Sean Payton discusses potential trade compensation, start of interviews
Jan 16, 2023, 1:04 PM
Head coach Sean Payton of the New Orleans Saints looks on during the first quarter during their game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on December 29, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
Arizona Cardinals head coaching candidate Sean Payton joined FS1’s The Herd with Colin Cowherd for his weekly segment, and after discussing a wild weekend of playoff football, he was asked about his current situation as the hottest coaching prospect in the NFL offseason.
.@SeanPayton addresses head coach openings pic.twitter.com/LYWpWlcalC
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) January 16, 2023
The former New Orleans Saints head coach confirmed interviews are indeed starting for him this week, as Tuesday is the day those are allowed to start. Payton noted he will be speaking with the Houston Texans, Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers in his first week.
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The Cardinals did receive permission to interview Payton and presumably are hitting cleanup in Payton’s lineup order of interviews.
Payton then answered a question on what compensation would look like in a trade between the team that acquires him and the Saints. He said he has talked about this with New Orleans general manager Mickey Loomis, and that this year it looks like a mid-to-late first-round pick.
The Cardinals’ first-round pick this year is No. 3 overall, assuredly too high of a price of Arizona to pay, but it does have picks Nos. 35, 67, 105 and 179 as well and could include future draft selections too.
Cowherd proposed the two most important parts of Payton’s decision coming down to ownership and the quarterback, a sentiment Payton agreed with. The Super Bowl-winning coach noted the teams with the best quarterbacks aren’t hiring due to the fact they’re going to be playing well because to that.
“The team’s that have openings — I’m not gonna say are broken but they’ve have problems,” he said. “That element’s critical, the ownership element and philosophically. It’s hard to win in this league and it’s harder to win in this league if there are internal problems before you even play an opponent.”
With that in mind, Cowherd wondered how legit Payton’s interest is in the Texans, a team that just went 3-13-1. Payton confirmed his interest is for real, noted how he is familiar with a few of the key people in charge, how they have really good draft capital and the division gives them the opportunity of immediate growth potential.
