In the current new-hire NFL head coaching cycle, it’d be hard to argue that Sean Payton isn’t the hottest name available. After helping turn the laughingstock New Orleans Saints into a perennial powerhouse for 15 years from 2006 to 2021, Payton wants back in. And any potentially interested teams with a head-coach vacancy understandably want him to replicate his Louisiana magic while surrendering the requisite high draft capital necessary.
During a recent appearance on The Herd with Colin Cowherd, Payton discussed the current landscape of the league and where he might fit into it as he weighs his future on a sideline again. When the conversation illuminated the thought process of a man trying to make the right decision, Payton had some rather hot comments about the trajectory of the AFC South.
He essentially wrote the division off as an albatross on pro football … while in front of a live microphone. And in a video of this faux pas that he clearly didn’t intend to blurt out, you can see Payton immediately regret his public honesty as he stops himself from going further on his critique of one of the NFL’s afterthought divisions.
It’s football television analysis gold:
(Note: NSFW language in the video caption below.)
You can see the hamsters start running the wheel the moment when Sean Payton realizes he’s talking cash shit about the AFC South into a hot mic pic.twitter.com/K9q5KjXKg2
— Justis Mosqueda (@JuMosq) January 17, 2023
Phew! Let’s rewind Payton’s quote into proper context as we learn one of football’s brightest minds inadvertently shares similar sentiments with football fans — the AFC South, which won a combined 23 games in 2022, is a joke:
“You’re in a division that you can at least look at and say, alright, Indy, Tennessee, Jacksonville, that’s nothing … but you can at least (looks up, considers thought) … how do we (trails off and changes subject).”
Payton isn’t wrong, to be precise. But as a current member of NFL media and likely future leader on a new sideline, the last thing he wants to do is say that he doesn’t respect four franchises. Both for bulletin board material and his head-coaching job prospects. (Even if still overlooking Trevor Lawrence’s ascending Jacksonville Jaguars might be a stretch.)
For what it’s worth, after their firing of Nathaniel Hackett, Payton has the second-best consensus odds (+250) to be the Denver Broncos’ next head coach. The only person with better forecast chances is Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. With Quinn being a defensive mind, it would probably behoove Denver to hire Payton if they want to salvage the wreckage of Russell Wilson’s abhorrent debut campaign in Colorado.
We’ll see what lies in wait for Payton in the days and weeks ahead. Something tells me he won’t really rue the day he doubted the AFC South in any consequential outcome that comes back to bite him. Almost no one ever has. But credit to him for at least trying to maintain an air of courtesy before a potential return to coaching pro football.
NFL fans thought Payton realizing what he said about the AFC South on a hot mic in real time was hilarious
Oooh now I want him to go to Houston and lose to Jacksonville twice a year https://t.co/RGxlIBKMFT
— Jake Schyvinck (@JakeNFLDraft) January 17, 2023
He was being incredibly diplomatic when the chargers coaching came up lol
— Tom Bob Anderson (@_derekj__) January 17, 2023
Just seems like a guy who realizes saying anything more than nothing is losing him money, to me.
Maybe I'm just not smart.— Vincent K Dennis (@VsRabbitHole) January 17, 2023
He pulled a Quinnen! pic.twitter.com/wyEhLoMGnP
— Brandon Kiley (@BKSportsTalk) January 17, 2023
LMAOOOOO
— ً (@PlayoffKap) January 17, 2023
I forgot what their fourth team is too
— Aaron Robnett (@imaaron) January 17, 2023
