Do the Miami Dolphins have a chance at hiring Sean Payton?
By Juan Vasquez
New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton announced he would be stepping down form his role with the Saints as reported by NFL’s Ian Rapoport. Rumors of Payton potentially retiring or leaving the Saints started catching steam after Payton had not confirmed he would come back for the 2022 season. Not a shocking statement given that the Saints had come off a very turbulent season after Drew Brees’ retirement, and the -$76.5 Million cap space available for the Saints in 2022.
That’s right, the New Orleans Saints are in a negative cap space of $76.5 Million with their current roster entering 2022. Even though the Saints shipped out many of their big time players last season due to this same issue, the cap hit can be ginormous when teams push contracts down the road.
Sean Payton may be taking some time away to think things through, but that doesn’t stop him from instantly becoming the hottest commodity in the market for head coaching hires. The music stops when a Hall of Fame coach steps into the mix. And the Miami Dolphins could suit as a favorable match when it comes to taking on a project with a lot of room to work with.
“What do you mean by that?”
The Miami Dolphins are entering the 2022 season with $67.5 Million in cap space which is the most in the NFL, although some contracts are expiring for key players like Emmanuel Ogbah, Nik Needham, and Mike Gesicki; the Miami situation fits perfectly for an experienced head coach that wants control building a team with the cap space given.
A first time HC has a much higher chance of not working out, and who better to keep Stephen Ross and Chris Grier in their place than Hall of Fame HC Sean Payton.
Payton announced retirement:
Per Saints Reporter Nick Underhill, Sean Payton stepping away from the Saints means he is going into retirement.
But as told by Mike Triplett from ESPN “Sean Payton is not necessarily retiring permanently, but deciding to take a break after 16 seasons as the Saints’ head coach.” Meaning his retirement is probably temporary.
Easier said than done, I know:
The end game for the Dolphins shouldn’t be landing him as we all know 20+ teams would toss their current HC in the trash can if given the opportunity to work with Payton, the end game would be for the Dolphins to do everything in their power and then some to try and bring Payton to Miami Gardens.
But if the Miami Dolphins aren’t going to have a hall of fame head coach in the building in 2022 it shouldn’t be because the Dolphins did not make a move, it should be because the Dolphins did everything possible until Payton told them to respectfully (beep) off.
