The Houston Texans could be the best long-term landing spot for Sean Payton in an NFL comeback.
Although the New Orleans Saints will have to forfeit their rights this season, Sean Payton could coach an NFL team near you, maybe the Houston Texans.
No doubt about it, there are better options out there at first glance. Still, if there is a potential diamond in the rough when it comes to the point of Payton’s re-entry into the NFL, it’s hard to go over what the Texans could bring down the pipeline, so to speak. Yes, this team absolutely stinks, but Houston has the finances and venture capital to get a “free agent” coach.
That’s why Payton has to seriously consider going to Texas if he wants to become a coach in 2023.
Sean Payton needs to at least consider the Houston Texans for his NFL return
Houston is the worst team in the league. Texas won one game under Lovie Smith. As horrible as parting with him after one season as it would have been to parting with David Cooley after one season a year ago, you can’t put a price on the prospect of getting the best head coaching option out there. Getting Payton would help Texas get back to good form.
Realistically, if Payton were to go back to coaching, he’d want to go to a team where he has a star quarterback. Although Davis Mills is not, Houston projects to have the first pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Payton will then be able to select either Bryce Young from Alabama or CJ Stroud from Ohio State. The best part is, Texans won’t have to trade their #1 pick…
That’s because Texas also has the Cleveland Browns’ first-round pick from a Deshaun Watson trade. The precedent was set that a Super Bowl-winning coach would cost a team a first-round pick. With Payton better than John Gruden at the coaching apex, it could cost the Texans more than a 2023 first-round pick to the Browns. This is all about making the deal real.
If Texas has to forgo a future first-round pick, 2024 or later, or another draft capital in the 2023 NFL Draft, so what? Houston would have Payton align with Stroud or Young, the two crucial pieces in building a championship contender. Free agents will want to play on a team backed by Stroud or Young, as well as a player led by a Hall of Fame coach.
The other big key besides venture capital, financial resources, and the possibility of picking the cornerstone of a franchise at the center that Houston has to offer is this: the Texans play in the AFC South! This was never a division of the banner, from top to bottom. In a way, Payton may be able to run roughshod over this historically toothless division, like he did during their previous run in the NFC South.
Yes, the Jacksonville Jaguars have Doug Pederson, and the Tennessee Titans have Mike Vrabel. However, Tennessee’s tight championship window closes sooner rather than later, and when was the last time the Jaguars were a well-run operation, year in and year out? At least when Bill O’Brien was head coach, Houston won double-digit games annually and raised division title banners…
In the end, other franchises may offer more glitz and glam initially on Houston. However, this may be Payton’s best landing spot in the long run, all things being equal. He can build a team from the ground up, like he did coming to the Saints from the Dallas Cowboys nearly two decades ago. Also keep in mind that Saints and Texans are regular pre-season game opponents.
Payton may not want to coach Cal McNair, but Houston should be a sleeper candidate, okay?
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