‘No indication’ Cowboys were 1 of 2 teams asking about Sean Payton, per insider

Despite Jerry Jones’s denials, the rumors won’t die anytime soon; more speculation over the weekend of an imminent reunion in Dallas. | From @ToddBrock24f7

When New Orleans coach Sean Payton announced last week he was stepping away from coaching after 16 seasons, many assumed- even hoped- that it simply meant he was stepping away from the Saints… and jumping on I-49 North to come to Dallas instead.

That certainly appears to not be an option- at least not right now- for the 58-year-old Payton, who first told Dan Patrick that he hasn’t been contacted by any teams… but then admitted that two clubs have asked about him in a roundabout sort of way.

And as recently as Sunday, NFL insiders were still addressing the persistent rumors that one of those teams must have been the Cowboys.

After nearly two weeks of awkward silences and cryptic soundbites about the franchise’s next steps in the wake of a bitterly disappointing playoff exit, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones finally tried to clear the air about current head coach Mike McCarthy.

Jones went on local radio in Dallas to back McCarthy’s return… mainly by talking about how badly he wanted defensive coordinator Dan Quinn to come back.

He got Quinn. He still has McCarthy. And Payton has made it no secret that he hopes to land a television gig for the 2022 season.

But in a recent episode of his show, Patrick asked the longtime coach if any other teams had reached out to him since his stunning change-of-career announcement last week.

“Not one,” Payton said before clarifying. “Well, they would have to reach out to the Saints. And look, you can have a back-door, ‘Hey-would-you-have-any-interest?’ That’s happened maybe with a couple clubs, but I’m not looking at that path right now. At some point; I don’t think I’m finished coaching.”

Patrick seized on the obvious mention of a couple clubs and pressed for a more precise number.

“Two. And when I say that,” Payton explained, “all I’m saying is somebody who’s close to someone [said]: ‘Man, you’d be really good here.’ But we’re only 24, 48 hours removed from [his announcement]. And that’s not my plan.”

Patrick pursued the line of questioning, throwing out two frequently-mentioned possibilities: Chicago and Dallas. (This was before the Bears announced they were hiring Matt Eberflus for the job.)

“No, no. That’s where it stops.”

But it didn’t. Not really. Because later in the conversation, the two discussed Payton’s potential as a gameday color man in the booth. And the coach used a real-life football scenario, one completely chosen at random and for no reason in particular (wink, wink) to break down.

Back-channel conversations aren’t necessary when the candidate does his tryout live on a popular streaming show with a nationally-recognized host.

For his part, Jones denied everything during his radio call-in.

“I’m not part of any dialogue or any decision-making relative to him leaving New Orleans,” the owner said the next day.

That sentence has all kinds of gray areas and wiggle room for those looking to find it, especially considering that the two men remain close 16 years after their employer-employee relationship ended.

By Sunday, even as the league was settling in for conference championship games involving four other teams, the studio shows couldn’t resist teasing out the possibility of Jones and Payton engaging in double-secret-probation code-word negotiations about the coach’s availability and interest.

NFL Network’s Mike Garofalo referenced Payton’s chat with Patrick and the “a couple clubs” revelation. Then he took it to where everybody’s head had already gone.

“I’m told, by the way,” Garofalo offered on-air, “no indication that the Cowboys were one of those teams. I know everybody wants to put him there; no indications that’s happening. At least not yet.”

Perhaps notably, the camera then cut to a triple-splitscreen shot of Garofalo, Ian Rapoport, and Tom Pelissero. The three men who make up the network’s main reporting force all wore very obvious looks of extreme skepticism on their faces.

The Sean Saga isn’t over, and everyone who follows the never-ending soap opera that is America’s Team knows it. As long as Payton is not on an NFL sideline, there will be plenty of say-it-right-out-loud speculation about him being just one bad loss, one poor showing, one botched timeout, one mismanaged game situation away from a reunion with Jerry Jones and the Cowboys.

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