During that drive, FOX cameras caught Saints coach Sean Payton and defensive coordinator Rob Ryan having an animated conversation that was presumably focused on the defense’s inability to stop an offense that hasn’t exactly been cooking with gas this season. The Saints went 7-9 previous year and started 1-3 this season.
Advertisement
It appears that gamble may have come back to bite Pagano with the team reportedly looking at alternative options, although the Colts have won two straight games with QB Andrew Luck being out, so a Payton-Luck combination shouldn’t be etched in stone quiet yet.
The Dolphins fired coach Joe Philbin last week.
Payton, 51, is 81-51 in his eight-plus seasons with New Orleans. He later ended his playing career with the Saints under Payton.
There’s nothing to indicate Payton would entertain another offer.
NFL Network’s Albert Breer reported following the disastrous 2012 “Bounty season” that Payton was being courted by the Dallas Cowboys as their new head coach.
Payton is under contract until 2017, so a trade or a firing would have to happen for him to switch teams.
Advertisement
While anything is possible in the National Football League, the chances that Payton leaves via this method is highly unlikely since there are plenty of other coaching concerns they need to deal with at the conclusion of the season.
