Saints Given Permission to Fix Sean Payton’s Contract
By Josh Hill
A week after the NFL shot down a contract extension drawn up by the New Orleans Saints for suspended head coach Sean Payton, and the free agent rumors began to swirl, the league had granted the team permission to try and fix the language in Payton’s extension before the end of the season. So if the Sean Payton to Dallas, Philly, Carolina or any of those rumors come to fruition, it will be because the Saints failed to workout the proper wording well beforehand.
The whole reason the original contract extension was so publicly voided by the NFL, was because it contained language that allowed Payton out of his contract scott free if Mickey Loomis is no longer the G.M. of the team.
From the start of this whole mess a week ago, it seemed really unlikely that Payton would bolt for another team over the Saints. Sure, it would possibly free him of some demons when it comes to what he’s had to go through this past year, but Payton’s been here through the good, the bad and the ugly and him bolting after bounty-gate would be wildly out of character given how much he’s invested in this unit.
Plus, the NFL would have had to reinforce their glass windows as flaming bricks of hate would have come crashing through them by rioting Saints fans had the league not granted this permission and Payton left after the Super Bowl to coach another team. Even if it made perfect sense for Payton to leave, and the leaders on the team like Drew Brees supported it, fans would have blamed Goodell and the league.
Because, you know, they’re all on such good terms as is.
Bottom line is Sean Payton never wanted to leave New Orleans and he won’t if the Saints don’t drag their feet. The ball is in their court really for the first time all year, and all they need to do is lockup Payton and a lot of this bounty-gate tension will be relieved on both sides.