Broncos head coach Sean Payton made the rounds on Friday at Radio Row. We had a great conversation with him on PFT Live.
We could have talked with him for hours. He has great insights, great stories. Here’s a nugget he shared later in the day with Adam Schien of SiriusXM Mad Dog Radio.
Asked whether he possibly would have returned to New Orleans (Payton admitted it was a possibility), he pivoted unprompted to the Washington Commanders.
“Everyone’s waiting to see what happens in Washington,” Payton told Schein. “And there was some interest from some potential ownership groups that are gonna be bidding on, currently had bid on that team, that were getting ahead of the game saying, ‘Hey, if we get awarded this team, would you?’ And so there were a lot of different things at play. . . .
“That’s a place that’s had great tradition. Like, when I came into the league, Adam, my first two years were Philly. My next four years were New York Giants. And then my next three were the Cowboys. My whole entire NFL career prior to New Orleans was NFC East. And what happened to that program?”
Schein asked Payton if it made him think a little.
“Listen, that place, my uncle loved the Washington franchise,” Payton said. “Last year, we go there to play and pregame I’m looking up in the crowd. A third of the fans are Saints fans. And I’m like, what happened to this place? That was one of the six pillars. . . . That was a special place. So it’ll come back.”
First step is new ownership. The current coach, Ron Rivera, could help get there -- if he can just coach the team without distractions from above. It would have been something if Payton had waited a little longer to see who purchases the team.
If, that is, owner Daniel Snyder ever sells it.
