Patrick Sean Payton is a former American football coach and quarterback. He served as the head coach of the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League from 2006 to 2021, leading the franchise to its very first Super Bowl victory during the 2009 season.
Sean Payton: Steps down| New wife age| Resigns| Retirement speech
Steps down:
One season without Drew Brees was enough for Sean Payton. After 16 years in New Orleans—15 of those spent coaching the future Hall of Fame quarterback—Payton stepped down from his post as Saints head coach Tuesday.
Given the team’s tenuous cap situation and the major question marks at quarterback, now’s a great time for Payton to bolt, but that doesn’t make the news any less jarring: One of the NFL’s perennial contenders just lost its coach, and this news could shift the landscape of the league. Let’s take a look at all the potential ripple effects of Payton’s decision.
New wife age:
Sean Payton is currently married to Skylene Montgomery, who he dated for over eight years before he surprised her with a proposal in 2019 while at the Longway Tavern in the French Quarter.
Montgomery hails from West Virginia and is a former Miss West Virginia winner, having won the competition in 2008. She represented West Virginia in the 2009 Miss USA held at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas.
Resigns:
Payton, 58, said he doesn’t plan to coach another team in 2022, adding, “That’s not where my heart is right now.”
And since he has three years remaining on his contract, the Saints would have to agree to trade compensation if he wanted to coach another team.
However, Payton didn’t rule out a return to coaching in the future. And he said he is interested in pursuing a TV analyst job, though he insisted that neither he nor his agent Don Yee have talked with any media outlets yet.
Retirement Speech:
“I don’t know what’s next — and it kind of feels good,” Payton said during an emotional 90-minute news conference at the team’s practice facility. “But, man, I felt like it was time. … But not with any regret. There’s some excitement, like, ‘All right, what’s next?'”
Payton explained that he had been considering this departure all the way back to training camp before confirming how he felt over the past two weeks. He said owner Gayle Benson, general manager Mickey Loomis and team president Dennis Lauscha all tried to talk him out of it.
