Sean Payton retires as head coach of the Saints
NEW ORLEANS - Sean Payton spent 16 years with the New Orleans Saints organization. After a tumultuous year without his Hall of Fame QB, the head coach decided to step down from his position with the Saints.
Rumors of Payton’s departure have festered for years. It’s no secret that one of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ biggest regret is letting Payton go in Bill Parcells’ last season as Cowboys coach. Since then, every time the ‘Boys have struggled, talk of Jones making a raid for Payton surfaced.
Despite the interest from the neighboring state, Payton stayed loyal to New Orleans and the Saints.
When the innovative offensive coach showed up in the Big Easy in 2006, it was a trying time for the city. On the football side, the team had just two winning seasons in the last 10 years. And, on the much more serious real-life side, New Orleans was in the midst of trying to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
Payton, and the free-agent quarterback he signed that offseason, Drew Brees, helped heal New Orleans from a football and real-life perspective by giving the proud city a winning team to rally around.
The Saints went 10-6 that first year and, three years later, won the franchise’s first Super Bowl.
All told, Payton finishes his career in New Orleans with a 152-89 record and nine playoff appearances. The team struggled this season, though, the first without Brees. Despite the challenges, the squad still managed a 9-8 record and fought for a playoff spot until the bitter end.
In a somewhat unexpected move on Jan. 22, 2022, Payton announced he was stepping down as the head coach of the Saints.
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