Getty Sean Payton is an unlikely option for the Tampa Bay Bucs.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3-5 start to the season has some fans pushing for a major coaching change. For Bucs fans hoping to see former rival coach Sean Payton in Tampa Bay, there are plenty of reasons why it is unlikely to happen.
Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud outlined why Payton “won’t be coaching the Bucs” with the main hurdle being the Saints still hold the former coach’s rights. There is little chance that the Saints are willing to move the legendary coach inside the division, even for draft compensation.
“Sean Payton won’t be coaching the Bucs,” Stroud tweeted on October 31, 2022. “Saints still own the rights to Payton since he technically retired and wasn’t fired, so any team that wants to try and hire him has to go through New Orleans first. Why would they agree to trade those rights to an NFC South team?”
Tampa Bay Is Unlikely to Move on From Bowles
Head coach Todd Bowles is getting plenty of heat as the one major change since last season when the Bucs were among the NFC contenders. Despite the team’s struggles, Bowles appears to have a long runway, regardless of how this season ends up. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Bowles signed a five-year contract when he was promoted to head coach over the offseason.
To recap, the Saints have Payton under contract and any interested teams will have to orchestrate a trade for the coach if they want him on the sideline in 2023. Even if Payton returns to coaching, New Orleans is unlikely to sign off on allowing him to coach inside the NFC South. Finally, Bowles has another four years left on his current deal with the Bucs after this season making a quick coaching change unlikely.
The NFL Revealed That the Dolphins Had Contact With Brady & Payton
The logistics will prohibit the Buccaneers from landing Payton, but the connection is not completely without merit. Payton along with Tom Brady were named in the NFL’s findings regarding the Dolphins’ tampering investigation. The league revealed that Miami began to meet with Brady in December 2021 (while still under contract with the Buccaneers) as well as Payton starting in January 2022. This revelation appeared to confirm the longstanding rumors that Miami was looking to pair Brady and Payton together.
“The Dolphins again had impermissible communications with both Mr. Brady and his agent during and after the 2021 season, while he was under contract to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers,” the NFL detailed in an August 2 statement. “Those discussions began no later than early December 2021 and focused on Mr. Brady becoming a limited partner in the Dolphins and possibly serving as a football executive, although at times they also included the possibility of his playing for the Dolphins. Both Messrs. Ross and Beal were active participants in these discussions.
“In January 2022, the Dolphins had impermissible communications with Don Yee, the agent for New Orleans Saints’ head coach Sean Payton, about having Mr. Payton serve as Miami’s head coach. Miami did not seek consent from New Orleans to have these discussions, which occurred before Coach Payton announced his decision to retire as head coach of the Saints. Following that announcement, Miami requested permission to speak to Coach Payton for the first time, which New Orleans declined to grant.”