The coaching hire season in January means rumors are flying every which way. We will hear one thing, and it will quickly be contradicted with later reports. The bigger the name, the wilder the rumors. And it would appear the Sean Payton silly season is fully underway.
Tuesday morning, a report came out that the Indianapolis Colts had spent some time negotiating with New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton while they were also talking with Chuck Pagano about a potential contract extension. NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport believes that might be incorrect, and that Payotn is currently considering either remaining in New Orleans, or joining the San Francisco 49ers.
Meanwhile: I'm told the #Colts did not speak with Sean Payton's agent before re-signing coach Chuck Pagano last night. SF or NO for Payton
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 5, 2016
I imagine Sean Payton's agent released this information, but we will never know for certain. It is safe to say that no matter what, this situation is going to drag out. After Tom Coughlin stepped down as head coach of the New York Giants, initial reports suggested the Giants were high on Payton's list. Rapoport's tweet would suggest otherwise.
Payton has a daughter in college at Pepperdine University, so there is at least one reason to consider the 49ers. The San Diego Chargers elected to retain head coach Mike McCoy, so that would rule them out for the time being. Personnel power is certainly something that needs to be factored in to a potential 49ers job.
I have little doubt that this is not the last twist in this saga. Given how the Jim Harbaugh pursuit twisted and turned back in 2011, I would expect nothing less from this story.