Sean Payton has pulled back from the void twice, in his adult life. Twice, the competitive arena he craves has faded away, and his fire has been left with no match to burn. Twice, there’s been no need for the daily Mountain Dew and Coca-Cola binges, the chance at discovering a new offensive wrinkle that the Broncos’ head man’s eyes glued to tape until the wee morning.
One more cut-up. One more clip.
One such time came in 2022, when Payton stepped away after 15 years coaching the New Orleans Saints and took a gig working as an analyst at FOX Sports.