Getty Images
A report Sunday indicated coach Sean Payton has not committed to a return to the Saints for 2022. Payton is mulling a “mini-retirement” after a trying season, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media.
Saints owner Gayle Benson confirmed Monday the team doesn’t know Payton’s plans.
“We don’t know,” Benson told Sean Fazende of FOX 8. “You know, who knows? We’ll find out soon enough, I guess. I don’t think any of us know, but he’ll let us know soon enough.”
Payton has three years remaining on his contract, and the Saints are entitled to compensation if he were to take a year off before trying to return to a different team.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Payton have a close relationship, and Payton nearly left for the Cowboys a few years ago. Mike Florio details why it didn’t happen in his new book, Playmakers, which is scheduled for release March 15.
Payton, 58, joined the Saints from the Cowboys in 2006. He is 152-89 in the regular season and 9-8 in the postseason with a Super Bowl title.
If Payton decides to take the season off from coaching, he surely will be in demand as a television analyst.
