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Super Bowl winner Sean Payton has reportedly agreed to add defensive coordinator Vic Fangio to his growing staff, which is curious considering the veteran New Orleans Saints head coach currently has no team.
Regardless of that fact, ESPN is reporting that Payton, 58, is talking to coaches about joining him wherever he signs, and that includes Fangio, a former Denver Broncos head coach. Payton still works as an analyst for Fox Sports, but it is believed that he will return to the NFL coaching ranks when he finishes this season.
The Carolina Panthers and the Indianapolis Colts are two teams that are expected to have openings, having already fired their head coaches earlier this season. The 1-12 Houston Texans may also decide to fire head coach Lovie Smith, while the 3-11 Chicago Bears and 4-10 Arizona Cardinals may look to replace Matt Eberflus and Kliff Kingsbury, respectively.
Super Bowl winner Sean Payton (left) has reportedly agreed to add defensive coordinator Vic Fangio to his growing staff, which is curious considering the veteran New Orleans Saints head coach currently has no team.
Fangio currently works as a defensive consultant for the Philadelphia Eagles after being fired after three losing seasons in Denver. He is credited with upgrading defensive units in San Francisco, Baltimore, Houston, and Indianapolis.
Fangio currently works as a defensive consultant for the Philadelphia Eagles after being fired after three losing seasons in Denver.
He is credited with upgrading defensive units in San Francisco, Baltimore, Houston, and Indianapolis.
Payton, an offensive genius who guided New Orleans to a Super Bowl win at the end of the 2009 season, is expected to command a hefty price tag, one that could rival the Los Angeles Rams head coach’s reported $15 million annual salary. , Sean McVay. Also, since Payton abruptly retired in the middle of his contract with the Saints, any team that signs him will have to compensate New Orleans with one or more draft picks.
A handshake deal with Fangio, considered one of the NFL’s top defensive minds, would help bolster Payton’s NFL candidacy.
Arizona could attract Sean Payton, in large part, because of the presence of QB Kyler Murray
Payton, 58, shocked fans by abruptly resigning in January after 15 seasons and a Super Bowl title with the team. Since then, the Saints have struggled, going 5-9 under first-year head coach Dennis Allen, while Payton reportedly remains the top candidate for several teams.
Last month, both ESPN and podcaster Johnny Venerable reported on Payton’s interest in the 4-20 Cardinals and the Los Angeles Chargers, who are now 8-6 after winning two in a row.
Kingsbury is likely headed for its third straight losing season just five months after the team made a five-year, $230 million commitment to 25-year-old quarterback Kyler Murray, who is now out with a knee injury that ended the season.
This isn’t the first indication that Payton would be interested in coaching the Chargers.
As an NFL executive told the Washington Post’s Jason La Canfora in October, Payton “really wants” to coach talented Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, who will likely be among the highest-paid players in the game when his contract expires.
after the 2023 season.
‘[Dean] Spanos doesn’t like paying his coaches, but once his quarterback starts making $50 million a year, is he really going to be cheap with his head coach? said the anonymous executive to La Canfora.
‘Sean loves living in Southern California. You have Herbert and a few other top-tier players. That’s the setting.
In November, ESPN’s Dan Graziano characterized the opportunities facing Payton by emphasizing that the decorated coach is looking for a team with a solid starting quarterback.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (pictured) could lure Sean Payton to sign in Los Angeles
Payton, 58, shocked fans by abruptly resigning in January after 15 seasons and a Super Bowl title with the team. Since then, the Saints have struggled, going 5-9 under first-year head coach Dennis Allen, while Payton reportedly remains the top candidate for several teams.
“… I think almost every team with an opening will want to talk to him,” Graziano said. ‘Carolina, for example, would probably love the chance to throw a lot of money at Payton.
“But my feeling is that he will be demanding and look for a place where the QB situation is solid, first and foremost.” That’s why I think a lot of people are connecting him to a possible vacancy with the Chargers. People would line up to train Justin Herbert if that job was available.
‘If it’s not there, I’ve been told to look at Arizona as a potential Payton destination (again, assuming there’s an opening there). And he takes his point well that an interested team would have to give the Saints some compensation in exchange for Payton, since he’s still under contract with New Orleans. It makes me think that NFC South rival Carolina is even less likely to have a chance.
Earlier, Payton told ESPN that he was waiting for the “right situation” before returning to training.
“If the right situation presented itself, I would definitely be interested,” he said. And there’s no utopia, so to speak, when it comes to teams, but if he felt it was the right situation, he’d be interested in it. Having said all that, that could come in a year, that could come in two years.
Specifically, Payton, who has a 152-89 record in 15 seasons, is looking for ‘functional ownership [and] Front office.’