Sean Payton In, Nathaniel Hackett Out, Mike McCarthy Fired? Dallas Cowboys Odd Rumor

For some, the concept of the Dallas Cowboys firing coach Mike McCarthy and hiring Sean Payton is not "back'' ... because it never left.

FRISCO - The NFL Coaching Carousel just starting spinning, yes. But why is Mike McCarthy being assigned a horsey?

"The rumors are flying!''

"Gossip is making the rounds!''

"The chatter is back!''

For some, the concept of the Dallas Cowboys firing coach McCarthy and hiring Sean Payton is not "back'' ... because it never left. And one of the places were it has set up permanent housekeeping is ProFootballTalk.com, where publisher Mike Florio is entangled in an intense romance with the concept.

"The rumors are making the rounds, again,'' Florio wrote before Saturday's 40-34 Dallas win over Philly. "Yes, the chatter is back. If the Cowboys finish with, say, a one-and-done postseason, the thinking is that owner Jerry Jones would potentially pull the trigger, finally, on hiring Payton.''

"Chatter.''

"If.''

"The thinking is.''

"Potentially.''

Lotsa soft edges on that "reporting.''

And now more of the same, as on Monday, Denver fired Nathaniel Hackett, and while here at CowboysSI.com our insta-reaction was to point out the year-ago candidacy of Dan Quinn in Denver ... somehow the internet has tied Hackett's firing to ...

Mike McCarthy's firing?

There are no secrets here and there are no scoops here and there are no revelations here. Former New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton has a long-standing connection with the Jones family, and as we've predicted for years, there is a decent bet that some day, some way, in some capacity, he'll end up in the Cowboys employ.

That hasn't changed. We don't think it ever will. Except ...

Payton is suddenly a happy Southern Californian as he spends the season doing TV for FOX. So the Rams job and the Chargers job, if they were to come open, came open, would, we bet, join his wish list. Other teams will chase him as well, and as we're sure Florio knows, there is "chatter'' in a lot of NFL cities, including Denver. ... though we don't think Payton is hot on that idea.

Is Payton hot on the idea of Dallas? Again, if so ... that's not new.

We've made this clear: In the event the Cowboys lose in these playoffs in the same fashion in which they were ousted a year ago - 1) in an upset, 2) by being out-muscled and 3) due a penalty plague - there will be voices in the building suggesting change.

At the same time, we've also made clear how pleased Jerry Jones is with his relationship with McCarthy, who additionally absolutely has the ear and the respect of Dak Prescott and his locker room. 

Furthermore, while Payton is considered "hot,'' his impressive resume is actually quite similar to that of McCarthy.

And one more thing: Hiring Payton while he's still under contract with the Saints means that any team looking to hire him would need to trade with New Orleans to acquire his rights. Last time that happened, Jon Gruden was deemed worthy of two first- and two second-round picks.

Is Payton so good that he merits $100 million guaranteed for five years (speaking of "gossip'') and so good that he can improve a future cap-strapped Cowboys team without the benefit of any draft picks?

All in all, "The McCarthy Hot Seat'' campaign is a queer one. In the last two seasons, McCarthy's Cowboys have 23 wins - Dallas' best mark since the Super Bowl teams' era 1994-95. Dallas also has back-to-back playoff berths now for the first time since 2006-07. 

McCarthy has in short done nothing to earn his way into negative headlines ... and maybe the NFL world owes it to him to "chatter'' about that - especially when it comes to Hackett being the one who's been strapped to a horsey and who's actually lost his job.

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