New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton, whose 15-year tenure with the club included its only Super Bowl championship and also a one-season suspension stemming from the NFL’s bounty investigation, intends to retire from coaching.
A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the 58-year-old Payton was stepping down. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the move was not going to be announced until a media availability later in the day.
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Payton leaves his first and only NFL head coaching job with a 152-89 regular-season record – and nine playoff appearances — in 15 seasons. The Saints won the NFL title in 2009.
The Saints made Payton a first-time head coach in 2006, when he oversaw a stunning turnaround in the franchise’s first season back in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. The club had been displaced from the city during the entire 2005 season, going 3-13.
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The Saints went 10-6 and advanced to the NFC championship game in Payton’s first season. He has coached the Saints to the postseason eight other times in his 15 seasons since.
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New Orleans narrowly missed the playoffs this season, going 9-8 in their first campaign since the retirement of Drew Brees. Payton had lured the quarterback to New Orleans as a free agent in 2006 and Brees went on to set every significant franchise passing record.