If LA Rams need a new HC, Broncos have the jump on Sean Payton

Is there anyone who has followed the LA Rams saga over head coach Sean McVay who still is in denial that he is giving serious consideration to walking away from the NFL, if only for a short duration, now? That is a given.

Some fans are angry over the Rams’ rumors of McVay leaving the game of football. Some are convinced that it will happen. In all honesty, everything is up in the air for the LA Rams future coaching staff at the moment.

But perhaps even more alarming is the realization that if Sean McVay does opt out of coaching for the LA Rams for the season, that the fan favorite next best option, former New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton, may already be off the market.

The Denver Broncos, the same team that fired their own head coach Nathaniel Hackett after a deep drubbing by the LA Rams, have jumped out to the early lead in landing Payton, as they have already entered negotiations with the Saints to acquire the rights to hire Payton as their new head coach.

The Broncos said that they wanted to move quickly, and it appears that is exactly what the team intends to do.

Slow and steady wins the race

While I’m okay with that, many Rams fans have been adamant about the fact that if Sean McVay steps away from the game, the only head coach they will be satisfied with is Sean Payton. The problem is, Payton will not come cheaply. The New Orleans Saints have not shied away from naming the opening bid for Payton’s services at a minimum of a first-round draft pick. And even then, that presumes that Payton will stick around.

Let’s be clear, here. The fans’ unrest over Sean McVay’s pondering his own future is nothing compared to the pure outrage those same fans will feel if the Rams do pursue Payton, pay whatever ransom the Saints demand, only to struggle with the Rams team or, worse yet, decide that retirement was too nice of a gig to pass up and he retires once more?

The best hires are those hires that take time. Will the Rams need to shop for a new head coach this offseason? Perhaps. But I’m not sold on Sean Payton as the answer. The game of football is an ever-evolving entity. Payton will want to take his team in a direction of his choosing.

But that may not be the best situation for the LA Rams.