Amid the Panthers‘ decision to move on from Matt Rhule as their head coach, Sean Payton’s name has come up as one of the possible replacements. The former Saints head coach is spending this year as a Fox analyst after retiring last season after 15 years as the New Orleans head coach.
In reaction to the news, Payton appeared on The Herd with Colin Cowherd to discuss how he thinks this job will be viewed league-wide despite the Panthers not having an answer at quarterback.
“I think it’s attractive … It’s almost a unicorn—the open job with a great QB, waiting for you to come in and be the foster parent,” he said. “Usually, generally speaking, it’s somewhat broken.”
In over two years as the Panthers head coach, Rhule saw five different starting quarterbacks for Carolina, none of which proved to be the franchise answer.
Payton also discussed why he thinks Rhule couldn’t emulate his college success in the NFL, and he believes it’s because the two jobs aren’t the same.
“The jump from a successful college head coach to an NFL head coach is larger than you think,” he said. “I say that respectfully because in college it’s a different job. You’ve got a certain number of hours per week, you’ve got spring ball, you’re recruiting, you’ve got a lot of things that are happening.”
If the Panthers do want to try and hire Payton, they will need to go through the Saints who still control Payton’s rights through 2024.
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