When the offseason began in New Orleans, there was some question about whether the team might part ways with coach Sean Payton.
That didn’t wind up happening and it won’t happen until Payton’s ready to stop coaching the NFL altogether if he has his way. During an interview with ESPN, Payton said the only other place he could see himself coaching is for his son’s school team and said that the team’s “structure” is a big reason why he doesn’t find the grass greener elsewhere.
Payton said he thinks “more than half” the teams in the NFL are “dysfunctional” when it comes to how the coach, owner and General Manager work together and that’s not something he feels with Tom Benson and Mickey Loomis.
“The communication between that triangle of ownership, general manager and head coach,” Payton said, via the New Orleans Times-Picayune. “And I see each year things that take place and I think ‘man, we don’t have to worry about them.’ Now we might on that Sunday. But we don’t have to worry about them winning the whole thing. And that’s something that changes. It’s not a permanent thing for any team, nor is it permanent for us. We don’t take it for granted in any way. We’ve got to find a way to do a better job in personnel. We’ve got to find a way to get north of this 7-9 season we just had. I don’t take that triangle for granted at all because, man, what would be more frustrating than coaching somewhere where you had no chance?”
The point about needing to do a better job in personnel is the one that could be the biggest stumbling block to Payton realizing his goal. The Saints have missed the playoffs two years running and much longer on that side of the fence isn’t going to speak well of the structure that’s currently in place in New Orleans even if things run more smoothly than they do for other teams.