Sean Payton Says He “Definitely” Plans To Be Back With Saints Next Year

Saints HC Sean Payton mentioned during an interview with WWL Radio that he “definitely” plans to be back in New Orleans for the 2017 season.

“My plan is definitely to be back here,” Payton said, per Joel A. Erickson.

Payton also said that he intends to honor his contract with the team.

“I have four years left on my contract and I plan on honoring that,” Payton said, per Kristian Garic.

Earlier in the day, Payton shot down the recent reports that he’s interested in the Rams’ head-coaching job and said that his recent meetings with GM Mickey Loomis had nothing to do with his future in New Orleans.

A trade involving Payton has been a popular topic in recent weeks, which is the second straight year that trade rumors have surfaced following the season.

Larry Holder of The Times-Picayune reported last night that Loomis would be open to the possibility of trading Payton and the Rams are expected to have interest in him. However, the Rams appear to be focused on coordinator candidates as of now.

There are some obvious issues with the idea of the Rams trading for Payton, considering that they lack of draft picks after trading up to get QB Jared Goff could impact their ability to trade for Payton.

Payton, 52, signed a new five-year, $45 million extension with the Saints back in March of last year after some talk that he could leave New Orleans. He’s currently under team control through the 2020 season.

Should the Saints trade Payton, they would save roughly $40 million.

Since taking over as head coach of the Saints back in 2006, Payton has led the team to a record of 94 and 65 (59.1 percent), which includes five playoff appearances and a Super Bowl title back in 2009.

We’ll have more regarding Payton’s future with the Saints as the news is available.