Sean Payton Interested in Potential Cardinals Opening

Should the Arizona Cardinals need a new head coach, Sean Payton may be of service.

Donnie Druin | Nov 23, 2022

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Arizona Cardinals

There's been plenty of talk around the Arizona Cardinals and their head coaching position.

After years of steady incline, Kliff Kingsbury - who was fired from Texas Tech before stumbling forward into his current role - now finds his seat plenty hot, at least from an outsider's perspective.

We've seen the likes of general manager Steve Keim vouch for Kingsbury, but talk is cheap. Results were expected with this ball club, and they've fell short of the mark.

Chalk it up due to injuries, touch schedule, etc. At the end of the day, wins are needed to keep your job, and that's something Kingsbury has failed to grasp.

Rumors and whispers about his job security only grow louder with each loss, as the Cardinals have yet to win back to back games this season. A handful of talented superstars are only growing older, and with Murray receiving a massive extension, there's pressure to win. Now.

Should the Cardinals be out on the Kingsbury train, a few different options exist, yet none have made more sense than Super Bowl winning coach Sean Payton.

Payton, who stepped away from New Orleans, is rumored to be back in the hunt for another shot at the NFL.

The Cardinals are one of the teams circled on Payton's shortlist, according to ESPN's Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler.

"Indy and Carolina are already open, and people are watching Denver closely as a potential opening. Arizona is on the watch list if the Cardinals don't turn things around," said Graziano.

"But my sense is that he'll be picky and will look for a spot where the QB situation is solid, first and foremost. That's why I think a lot of people are connecting him with a potential Chargers opening. People would line up to coach Justin Herbert if that job came open.

"If not there, I've been told to watch Arizona as a potential Payton destination (again, assuming there's an opening there). And your point is well taken about the fact that an interested team would actually have to give the Saints some compensation in return for Payton, since he's still under contract with New Orleans."

All Cardinals did speak with one source who acknowledged there was "interest" from Payton in the Cardinals job, but for now that's all it is - interest.

Arizona will have to pony up on their end of the deal to ensure that happens, while also giving up some sort of capital to acquire him since the Saints still technically have him under contract.

It's also unclear exactly where the Cardinals rank on the pecking order for Payton, although it appears the Chargers are the most likely team to get him at this point in time (no source on that, just an observation).

Yet amid the whirlwind of rumors and whispers, there is some traction in Payton potentially heading to the desert.

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