New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton walks the sidelines in the second half of an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Bob Leverone) Is it time for Sean Payton to move on?
I tend to believe that offensive-minded head coaches shouldn’t be blamed too harshly for the performance of their defense. I remember Gary Kubiak in Houston being an example of this: his teams struggled quite a bit on D until they found the right coordinator in Wade Phillips and turned the ship around.
However, Sean Payton has not stumbled upon the right coordinator — alternating between several coordinators and several different schemes and philosophies to boot. That type of transition and indecisiveness has only caused their defense to worsen to historic levels. It’s so bad that it may not be salvageable.
Is the answer an off-season “trade”? Perhaps.
The reason it may work for the Saints
As a legitimately good offensive coach, Sean Payton has value in the NFL. He’s probably too good to be “fired” outright.
However, he has less value to New Orleans right now. Between Drew Brees and veteran OC Pete Carmichael, you’d figure the Saints passing game could continue to keep clicking through the next few seasons.
Trading Sean Payton — for a defensive starter or a 2nd or 3rd round pick — and handing the reins over to a defensive-minded head coach may be the best and fastest way the Saints can compete during Drew Brees’ final days.
Of course, if you believe that Drew Brees is a year or two away from the end — either as a free agent or retirement — then you probably want to hang on to Sean Payton so he can groom and develop the franchise QB of the future. Brees (and the older Tom Brady) haven’t shown any signs of decline yet, so it’s really hard to evaluate their window in this day and age of the NFL.
The reason it may work for their trade partner
For this hypothetical, let’s take a team like the New York Jets. After the season, they may fire coach Todd Bowles, and utilize their top 5 pick on a franchise quarterback. Developing that QB will be their top priority.
In theory, they don’t have to trade for someone like Sean Payton at all. They can simply hire an offensive coach like Todd Haley, Josh McDaniels, or Matt Nagy.
However, those coaches are not guaranteed to be successful passing game gurus in the same way that you can say about Sean Payton. If the Jets could “trade” for Payton with a starter or a 2nd round pick, would that sacrifice be worth it to ensure your franchise QB of the future has the right coach around him?
Honestly, I don’t know. It’s a legitimate debate on both sides, which is why I brought it up. Let me know your thoughts below.
