Who is Sean Payton?

Sean Payton, the coach of the New Orleans Saints, is to retire after a 15-year run with the team that featured the team’s only Super Bowl victory and a one-season ban stemming from the NFL’s bounty probe.

A source close to the issue on Monday told The Associated Press that Payton, 58, was stepping down. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the decision would not be made public until later in the day during media availability. 

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Payton has a 152-89 regular-season record and nine playoff appearances in 15 seasons as the first and only head coach in the NFL. In 2009, the Saints were crowned NFL champions.

Payton became the Saints’ first-ever head coach in 2006, when he orchestrated a remarkable turnaround in the franchise’s first season back in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The club went 3-13 in 2005 after being displaced from the city for the whole season.

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In Payton’s first season, the Saints finished 10-6 and reached the NFC championship game. In the 15 seasons since, he has led the Saints to the playoffs eight times.

New Orleans finished 9-8 this season, missing out on the playoffs for the first time since Drew Brees’ retirement. Brees had been signed as a free agency by Payton in 2006, and he went on to set every important franchise passing record.

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What Payton intends to do next is unclear at this time. According to ESPN, television networks have expressed strong interest in hiring him.