Sean Payton suggests NFL owners don't care about their team's success

Former New Orleans Saints head coach turned NFL analyst Sean Payton was a guest on Colin Cowherd's radio show The Herd on Monday. Payton, as always, discussed some of the NFL's biggest topics after Week 9 games on Sunday.

While speaking about team ownership, the former head coach spoke about the transition in the attitude of team owners. He said that when he first began coaching, NFL team owners made the most of their money with the NFL team. They didn't have any additional business or money-making opportunities.

His comments come amidst speculation that the Washington Commanders would soon be up for sale

Sean Payton's comments suggest that the transition in the type of team owners means that they don't actually care about the players or staff as much as before.

"Ownership, the city, the tradition. And, and we're living in an era where there's a lot of ownership. I don't want to say flexibility, but there's new owners coming into this league. You know, when I first got into coaching in the NFL, I'd say more than 50% of the owners made their fortune with their football teams. And it was the Rooneys and the Hunts and there's more and more now are, I would say, clearly the majority are private business success stories that have purchased the team."

Could Sean Payton be in consideration for open head coaching positions?

At the conclusion of the Week 9 of the NFL season, there are now two vacant head coaching positions in the National Football League. The Carolina Panthers, after they parted ways with Matt Rhule a few weeks ago, and the Indianapolis Colts following their dismissal of Frank Reich on Monday morning.

Although both teams, as well as any others who might want a change, will wait until the conclusion of the season, rumors of potential hires have begun.

Sean Payton is one of the names regarded as a possible hire for the vacant positions. Payton decided to step away from the New Orleans Saints after last season. He now works with FOX Sports on Sunday's pre-game kickoff show.

Payton has never ruled out a return to head coaching in the future, but since he is still under contract with the Saints, the organization may need to trade him to another team.

This would prevent any violation of the current withstanding contract. Whether another NFL team would be open to a trade with the Saints to get the head coach is another factor.