FOX considers hiring Sean Payton
 

FOX considers hiring Sean Payton | ProFootballTalk

From April 1 through the day after Super Bowl XLVII, Saints coach Sean Payton will be suspended from the NFL. But he may find employment for the season with one of the league’s broadcast partners.

Judy Battista of the New York Times reports that FOX is considering hiring Payton.

“Our feeling about Sean is that he’s bright, articulate and obviously contemporary,” FOX senior vice president for communications Lou D’Ermilio told Battista. “Any network with NFL rights would have to consider it.”

According to Battista, the other apparently have considered it — and they have decided against it. Representatives of CBS, ESPN, and NBC each said that Payton would not be hired.

The league, which under former Commissioner Paul Tagliabue notoriously pressured ESPN into dropping the fictional football show Playmakers, says it has no problem with Payton working for one of the networks.

“He is suspended from the NFL for the season,” the NFL said in a statement. “His involvement in any non-NFL employment or business matters is not our decision.”

It’s the right position for the league to take, and it’s good to see that the NFL isn’t so intent on enforcing its suspension that it would keep Payton from finding other ways to occupy his time and earn a living, even if it means that Payton will be part of the televised presentation of NFL games.

Being that FOX is a different entity than the NFL it would be a totally leagal hire, it might not rub the NFL the right way but who gives a S$%t

How cool would it be to have Coach P commentate our Sunday games!! I know it would be better to have him on the sideline but at least this way, we could get some good insight!

Put him in the FOX box. Get Pete Carmichael, or whomever, a video monitor. Coach provides commentary on how the Saints should approach the upcoming down. Carmichael, or whomever, makes adjustments and...

We've got our coach back!!!!!

Alaska

I like it

I see what you mean but that would just be too slow.

I like the idea, glad to see FOX doesn't feel the need to be politically correct and is willing to take advantage of the opportunity to have someone of Payton's caliber in the booth ... plus he basically gets to scout the competition & get paid for it ... the glass is half full.

He may like that job better though. No stress,no Goodell,no player issues. I think some coaches that get into broadcasting don't come out because it's an easier good paying gig. SP would have charisma,youth, and expertise and would probably be very popular. Only thing that would derail this is if the other networks demonize it.

I would love this. The NFL's scapegoat, live and in the NFL's face every week. Eat a turd Goodell. Please do this Fox!

^^ this. :bng:

This is the problem with our world we live in becoming to PC.

You can't stop a man from making his nut. If you suspend him doesn't mean he can't work doing something else while he is serving his suspension... morons.

Now if he was suspended with pay that would be different because he would be making money as HC and serving a suspension.

I doubt he would be broadcasting Saints games. That would be too close to coaching the team which takes him into termination territory. He could work the AFC games. This would keep him as far away as he can get from the Saints but still be involved in football.

I seriously doubt he'd be coming in to broadcasting games but just as an analyst for the nation shows before games, half time, and at the end of games.

If I was Sean, I would sit my ass at home and spend quality time with family and study up on all the NFL teams... use my time wisely.

Someone send this man the game tapes to his house in Dallas

Would be awesome he should not have been banned anyways so let him coach us through fox!

I like it if he should chose to do this. I am surprised NFL has no objections to this.

Just do it and get paid for it. He can slander the NFL like all other analysts and bust their chops daily. I like this idea.

I don't know how I feel about him being a commentator for Fox national, but I said this to my friends the moment the suspension came down... right off the bat, I immediately thought that Sean should take his little weekly "Sean Payton Show" he used to do on the local Fox 8 channel in New Orleans each week, he could expand it to an hour mega-show or more, or more than one night, and turn it into a really hardcore film breakdown and chalkboard session, exactly like a team meeting -- slide show, motivational speech, game film, calling players out, pumping them up, and scouting the next weeks' opponent, laying out all their weaknesses and tendencies, that the players could tune in and watch at home... have Sean look at game film, of the other team, and get with the clicker, and say stuff like, "see how that safety is cheating up here, we want to look for Jimmy Graham the slot right there, when they go to this formation, I think Pierre would have a good shot if Drew audibles to a run, if we see this particular defense we want Drew to check out and run 40 green left" and really detailed stuff like that. He could also rag on the refs, and embarrass the league, by reviewing the previous Saints game film in detail from the week before -- "notice how this holding right here on the other team wasn't called, this should have been a flag but wasn't called" and things like that. The little kid in me thinks it would be awesome to see him set up the game plan each week on TV, and just rip the NFL a new one every week, showing all the blown calls and missed penalties, and there was nothing they could do.

And it would be accessible for all to see, just like the regular team meetings.

I might be in the minority here, but I think he should take the year off or do some assistant or consulting work in the college ranks.

Working for FOX might draw the ire of the league (again) and it might cause a bit of a rift with the team, or Benson or Loomis, if the coach is joining big brother. If it is what Sean wants to do then I think he would do well - I just prefer it is like 15+ years down the road when he's retired from coaching.

IMO he should scout the college ranks for undiscovered talent to bring in when he finishes his suspension. That along with studying the competition down to the minute details. It would be nice to see him on FOX as a part time addition to the sunday pregame show.

Fox dosn't cover the AFC, except for the inter-conference NFC home games.
Fox probably wouldn't have him in the booth for Saints games anyway.
He may just decide to spend the season at home with the wife and kids.
Fly fishing, playing golf, gardening, feeding the homeless, ...
I'm sure there are a lot of things he is unable to do from Apr thru Feb every
year that he would just love to do with all of this free time.
That color commentary money would probably be a sweet deal.
Hook him up with Grueden and it would be ON!