New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton could be on the trade market after the 2015 season, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, who says the Miami Dolphins are among the team expected to call and ask about the availability of the longtime Saints coach.
Dolphins, others reportedly want to trade for Saints coach Sean Payton
Teams are expected to call the Saints in the offseason to try and pull off a rare trade involving a head coach.
Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
The last time a head coach was traded in the NFL, it was a deal that sent Jon Gruden to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002 after Tony Dungy was fired. The deal cost the Buccaneers first- and second-round draft picks in 2002, a first-round choice in 2003, and a second-rounder in 2004.
Payton, 51, has been the Saints head coach since the 2006 season and enters Week 5 of the 2015 season with an 81-51 record in his career and a 6-4 record in the postseason. In 2009, the Saints followed a 13-3 regular season with a trip to the Super Bowl to defeat the Indianapolis Colts, 31-17.
In 2013, Payton signed a five-year deal that made him the NFL’s highest-paid coach, despite a suspension that cost him the entire 2012 season after the Saints were punished for placing bounties on opposing players.
Of course, the Saints could still fire Payton, making him available that way, but even with another down year in New Orleans, that seems unlikely.
The Dolphins are the only team that has fired a coach so far in the 2015 season, dismissing Joe Philbin after a 1-3 start. He was replaced by interim head coach Dan Campbell, who is now the youngest head coach in the NFL.
Prior to his head coaching job with the Saints, Payton was the offensive coordinator for the New York Giants for three years and an assistant head coach for the Dallas Cowboys for another three seasons.
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