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.
Then, later on that night, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football tweeted this . . .
I’m willing to say all five teams with coach openings have called on Sean Payton and three have passed through so far.
— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) January 12, 2023
If we connect the dots, that leaves the Panthers and the Indianapolis Colts hanging out to dry. And in addition to that permission, inquiring teams will also need to send some compensation over for the Super Bowl champion coach, who still remains under contract with the Saints.
So, was Carolina actually denied permission to speak with Payton by New Orleans? It’s plausible.
Can you really blame New Orleans for not wanting their former highly-acclaimed coach to go to a division rival? But at the same time, perhaps siphoning a high draft pick or two away from the Panthers in a potential deal for Payton would be a shrewd move, wouldn’t it?
Either way, Carolina has a field of eight men connected to their search—and Payton is not one of them.
