Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

When it comes to Sean Payton's contract talks with the New Orleans Saints, no news is not good news. From all indications, those discussions have been playing out like any typical negotiations between a team and a pending free agent.

That's not automatically bad for the Saints. But the best-case scenario would have been a quick resolution once the two sides were finally allowed to start talking two weeks ago.

Instead, it's become more apparent that Payton is keeping all of his options open after unexpectedly winding up with an incredible amount of leverage during his one-year suspension.

http://media.nola.com/saints_impact/...9652-large.jpg

Any notion of Payton simply agreeing to take out a couple of paragraphs from last year's contract extension that was rejected by the NFL should be long gone by now. Now he'll almost certainly cost more than the reported $8 million per year that last year's deal was worth.

The Saints, now sinking at 5-8, need Payton more than ever. And Payton may never have more alternatives at his disposal than in the coming weeks, when several head-coaching vacancies are likely to come open.

The most likely scenario is still that Payton will return to the Saints, especially if the Dallas Cowboys stay hot and wind up sticking with current coach Jason Garrett.

For one thing, Payton's suspension isn't up until after the Super Bowl, unless the NFL indeed considers an early reinstatement. And even if that happens, Payton wouldn't be free to talk to other teams without the Saints' permission until his current contract runs out with the Saints (an unspecified date that could be as late as February or March).

Ultimately, though, the decision rests in Payton's hands. And the speculation and doubts will keep growing until he signs on the dotted line.

That's how things played out with Drew Brees' contract negotiations this summer. And that's how things appear to be playing out with Payton, as well.

It's impossible to know for sure how Payton views the Saints' future prospects now that he's looking at all of his options through a microscope.

No, the Saints' window to compete for Super Bowls is far from closed. But the team's recent struggles certainly haven't made them more attractive. And Payton's closest adviser, Bill Parcells, was always the master at leaving jobs early - before the ship started to sink.

The Saints still have an awful lot going for them, starting with a Hall of Fame quarterback in Brees and Payton's terrific working relationship with Saints Owner Tom Benson and General Manager Mickey Loomis, among others.

But even those bonds could have been tested over this past year, when they haven't been allowed to talk and when they've all been dealing with the constant blowback from the NFL's bounty investigation. I've heard suggestions that Payton would have preferred Benson to be more publicly critical of Goodell in recent months, though I haven't directly confirmed that.

Again, this is the type of speculation that will linger until a new deal is done.

And it's about to get worse, with the Saints headed to Dallas next week for a game that will be sure to ignite the next round of national buzz about Payton coaching the Cowboys.

So here we are in mid-December, with the Saints still not knowing if they'll have a head coach in place next month or not. At some point very soon, this needs to get cleared up. The Saints need to know if they should be putting their own wish list together before the January hiring frenzy begins.

Perhaps someone should bring in the "fixer," former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue to come in and wrap this thing up with a nice, neat bow like he did with the Saints player suspensions this past week.

And I'm only partly joking when I suggest that, because this is another mess that was created in large part by Goodell and the league, both in the way it handled the bounty punishment and Payton's contract review process in the first place.

Now that the league finally seems willing to clean up some of those messes, here's a suggestion: Goodell should reinstate Payton immediately, let him get reacquainted with the Saints and give the team a fighting chance to keep its coach.

But then again, we should be done hoping for best-case scenarios by this point.

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Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

Crap...Drew Brees all over again.

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

Final nail in the coffin

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

It's all speculation still...I never trust any article that uses statements like 'most certainly' or 'but I can't confirm that'. I wish the media would shut the Fug up until they have real news!

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

All this crap is stirring the pot, the media is great at it. SP isn't goin anywhere.

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

He will be in New Orleans next year... They r just trying to make a story out of nothing.... Why would he go anywhere else... I mean really...

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

I hate the MEDIA !!!!!

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

Hopefully the organization learned its lesson from Brees, get it done and get it done in hurry.

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

True DAT !

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

Why hasn't he signed yet then?

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

Because he can't have contact with the team yet, only his agent can.

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

My thing is....why does the media feel like Payton has all the leverage here when IMO Benson does. Benson has fallen on the sword a far worse infractions when it comes to Payton.....the Vicoden scandal. He's has to pay to settlement out of court for that to avoid criminal investigation. He's also covered SP when it comes to his friendship and hiring of a convicted felon.......whether SP was actually at fault for some of these things it doesn't matter.

Payton owes Benson whole lot more than Benson owes Payton. Because the reason Goodell tanked the Saints this season isn't really for the so called bounties...its for the reasons I listed above that he had no power to punish Payton for. Benson can easily tell Payton "look....we had a horrible season...but its because of you're actions or inactions. I gave you full autonomy over the team and you mishandled it by hiring friends that have questionable history. Letting your DC run a system that is normal in lockerooms, but you didn't make sure yourself to put it to an end when the investigators came knocking, instead you delegated and it still went on. I've had to come out of my own pocket to protect the franchise from a Vicoden scandal that went on under your watch and pay 500K of my own money to pay a fine because you didn't follow up on a simple order. So you're going to sign whatever I put in front of you....."


Lets face it...we all love Payton as a coach...but a lot of shady s*** has gone on in that organization under his watch that he hasn't really had to answer for at all....IMO Benson should use that to his advantage in negotiations.

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

Get it DONE !!!! LOL

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

"Again, this is the type of speculation that will linger until a new deal is done."

BS it will linger as long as dolts like you from the press keep posting speculation... NOT ONE quote from Sean Payton stating anything.

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

Ill ad one thought.

If Tom Benson had done more publicly to support Sean Payton... then Sean "MAY" have felt like someone was in his corner.

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

A thought.
How much do you pay for a man who is the seemingly the man who can drive the $100,000,000 QB?

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

Sean Payton 'not close' to deal, will keep options open - NFL.com
another prime example of how journalists use doomsday headlines to make a story of nothing, but I guess given the choice between writing about this or Katy Perry removing Russel Brandt from her twitter feed I don't blame them as much.
Payton is working for Benson as part of the Hornets, he won't be leaving.

Nothing with out the 100mm QB to drive?

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

Is SP signed YET?

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

You can't underestimate the effect of family. Peyton got divorced this year, and his children are in Dallas. If Jerry Jones offers him a ton of money that Benson won't match, how could anyone deny the possibility of his going there? Romo is SP's boy, and he's stated many times how good a friend Jones is.

Yes. Some can most certainly, logically, deny it.

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

The family part of this is what bothers me; if Payton's wife says she will withdraw divorce papers if he moves to Dallas, I think Payton leaves.

I seriously doubt that Payton cares that much about the money' remember, he gave 100K of his own money to sign GW.

The other scenario that I could see SP signing with Dallas would be if JJ agrees to not interfere with SP running the team.

But JJ has already said that he isn't firing himself as GM.

Hopefully JJ sees enough improvement in Garrett, that he gives him another year, or goes after Andy Reid!

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

What a bunch of bull crap! The media just keeps stirring the pot. I guess they need an off season story. I truly do not understand why SP would not return to the team. The organization & the fans have treated him exceptionally well. I can't imagine that Drew would have signed a long term deal without some assurance from SP the he too would sign a long term deal. I refuse to get wrapped up in this contrived story.

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

And then ....on the other hand. What if SP has been planning this since early this year when he knew there was going to be discipline handed out.
Does this explain why he moved his family to Dallas when he did? Or was the move planned because he knew he was getting a divorce & Dallas is where his wife wanted to be? I can't believe that SP & the organization did not know that with the year long suspension that the NFL would terminate his contract extension, making him a free agent. They would have to know..Right?

None of what we are hearing, so far, is logical. i don't think I can handle another off seasn of uncertainty.

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

He'll be back.

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

The word is Benson is going to offer Payton the largest contract for a coach...Belicheck is the highest paid and currently he makes 7.5 currently after winning 3 super bowls and appearing in 5, so Payton can expect about 8-8.5, which Benson will most likely throw down (a very generous offer).
There's no ****ing way on earth Jerry Jones will every offer more than 8.5 for a coach with 1 super bowl, no matter how much the media says Payton will be worth...the situation might get even more complicated if Gruden, Cowher and Holmgren are serious about coming back.
It's a possibility, but it's mostly just idiots who have boners for Dallas and the media saying dumb **** for the sake of saying something who believe it.

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

I think people really need to calm down with the whole "family being in Dallas" thing playing some sort of major part in this decision. Real talk...what NFL coach do you know really has time to spend with their kids outside of the offseason even if they have they live in the same place with their kids? And Payton is not the first coach and definitely not the last coach to have his family in one place while he works in another.

I see this as being a strictly business decision on Payton's part. And no one will be saying anything when Dallas ends up going to the playoffs. Just because Jerry Jones is cool with Payton on a personal level does not mean they mesh professionally. Anyone with half a brain can see that relationship would not work on a football level.

People just need to chill out and stop letting the media scare yall with blatant speculation. Of course the contract isn't close...they're still trying to figure out if its even necessary to talk extension with the standing of the last year of his original contract still up in the air with the NFL.

So yeah if I was Loomis & Benson I'd exhaust all avenues of seeing if he actually needs to fulfill the last year of his original contract in 2013 since he was suspended without pay in 2012 before I shell out millions in extra money for a new contract. No need in wasting 2-3mil next year if they don't have to.

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

Not a bad thought there ..... :popcorn:

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

I've been saying that for weeks now....why do you think Benson has said he'd sue if he isn't able to retain SP for the 2013 season. Because they believe that his contract should be tolled to the next season...there's nothing in the CBA that says that a coaches contract would NOT be tolled if suspended.

This is what happens when a s*** head commissioner tries to do something unprecedented and suspend a coach for a whole year. He doesn't take into account that it could possibly give the team he's trying to destroy a legal loophole to keep the coach he so desperately wants out of NOLA.

So people being paranoid and saying that Payton "clearly wants out" needs to look at the whole situation....not just ESPN's fear mongering on behalf of the NFL. This has nothing to do with SP NOT WANTING to be here....this is actually just another mess Ginger has inadvertently created by being an arrogant power hungry a**hole and voiding his extension out of spite because he feels HE'S the only one that should have absolute power.

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

Yeah ... more reason for FURG tshirts!

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

The window for the Cowboys is closing faster than ours.

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

WOW, how about those conspiracy theories.

Kids are in Dallas, true. But so is the EX-wife.
It would still be a dilemma, no doubt there. What kind of established head coach would want to work under J Jones? Until Jones learns how to back the hell away from the sidelines, he will only get up and coming candidates.

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

Sean Payton can't stand Jerry Jones. He despises him. After all he drank Jerrys wine after the Superbowl.

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

Sean Payton also was fighting to be more of a passing offense when he was in Dallas... No one (Jerry Jones) listened...

Ive been searching old news articles.

There is a quote in regards to people asking why he would come back to this.. where he goes on to say the Saints records before he got here were not important to him he saw promise in our franchise...

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

I do believe He will come back yet after all that has happened here there is just that one thread of doubt in my mind. If Gruden would come here I would be good with that and could accept it. This whole year has worn me down and the team has stuck together pretty good but there is no way this has not had an impact on them. Everyone has been playing CYA and what has made it hard to accept and move on is no one is telling us fans the truth. That has been the worst part of this whole mess. We want explanations and honesty or where do we go from here. That is why this has continued to go on and on.

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

HALLELUJAH! Preach on, brother! Testify! Everything you've posted in this thread is 100% on point.

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

Payton also wants his money back...
I got a feeling he's trying to bleed as much money out of Benson's pocket book as he can get.
The reason the old contract doesn't work anymore is that Payton spent an entire season, not getting paid...
He wants to recoup that money. I would too

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

That theory is shot. Try again. It was reported, SP was working for Benson with the Hornets. Trust me, he's not hungry.

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

Hope Payton come back

When he patrols the sideline, we are the same team that just demolished Tampa bay.....except every week

Re: Sean Payton is keeping all options open as his leverage increases
 

Because he's not going to.