Tag: Sean Payton Cardinals

Sean Payton already has a past connection with the Cardinals

Sean Payton revealed Monday he used to work for the Cardinals organization amidst rumors that he may coach the team in the near future.

The Arizona Cardinals and former New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton are continuing to find themselves paired with one another on social media.

Last week, it was reported that Payton had his sights set on the Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Chargers, should either job become available.

The Cardinals are in the midst of a miserable season and coaching staff changes could be in the team’s future next month unless they show a drastic turnaround.

The four-win season to this point has led to speculation about Payton possibly coming to the Cardinals prior to these reports of his interest. On Monday, the Payton to Arizona momentum continued to build.

He joined Colin Cowherd’s The Herd on Monday to talk about the NFL weekend and began discussing the recent Cardinals-Chargers game. Payton mentioned he used to be a ball boy for the team when the team was with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Payton mentioned that he continued with the organization for a bit and became more involved during the days of Neil Lomax. He appeared to be very familiar with the Bidwill family.

“I think I know that family well enough,” Payton said of the Bidwill family.

It’s also worth noting that while he was very critical of other teams, he was non-committal when Cowherd asked negative questions about the Cardinals. He deferred to other teams’ struggles in the segment and did not say anything negative about the team on national radio.

Perhaps that’s reading too much into it, but there appears to be a connection between Payton and the Cardinals. There are many steps that need to happen for that pairing to become a reality, but it appears to be trending in the right direction.

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Cardinals’ loss to Chargers helps in potential pursuit of Sean Payton

If the Chargers keep winning and retain Brandon Staley, there is one less competitor for the Cardinals if they pursue Sean Payton.

While many had jokingly deemed Week 12’s Cardinals-Chargers matchup to be the Sean Payton Bowl, there may be a great deal of truth to that statement.

Earlier in the week, an ESPN report surfaced that the two teams Payton had his eyes on were the Chargers and Cardinals, mostly due to their stability at the quarterback position, unlike the other openings in the league.

Had the Chargers lost their game, it may have spelled doom for current head coach Brandon Staley, who has been the subject of much criticism in recent weeks. Instead, he made a gusty call to go for the win and it worked on a two-point conversion to Gerald Everett.

Los Angeles now has a potential path to a postseason birth, which would likely mean Staley is retained. That is a big domino for the Cardinals should they opt to fire Kliff Kingsbury and pursue Payton.

The other remaining job openings are the Colts, Panthers and perhaps the Broncos. While Denver does present the opportunity to coach Russell Wilson, that is far from the appeal it once had.

If the Cardinals end up pursuing Payton and the Chargers are not in the market for a new head coach, they have a very attractive offense for the mastermind behind a decade of offensive success in New Orleans.

The Cardinals can offer Payton a starting lineup of Kyler Murray, DeAndre Hopkins, Hollywood Brown and Zach Ertz, which is far better than anything the other job openings have to offer.

That changes if the Chargers are in the coaching mix, as they also have a dynamic offense. Should the Cardinals be in the Payton market, let’s hope the Chargers are not in it as well.

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