If you want Sean Payton, you’ll have to go through the New Orleans Saints. And it seems as though the Carolina Panthers could not go through the New Orleans Saints.
On Wednesday afternoon, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported that the Houston Texans were granted permission to speak with Payton about their head-coaching job. That made Houston the third team to have received the “blessing,” with the Arizona Cardinals and Denver Broncos already getting the thumbs up.
