Sean Payton Retires

[TriCitySam]

Not saying if he'll coach again. One less place RW is likely to go

[RiverDog]

Not saying if he'll coach again. One less place RW is likely to go

If RW was enamored with Payton and was his reason for including New Orleans on his trade list, then the decreased likelihood of Russell leaving would depend on where Payton might land. If he ends up in Denver, Chicago, or Las Vegas, it might actually increase his chances of leaving as there already were rumors of those teams being interested.

The speculation is that Payton will end up in Dallas. Payton has close ties to the Cowboys organization as he once coached there, and it's been an open secret that Jerry Jones has wanted Payton back in Big D for some time. Payton has two years left on his contract with the Saints, so the Cowboys would likely have to give up a draft choice.

Just one more drama to play out in the offseason.

[obiken]

I think he takes a year off to hit the booth, I just don't see him leaving the Saints and becoming Jerry's kid.

[TriCitySam]

[quote="RiverDog"If RW was enamored with Payton and was his reason for including New Orleans on his trade list, then the decreased likelihood of Russell leaving would depend on where Payton might land. If he ends up in Denver, Chicago, or Las Vegas, it might actually increase his chances of leaving as there already were rumors of those teams being interested.

The speculation is that Payton will end up in Dallas. Payton has close ties to the Cowboys organization as he once coached there, and it's been an open secret that Jerry Jones has wanted Payton back in Big D for some time. Payton has two years left on his contract with the Saints, so the Cowboys would likely have to give up a draft choice.

Just one more drama to play out in the offseason.[/quote]

There's no way to know if RW was enamored with Payton or the overall team. At any rate, Payton said at his presser that he was going to take a year off, maybe try broadcasting. If past rumors are of any value, maybe a year off, then on to Dallas.

[Hawktawk]

He said “the plan” is not to coach in 22. Stay tuned . If he’s going anywhere it’s Dallas after a year in the booth

[Aseahawkfan]

Payton seems like he would fit great in Big D. Though I don't know how well he would like Jerry's constant interference and wanting to be the big man in Dallas.

[RiverDog]

If RW was enamored with Payton and was his reason for including New Orleans on his trade list, then the decreased likelihood of Russell leaving would depend on where Payton might land. If he ends up in Denver, Chicago, or Las Vegas, it might actually increase his chances of leaving as there already were rumors of those teams being interested.

The speculation is that Payton will end up in Dallas. Payton has close ties to the Cowboys organization as he once coached there, and it's been an open secret that Jerry Jones has wanted Payton back in Big D for some time. Payton has two years left on his contract with the Saints, so the Cowboys would likely have to give up a draft choice.

Just one more drama to play out in the offseason.

There's no way to know if RW was enamored with Payton or the overall team. At any rate, Payton said at his presser that he was going to take a year off, maybe try broadcasting. If past rumors are of any value, maybe a year off, then on to Dallas.

I did say 'if' RW was enamored with Payton.

[NorthHawk]

It'd been rumored for a couple of years ago that Payton was considering moving on from NO, but it seems it wasn't
the team or ownership but rather a bit of burn out. It wouldn't surprise me if at some point in the year when a team
is struggling new rumors will start about him going to a new team during the year or at the end.

Maybe after this year we can say goodbye to Pete and hire Sean. That would probably keep Wilson here so Payton
would have a stud QB to work with and he could probably get the same level of control Pete has which might be
attractive to him. There's no Salary Cap for Coaches so money wouldn't be an issue, rather like said in this thread
whether he would want to come here or go to Dallas might be the deciding factor.

[tarlhawk]

The Saints were never an option due to already having serious cap issues. Many teams can't just absorb Russel's contract with two years remaining.
Trading Russell goes well beyond a trading partners ability to compensate us with draft selections/marquee players. If RW was really serious about wanting three more SB opportunities (what NFL QB wouldn't?) ...then many of the "listed" teams wouldn't involve new management (Head Coach/GM)...finding a coach who can succeed in the current NFL environment is similar to the odds of finding a "Tom Brady" in the 6th round in the NFL draft. The Chiefs must feel very fortunate for landing Pat Mahomes after other teams passed him by in their "search" for an elite franchise QB...its similar to all the QBs selected ahead of Dan Marino.

When a player under contract refuses to honor his teams commitment to him...any player (but especially your QB)...that is a serious conflict of interest to be blackmailed into changing its own policies and authority. Players and management can not afford to operate a team without clear boundaries of responsibility.

Our GM has the responsibility to make it extremely painful for any team to try to acquire our QB...so (3) 1rst round picks and a marquee player would be the beginning price. Is that realistic for RW's services?...no but it demonstrates the value he has to our teams chances of success in 2022.

The only real "leverage" Russell has is by not wanting to negotiate a contract extension for 2024. Aaron Rodgers "demanded to be traded" to no avail. DeShaun Watson has wasted a career that was just blooming. I really think Russell is smarter than his baseball agent ...and that all this "drama" is pure media hype.

[NorthHawk]

It's not media hype.
Unhappy players make teams worse. History shows us that.
And we can't afford to get any worse.

[tarlhawk]

It's not media hype.
Unhappy players make teams worse. History shows us that.
And we can't afford to get any worse.

Why is Russell unhappy? Where has he clearly stated that unhappiness? He gets asked that question often enough that there is ample opportunity to clearly state any complaints of "wanting to leave". By the way Ethan Pocic outperformed the expensive Center (12.6 million cap hit in 2022) you groused over us passing on (Rodney Hudson). The other player you like to point out as an example of our teams "letting good players go" was Jarren Reed. Playing for KC he has 2.5 sacks/2 TFL/23 tackles(20 were assisted) on a 1 year 5.5 million contract.

[NorthHawk]

For gods sake, man read the reports.

[RiverDog]

Why is Russell unhappy? Where has he clearly stated that unhappiness?

Russell isn't going to come out and clearly state his unhappiness. It's not in his character to openly complain as it is with someone like Aaron Rodgers. Russell is the type of guy that sincerely wants everyone to love him. He doesn't even 'clearly' complain about bad calls or rules. Rodgers couldn't give a rip.

Rather, Russell drops these subtle hints, cryptic comments, and delegates tasks to his surrogates, such as his agent dropping the list of teams he'd be willing to waive his no trade clause. He's never going to come out and clearly state that he's unhappy.

It's pretty much an accepted fact that he's not comfortable with some of the things that Pete has been doing. How serious or to what degree is anyone's guess, but it's fair to say that he's unhappy.

[tarlhawk]

For gods sake, man read the reports.

These reports?

All signs point toward Russell Wilson staying in Seattle for the 2022 season. But if push comes to shove and the Seahawks decide to explore the market, Colby Patnode ponders what it would actually take for them to part with the superstar quarterback.
The fact is, with Wilson still having two years left on the five-year, $140 million extension signed back in 2019, he doesn't have anywhere near the leverage Brady did when he made the decision to relocate to south Florida. He's not a free agent, thus making it impossible for him to replicate the process his signal calling counterpart achieved in Tampa Bay. Anywhere he goes, the team will have to give up valuable assets simply to acquire him.
But does that opportunity actually exist? At least for now, the answer would be no.

Consider the teams Rodgers revealed as suitable landing spots for Wilson last April. The Cowboys have Dak Prescott and don't need a quarterback. The Raiders just made the postseason with David Carr and seem content moving forward with him as the starting quarterback. The Bears won just six games last year and aren't close to fielding a championship roster, while the Saints just lost coach Sean Payton, which likely was the greatest draw for Wilson with the idea of following in Drew Brees' footsteps.

As for other teams that have been speculated as landing spots in various reports, the Broncos may have the best situation with a top-five defense, several quality receivers, and a pair of good running backs. But they would have to give up multiple first round picks and good young players such as tight end Noah Fant to orchestrate a deal, minimizing resources general manager George Paton would have to further build around his new quarterback.


And just like last year, sources say Russell Wilson wants to explore his options to see what else might be out there for him.

Wilson has not demanded a trade, and it's not clear if he will. But at the least, those close to Wilson say he wants to investigate other destinations to see if those would put him in a better position to win another championship and create the legacy he sees for himself.


"We've always thought I would be here," Wilson said. "That's been always my goal, to win multiple Super Bowls, and my plan is to be here and do that. You take every day and you just enjoy the moment."

After a frustrating and injury-riddled season, one that saw Wilson miss three games and the Seahawks miss the playoffs for just the second time since 2012, Seattle finds itself at a crossroads.

General manager John Schneider, head coach Pete Carroll and owner Jody Allen met late this week to discuss the future in their regular end-of-season meeting. While that meeting generated no headline -- nothing had changed -- Carroll did offer some interesting words following it.

"Whatever is there, we got to exhaust every opportunity for our club and right from the owner, she wants us to take a look at every single opportunity to better the franchise," Carroll told KCPQ FOX 13 Sports Director Aaron Levine in Seattle on Thursday. "That's what we do. It's going to take us some time to put it all together and we have a lot of difficult decisions to make this year."

In the next breath, Carroll said, "I love this team. We've got the nucleus of a championship right here and we're going to try to keep that together."

That represents the dichotomy.

In his comments, Carroll appeared to acknowledge that this offseason's script may follow that of last year. A year ago, Wilson's agent Mark Rodgers -- who did not return several calls seeking comment -- made public four teams that Wilson would consider if he were to get traded. Wilson has a full no-trade clause in his contract, which has two years remaining.

Ultimately, the Seahawks talked with the Bears about a blockbuster deal and declined to make any trade. While Schneider has famously considered nearly every trade ever presented to him, the questions are the same as last year.

Would Carroll, who will be 71 next season, want to rebuild? Could Seattle trade Wilson and improve as a team? If they end up entertaining and pulling off a blockbuster deal for picks, who actually would be their quarterback? Would that QB be better than Wilson? And finally, Seattle closed out the season with two wins with impressive performances from a healthy Wilson. Is that a glimpse into the future?

[NorthHawk]

He may very well be back, but an unhappy player isn't good for a team. And when the leader doesn't want to be there things go downhill fast.
So our options are:
Trade him for a good haul of picks
Ignore his desire to move on and get a 3rd round Comp pick in a couple of years
Replace an aging stuck in his ways coach for someone who knows Offense and how to build around a good/great QB.