After news broke on Super Sunday of Saints coach Sean Payton moving to Dallas, a stream of “nothing to see here"-style comments came from Payton, G.M. Mickey Loomis, and owner Tom Benson.
We’d yet to hear from quarterback Drew Brees.
But now we have.
Brees recently addressed the situation in an interview with Melissa Jacobs of ESPN.com. “It’s a non-issue,” Brees said. “I think everyone wants to immediately jump to conclusions and all of them are so untrue. The first of which is his family and him are having problems. No, that’s not the case at all. The other one is he’s taking a job with the Dallas Cowboys. No, not true either. People want to immediately jump to conclusions as to why he’s bought a home in Dallas but most players and coaches in the league have a home base, a place where they’re either from or where they spent a lot of time before so they have a solid foundation. There’s not a guy who’s more committed to his team and the city of New Orleans than Sean Payton. I think he’s proven that.”
The non-issue could continue to be an issue unless and until Payton signs a contract extension with the Saints. He pointed out this week that he’s under contract for two more years. If he’s committed to the team for the long haul and if the team is committed to him, why not extend the deal?
Until that happens, plenty of Saints fans will be nervous about the possibility that Payton has two more seasons, max, as head coach of the team.