Will it be the Denver Broncos? Will it be the Arizona Cardinals? Will it be the mystery team behind door No. 3?
Unfortunately for the New Orleans Saints, it's beginning to look more and more like the answer will be none of the above as it relates to a potential Sean Payton trade. And the Cajun Cannon Bobby Hebert has a theory why.
"Only thing I can say with that is this: Maybe some owners, because they all look at each other like -- and I'm just speculating here -- 'Don't you dare pay no coach 20 million dollars right now,'" Hebert said on SportsTalk this week.
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Mike Detillier adds: "And if you do, make sure you don't announce it like that."
Resetting the head coach salary market has been a common theme discussed as it pertains to Payton getting back into coaching, and as Hebert suggests, likely not all NFL owners would be willing to oblige.
Not all hope is lost, though. The Carolina Panthers are the lone team that requested to interview Sean Payton that has actually hired a coach as of Friday, settling on Frank Reich in that role. Payton has also interviewed with the Texans, who appear to be zeroing in on 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans as their next head coach. But openings with the Denver Broncos and Arizona Cardinals remain with no clear front-running candidate after Dan Quinn announced he'd remain with the Dallas Cowboys.
Payton was in Phoenix on Friday for an official interview with the Cardinals. He also took the time to shoot down a report that there were concerns of a power struggle within the organization and an issue during his interview.
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But with the Senior Bowl around the corner and coaching searches coming to a close, it's a tight scenario to be in for the Saints. Payton could return to his analyst role at FOX and try again next season, but that would leave the Saints without compensation they would certainly like to have heading into the 2023 season and the second of the Dennis Allen era.
"Sean felt he held all the cards here, and to a certain extent he does, because now ... maybe he put something out there ... what he was asking for, nobody would accept," Detillier continues. "And man, the Saints are caught now. You could say, 'Oh we got all the assets. We hold all the cards.' Yeah, but what if Sean don't coach this year. What assets you got? Man, if I'm Dennis Allen I'm like, wait a minute, we're not going to cash in this year on that? That's a tough spot to be in."
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