New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton will retire from coaching. The Saints’ leader and offensive mastermind will no longer patrol the sidelines of Caesars Superdome.

Payton, 58, went 152–89 in 15 seasons with New Orleans. He led the Saints to the playoffs nine times, including a run to Super Bowl XLIV. New Orleans finished 9–8 in 2021, starting four different starting quarterbacks as the franchise dealt with a number of injuries and COVID-19 absences.

However, he said that retirement is not the correct word at this point, reassuring that he might return to coaching at some point in the future. “I don’t like the word retirement,” he said “I still have a vision for doing things in football. And I’ll be honest with you, that might be coaching again at some point. I don’t think it’s this year, I think maybe in the future. That’s not where my heart is right now” (As reported by the AP).

Payton has the most successful run as a coach in the history of New Orleans Saints, as per franchise. He began his coaching career as an offensive assistant at San Diego State University and coached several NFL teams before becoming the Saints head coach.

He has contributed a lot to the team with the 2009 Super Bowl XLIV appearance, as well as three NFC Championship Games appearances and seven NFC South Division titles. He also won the AP Coach of the Year award in 2006.

Fans and friends have shared emotional messages on social media after Payton’s announcement, an example being Saints wide receiver Marquez Callaway. Tweeted : “Thank you for giving me the opportunity to play. You are a legend throughout the league but especially here in New Orleans. Forever grateful for you ! Love in what you do next.”

However, it isn’t all sad news because after a few weeks of looking for a new head coach, a favorite candidate for the job, New Orleans defensive coordinator Denis Allen was the one chosen for the position.

Denis Allen knows the current system the Saints already have. Saints fans shouldn’t be worried about a big change in New Orleans, other than improvement in the coming years.

Following his departure from Oakland, Allen was hired by the Saints as a defensive assistant in January 2015.

Denis Allen was later promoted to defensive coordinator, after the Saints fired Rob Ryan in November 2015 and the Saints defense has had great success since.

Allen’s new position with the Saints is his second as head coach after previously serving as head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 2012-2014. Allen was fired by the Raiders after compiling an 8-28 record and starting the 2014 season with four straight losses, but Denis Allen is more prepared this time as he had more years of experience with Payton’s coaching staff.

In conclusion, the New Orleans Saints might’ve lost a legendary head coach and are likely to go in a rebuilding phase, but it’s not all bad news since they have a familiar face as the new head coach Denis Allen. Who Dat!