Over the next few weeks, you’re going to see a great deal of content on this site devoted to the four teams remaining in the NFL playoffs. If you’re a fan of one of the other 28, that can be a bit of a drag. So, as we head into the meat of conference title game coverage and the two-week long colonoscopy that is Super Bowl coverage, we wanted to devote some space to 10 story lines regarding the rest of the NFL that matter a great deal. Some of you will be stressing out the result of head coaching searches. Some of you will have an eye on the quarterback contract market. We’re going to bottle that all up into one fountain soda combination sure to make your stomach rumble.
1. What is going to happen with Sean Payton?
Back on Jan. 7, we wrote this column about what Payton should do. Interestingly enough, our harmless suggestions there sound a whole lot like what some NFL insiders have reported Payton might actually do this week. He has still not committed to a return. Even the owner, Gayle Benson, said at an event on Monday that she wasn’t sure what Payton’s eventual decision might be. There is an aggressive television market out there right now. It would be the perfect landing spot for a coach who could step away for a year and allow the chess pieces to fall into place. In the meantime, he could make beaucoup money, travel with a television crew all over the country with access to every facility in football and give the right job an opportunity to present itself while the Saints roster rebuilds from the stress of a decades-long stretch of relevance.
