Former New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton may have announced his retirement earlier this offseason, but that hasn't stopped his name from surfacing in rumors. Most recently, Payton was linked to the Carolina Panthers, who were rumored to be eyeing the Super Bowl-winning head coach as a 2023 candidate for the job in Carolina, which is currently occupied by Matt Rhule.
Rhule spoke to reporters about the rumor, dropping a revelation involving Panthers owner David Tepper, per Joe Person of The Athletic:
Rhule said that Tepper called him to tell him that “the Payton story was coming out and there was nothing to it.” It's interesting that Tepper knew about the report, but even more interesting that he felt the need to inform the Panthers head coach of it.
It's certainly courteous of Tepper to do so, but it also makes one wonder if there really was credibility to the report. After all, the Panthers haven't been successful since Rhule's tenure began, as they won just five games in each of the last two seasons.
Reports emerged that Tepper wasn't pleased with Rhule's “quarterback plan,” which involved as many as three starters in one game at times. It's not entirely out of the question to imagine the Panthers owner at least inquiring about Payton's retirement and approaching him to see about a possible return to the NFL sidelines.
Even if there is nothing to the report, Rhule will have to turn the ship around soon, or Tepper will officially begin to grow impatient with the results.
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