Sean Payton

Sean Payton Reveals What the Saints Would Require If He Was Hired as Head Coach

Fox Sports NFL analyst Sean Payton is a hot commodity for teams looking to fill their head coaching vacancies.

Payton, who joined the network after retiring as New Orleans Saints head coach in 2021, revealed Monday he will meet this week with the Houston Texans, Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers. In addition, the Arizona Cardinals have requested permission to speak with the 59-year-old. To hire Payton, however, a team must make a deal with the Saints, who own his rights through the 2024 season.

Payton said that he and Saints general manager Mickey Loomis have already discussed what the potential compensation could be.

“Ultimately, the compensation for the Saints would be a mid- or late-first-round pick,” Payton said on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd”, via ESPN. “Each team has different ammo or different pick selections. It could be a future one where maybe you have to throw in something.”

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Payton spoke in depth about the Texans, who own the second overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft. Houston has gone 11-38-1 over the past three seasons and fired head coach Lovie Smith after the 2022 regular season came to an end.

“When you practice for three days with an opponent, you get a chance to meet a lot of the different personalities and people involved in the building,” Payton said. “They’ve got really good draft capital, really good draft capital. They’re in a division that you can at least say with Indy, Tennessee and Jacksonville [is winnable].

“There’s growth potential immediately there from their two or three wins they had this year.”

In 15 seasons with the Saints, Payton guided the team to a 152-89 record. New Orleans made nine playoff appearances. They lifted the Lombardi Trophy after a 31-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV.