Sean Payton future bright with profitable return to coaching fully expected

The biggest free agent in the NFL in 2023 is?

Sean Payton.

When the longtime New Orleans Saints coach announced this week that he was stepping down, he also said he wanted, at some point, to coach again. Brinks truck drivers around the country were texted an alert. One of them would someday soon be backing the truck up to the facility of an NFL team.

The truck will be loaded with cash and driven it straight to Payton.

Whenever Payton returns to coaching, he could command $20 million or more per season.

As we sat in the WGNO sports office Thursday, my colleague Richie Mills said the following, and it so true.

“Jerry Jones (Cowboys owner) is sending Sean Payton a blank check,” said Rich. “Payton can just fill in the numbers.”

I can’t disagree.

If you don’t think Payton will be in demand, check out the first two hires of nine head coach vacancies in the NFL – Matt Eberflus to the Bears and Nathaniel Hackett to the Broncos.

They may both be outstanding head coaches. Emphasis on ‘may be’.

They do have one thing in common. Neither has ever been a head coach on any level.

So, a year from now, when the NFL vacancies pop up again, you don’t think a proven commodity like Payton can command top dollar?

Payton has set himself up for huge paydays, plural. First off, he will be compensated handsomely by some TV network.

“I think I would be pretty good at it,” said Payton.

I agree.

So, he makes a wad of cash, stays connected to the game, and just waits for the right opportunity to come. That means Payton can say no to dead end places like the Jets, and Bears, and Jaguars and Lions.

At some point, the right confluence will happen. The right owner and the right quarterback will come his way with one franchise, just like it did in New Orleans.

When that happens, Payton will contend for a Super Bowl title.

If he wins one in Dallas, then he’s suddenly bigger than his mentor Bill Parcells.

And don’t think Payton isn’t a student of history. He loves the NFL and its legacy.

To wear the gold jacket in Canton, one that Drew Brees will wear soon, is on his radar.

In the meantime, he can live the good life. He can be a star on TV, get wealthier and wait for someone like Jerry Jones to call.

It is Sean Payton’s world, and success-hungry owners like Jones are living in it.