Sean Payton rules out coaching Cowboys, if taken at his word

There’s been no more recent, hit-home example that while someone might sincerely mean something they say when they say it, factors can change minds. Money is the primary culprit of such wishy-washiness. When Texas native and longtime Eagle offensive lineman Jason Peters represented the bird brains, sorry, the team with birds stenciled on each of their head gears, he wasn’t complimentary of the Cowboys. In fact, he called them an arrogant organization as recently as November 2018. That arrogance was later warmly referred to as swagger once he was donning the star instead of an avian logo.

So it’s in that light, directly shining on the personnel dealings of the Cowboys’ organization, that former Saints head coach Sean Payton’s recent statements must be inspected. Payton indicated he is eyeing a return to the coaching ranks in 2023, but the conditions he set forward would absolutely eliminate Dallas from any list of teams he’d consider, even if the job currently held by Mike McCarthy did become available.

The history

There’s never been a shortage of links between Payton and a potential gig in Dallas. The former Bill Parcells’ assistant was out the building when The Tuna left the organization, already building his resume in New Orleans. Payton spent 16 years as the man in New Orleans after three seasons as assistant coach in Dallas.

Throughout those 16 years, Payton has often been linked to returning to Dallas and it’s always seemed to precede a new, bigger contract to remain the coach of the Saints. His, like the agents of several players, has always been able to leverage the possibility of heading to Dallas to exact more financial compensation from the preferred employer. Payton keeping his Texas property has only helped fuel the flames he’d want to return one day.

Comparing McCarthy to Payton

As Payton has continued to be linked to Dallas, a natural comparison between his resume and that of McCarthy emerged. While McCarthy was let go in Green Bay after the relationship between he and Aaron Rodgers deteriorated, Payton walked away from the Saints of his own volition. When that occurred this past offseason, on the heels of Dallas’ early playoff exit, the comparisons popped up again. Here, David Howman of Blogging The Boys crystalized just how similar their resumes were despite the perception of Payton being a better option.

The…