Miami Dolphins reportedly denied permission to talk to Payton

The Miami Dolphins may have gone in a different coaching direction had the Saints given them permission to talk to Sean Payton.

ProFootballTalk.com is reporting that the Miami Dolphins asked and were denied permission to speak with long time Saints head coach Sean Payton after he announced his leaving the team.

PFT is citing sources from within the organization who remain unnamed. According to those sources, the Dolphins asked the Saints for permission to speak with Payton shortly after he announced he was leaving their team for “retirement”. The Saints still own his rights.

Miami would have had to agree to a “trade” with the Saints before being able to hire Payton who left the team this past February. It brings up an interesting situation. Would the Dolphins have been able to convince him to come to Miami and two, will they pursue him in 2023 should Payton decide he wants to coach again? Obviously the latter option would mean a one and done for Mike McDaniel.

It was rumored that Miami might show interest in the Saints head coach so this “news” isn’t much of a bombshell. It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if the Saints had given Miami permission. What kind of compensation would have been involved and would Payton have “un-retired” to coach in Miami?

Some believe that Payton was burned out and others speculated that the prospect of what could become a full rebuild in New Orleans was something that he didn’t want to be a part of. Either way, we won’t know what would have happened and the Dolphins quickly moved on and eventually landed McDaniel.