Sean Payton says he was approached by groups who were planning on making bids for the Washington Commanders about the possibility of joining the organization after they bought the team from Dan Snyder.
Payton stepped away from the New Orleans Saints after the 2021 season and became a head coaching candidate this offseason taking several interviews around the league before he was named Denver Broncos head coach after they made a trade with New Orleans at the end of January.
When asked by Adam Schein at the Super Bowl if he had considered returning to New Orleans this offseason, Payton said he did before dropping a piece of info about Washington.
“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?”
Payton did not name the groups who approached him, but this piece of news indicates a few things 1) groups who have submitted bids may be confident Dan and Tanya Snyder are willing to sell the team; 2) those groups believe the sale could take place soon; and 3) certain ownership groups are interested in removing head coach Ron Rivera when they take control.
Schein followed up by asking Payton if that overture by groups bidding on the Commanders made him think a little bit.
“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.”
The Commanders will face Payton’s Broncos next season in Denver.
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