Yes, the Dolphins called the Saints about Sean Payton.
We reported it on Monday. Miami G.M. Chris Grier confirmed it on Wednesday.
Via Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN.com, Grier said that the team did indeed call the Saints for permission to speak to Payton. The Saints, as Grier confirmed, declined to grant such permission.
The call was made, per PFT reporting, to assistant G.M. Jeff Ireland, who previously worked as G.M. of the Dolphins. Ireland spoke to Saints G.M. Mickey Loomis, before relaying this message to the Dolphins: “Don’t bother.”
As to the report that the Dolphins also had planned to target Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, Grier simply said that he had “no conversations” about Brady. Others did; Dolphins sources told PFT that the team had internal conversations about adding Brady as a minority owner.