sean Payton Not Expected To Retire After Leaving New Orleans Saints

Sean Payton is ending his tenure as the New Orleans Saints head coach. That doesn’t mean his career in the league is over.

According to reports, Payton is not retiring from the NFL, despite his decision to step away from New Orleans. Payton will leave the Saints after spending 16 years as the team’s head coach.

The news comes one day after Saints owner Gayle Benson told reporters that she didn’t know if Payton would be back for the 2022 NFL season.

I was told this decision has been weighing on Sean Payton. He apparently considered everything since the Saints were eliminated. He has changed his mind several times and I was told right now he is still figuring out his plans. A recharge for now is the best description.
— Dianna Russini (@diannaESPN) January 25, 2022

Sources also shared Payton felt if he was going to make a move, it had to be now. I was told he is not done coaching football in the future.
— Dianna Russini (@diannaESPN) January 25, 2022

Payton’s departure has ignited speculation about where he might coach in the future. There is a belief that the 58-year-old might eventually become the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, for whom he was the assistant head coach from 2003-2005.

Even before Payton decided to leave the Saints, there was speculation that the Cowboys might look for a new head coach soon. Mike McCarthy could find himself on the hot seat after Dallas was upset in the wild-card round of the playoffs by the San Francisco 49ers.

Only Bill Belichick and Andy Reid have had more success than Payton during his tenure in New Orleans. Payton had a 152-89 record in New Orleans with nine playoff appearances and one Super Bowl championship.

Lots of chatter inside the league among #NFL executives that Sean Payton stepped away from the #Saints with more than one eye on the #Cowboys. And the interest is mutual, per sources.
— Matt Lombardo (@MattLombardoNFL) January 25, 2022

The Saints missed the playoffs this season but still managed to post a winning record, despite Drew Brees’ retirement and a season-ending injury to Jameis Winston. New Orleans won the NFC South in every season from 2017-2020.

Payton leaves New Orleans as the Saints are projected to be further over the cap than any other NFL team in the offseason.