In a shocking turn of events, the New Orleans Saints joined the long list of teams entering the 2022 NFL season with a new face on the sidelines. This comes after the franchise’s longtime head coach Sean Payton decided to step down from his position on Tuesday.
Payton made the announcement via press conference, during which he said he still doesn’t know what his next move will be. According to the 58-year-old, he is not retiring but won’t pursue a new coaching job in 2022. Instead, he left the door open for a gig as a television personality.
“I’ll be honest with ya, that might be coaching again at some point,” Payton told the reporters. “I don’t think it’s this year, I think maybe in the future, but that’s not where my heart is right now. It’s not at all.”
The news about Payton stepping down came as a surprise to many, but internally, the Saints knew this was possible. It was believed that Payton was exhausted after a challenging season that saw the Saints starting four different quarterbacks, dealing with injuries to their star players, and being forced to relocate to Dallas due to hurricanes. Still, New Orleans finished with a 9-8 record and narrowly missed out on the playoffs.
The Saints are expected to consider multiple candidates for their head coaching vacancy, but most of the league believes they will go with an in-home hire. The best chances are given to defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, who already served as a head coach when Payton was out due to COVID-19 protocols.
Sean Payton joined the New Orleans Saints in 2006 after previously working as an assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach with the Dallas Cowboys. He compiled a 161–97 head coaching record during his time with the franchise, including going 152–89 in the regular season and 9-8 in the playoffs. Payton led the Saints to their only Super Bowl trophy in 2009.
