Could the Eagles chase Sean Payton?
The multi-year contract extension Sean Payton signed with the Saints in 2011 was voided by the NFL within the year, making the suspended head coach a free agent after this season.
Could the Eagles chase Sean Payton?
Jeff McLane, Inquirer Staff Writer
The multi-year contract extension Sean Payton signed with the Saints in September 2011 was voided by the NFL within the year, making the suspended head coach a free agent after this season, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
In the report, Schefter mentions the Dallas Cowboys as the most likely team to chase the Super-Bowl winning coach, but the Eagles would certainly have to be considered among others that would want Payton.
The Eagles, of course, still have a head coach. But Andy Reid's hold on his job is slipping with his team 3-4 and the Eagles in jeopardy of failing to show the "substantial improvement" owner Jeffrey Lurie said the team must show for Reid to return for a 15th season.
The Eagles finished 8-8 last season and have not won a playoff game since 2008. Reid has another year left on his contract, but Lurie said in August he would not consider a possible extension until after this season.
The Saints announced an extension with Payton last year that would keep him in New Orleans until 2015. But the deal was voided because of his role in "Bountygate," in which the NFL said that Saints defensive players were rewarded for taking out opposing players.
Some believe Payton would likely re-negotiate a contract with the Saints when he returns from a one-year suspension because of his relationship with owner Tom Benson. The 48-year-old, though, has ties to several teams that could be in search of a new coach after the season.
Dallas would be an obvious destination. Payton was an assistant coach with the Cowboys from 2003-05 and he recently purchased a home in the Dallas area. Current Cowboys coach Jason Garrett still has two years left on his contract and would need to have a disastrous second half of the season, some around the team believe, to not return.
Payton was the Eagles' quarterbacks coach from 1997-98 when Lurie was early in his tenure as Eagles owner. He briefly lived in Newtown Square, Pa. as a youth and has spoken fondly of his time living in the area.
He once told a story about standing on Route 202 with a sign celebrating one of the Flyers' Stanley Cup titles in the 1970s.
A lot would have to occur for Payton to end up in Philly. Considered one of the best offensive minds in the game, he would have to find the Eagles' quarterback situation appealing to come back. Michael Vick has three years left on his contract, but he's guaranteed only $3 million. Rookie Nick Foles is an unknown entity.
If the Eagles' season continues to go down the tube, the candidates to replace Reid will only grow. There are the obvious big names, like Bill Cowher and Jon Gruden, former Super Bowl-winning coaches that have become broadcasters. There are also hot college coaches like Oregon's Chip Kelly and Alabama's Nick Saban.
Why not? We should make a trade of Andy Reid, Vick and a drug addict for Sean Payton, Brees and lil Wayne.— lonewolf 10- Hoping the Saints beat us 72-0 tomorrow night with the tension and stress so Great upon Andy that he checks himself into a hospital with a heart attack, then resigns— Ashburn072
- So you are calling for the physical death of a human being? You need to stay away from Eagles football for a while.
- He only said a heart attack, not death. Certiainly don't want that. And considering the scam artist has been badly morbidly obese for decades, that's not too farfetched. — Bob1
- Ashburn072- You should be ashamed of yourself. You choose as a sign-in name the last name of a man who stood for fair play, integrity and sportsmanship and have the temerity to hope that another human being is hospitalized with a life threatening condition all so that your beloved Eagles can improve their chances of winning. If you had the courage to give your real name, I have no doubt every single one of the Eagles' players would be happy to personally call you and tell you they don't want fans like you degrading their team by wearing the green and rooting for them. Andy Reid is more than a coach- he is a husband and father- to wish a heart attack on him is beneath contempt. Am I a fan of his coaching? No. That said even if we bring in Sean Peyton, John Gruden or anyone else you deem appropriate to lead the team, if they win the Superbowl we will all cry tears of joy, go to the parade, and then wake up the next morning and resume our lives. Is that momentary vicarious thrill worth your rooting for a man to be hospitalized? Like him or not, there's one thing we can all agree upon about Andy Reid- he knows more about football and has been more successful at it than you ever will. How do I know this? Simple- Right now Andy Reid is in New Orleans getting his team ready for a nationally televized game, while you my friend are sitting typing anonymously at a computer. If you are so full of football knowledge, how come you aren't on an NFL team's coaching staff? 99% of fans in Philly are great people who put their money and hearts on the line for the teams they love and bleed for- it's people like you who give the rest of us a bad name. — CurleyQLink
- Blank checks to Sean Payton and Bill Polian. We'd win the Super Bowl within five years.— iceman
- Please not Nick Saban, stay in college, Chip Kelly would be awfully intriguing— PhillyRedHot
- For God's sake, forget Gruden. He is not a great coach. Get Tony Dunghy.— billtfla
- Is that a joke ? If it was it was pretty good. Tony Dungy is another weak coach that won one superbowl, finally, with the best QB in the league after failing over and over, and couldnt get it done in TB either. Gruden took the Raiders to 12-4 and a championship game and didnt have one losing season as coach of the Raiders, what have the raiders done since then ? NOTHING. Since gruden left the raiders have been ABYSMAL. And this guy had them DOMINATING and close to a SB, and then two years later wins the whole thing with a completely new team. That is called great coaching. No wonder you supported Andy all these years. Dungy is weak and is a guy that would take like a decade to win, if ever. Gruden can go somewhere and win NOW. IN ONE YEAR. Dungy is not much better then Andy and was fortunate to have Peyton Manning, if not, he would have never won, which is what happened in TB. Gruden went there and got Brad freaking Johnson to be a SUPERBOWL WINNING QUARTERBACK. THE LOW FAN IQ IS ABYSMAL TO WINNING.
- The same Gruden who couldn't make the playoffs his last 6 years coaching and won a Superbowl with a Dungy drafted team? Gruden needs to stay where he is now. — crohnkiller
- It's great to see at least ONE poster has done their research. In addition to compiling a 40–28 win-loss record (including playoffs) in four seasons with the Raiders, something heretofore not done, Gruden went to Tampa and WON the Super Bowl. Immediately after arriving in Tampa Charlie, Gruden RETOOLED THE OFFENSE with the addition of numerous free agents in order to fix the underperforming offense that played under Tony Dungee. THIS and similar movements is what helped propel the Bucs to the Super Bowl. Because of personal acrimony with Gruden, Warren Sapp OUT OF ANGER, was the first to make the (undying and untrue) declaration that Gruden won with Dungy's players. Make no mistake, Gruden is a GREAT coach and will take the Eagles to the Super Bowl in LESS than FOURTEEN YEARS. — essell
- I beg to differ. Anyone who knows ANYTHING about football, to include the records and history of it's coaches, knows Gruden IS a great coach. Compared to Reid, there is no comparison. — essell
- Why would a football coach choose Phila over say Dallas given the talent of the players in both locations?— Dexter
- Two words.....Jerry Jones. — jimyd0315
- billtfla I would be against Gruden as well. He's just Andy Reid Jr. in that he will force a square peg in a round hole and can't adjust on the fly. This team needs a defensive minded coach who will build a team knowing that we play outside in the northeast.— lonewolf 10
