1:03 pm | September 15, 2019 | Go to Source | Author:
LOS ANGELES — Sean Payton signed a five-year extension with the New Orleans Saints, the team announced Sunday, meaning one of the NFL’s longest-running partnerships will continue well into its second decade.
Only Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots has been with his team longer than Payton, who was hired in 2006 and has a career record of 119-74 in the regular season heading into Sunday’s game at the Los Angeles Rams. Payton is 8-6 in the postseason, including a Super Bowl win 10 years ago.
Payton’s extension should quash any rumblings that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones might try to pursue Payton after this season. Payton’s previous contract, which was worth more than $9 million per year, was scheduled to run through 2020. Now he’ll be in New Orleans through 2024.
Details of the new deal have not been disclosed.
The extension could also mean that Payton will outlast Drew Brees in New Orleans — although the 40-year-old quarterback has shown no signs yet that he plans to retire anytime soon.
Payton and the Saints did hit a lull in their relationship with three straight 7-9 seasons from 2014 to ’16. And Payton briefly considered a possible move before recommitting to the team in January 2016, followed by a contract extension two months later.
Since then, both Payton and the Saints have been rejuvenated with back-to-back NFC South titles in 2017 and 2018. They went 13-3 last year and fell just short of a second Super Bowl appearance, thanks in large part to the controversial missed pass interference call in the NFC Championship Game.
Payton’s longevity is a rarity. He is one of just six coaches during the Super Bowl era to have lasted more than 10 years with the same team and to have at least two 11-win seasons after that first decade was over. The others are Belichick (nine), Tom Landry (eight), Don Shula (six), Bill Cowher (two) and Marvin Lewis (two).
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