Oh, so now he has jokes. In the least surprising news of the day, former New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton said Monday that he’d be happy to trade for Taysom Hill once he’s running his own team again — fresh off the heels of Hill’s four-touchdown game against the Seattle Seahawks, in which the do-it-all tight end/quarterback/salaried employee No. 7 scored three times on the ground and once through the air, also recovering a fumble and returning a couple of kicks before blocking for Alvin Kamara on the game-winning first down.
During a Monday appearance on Colin Cowherd’s radio show, Payton relayed that he texted his ‘closest friend’ Saints general manager Mickey Loomis after the game: “Hey, if you’re uncomfortable with that $10 million salary, let me know in a year or two and I’ll take it off your hands.” If you’re curious, Hill is on the books for $5.1 million this year and $13.9 million next season. Because of the way his contract is structured, trading him before June 1, 2023 would only save the Saints $50,000 in cap space. Waiting until after that date frees up $9.9 million for 2023.
Anyway: Payton gushed about Hill’s big day, adding that he called Drew Brees on Sunday evening to point out that “our guy” Hill did something last accomplished by Brees’ old Chargers teammate LaDainian Tomlinson: running for 100-plus yards and 3 or more touchdown carries while throwing at least 1 touchdown pass all in the same game.
Joking or not, his interesting in Hill is hardly surprising. Payton has spoken often about how Hill has been one of his favorite players to coach in his 15-year career, and he’d naturally want to bring him wherever he’s coaching next. Maybe that’s Dallas, Miami, Los Angeles, Cincinnati, or even here in the NFC South with the Carolina Panthers. Payton will be the most sought-after coaching candidate available in years once he decides he’s ready to grab a whistle and a playbook and put the visor back on.
And the Saints will benefit from his next move so long as it happens in the next two years. That’s how many years are left on his contract, meaning he’ll have to be traded to join a new team. While Saints fans should expect a nice return, it feels unlikely that Payton’s departure will net the kind of haul that Jon Gruden once brought the Raiders (two first round draft picks, two second rounders, and $8 million in cash). A lot has changed in the decades since that big move, and it looks like a bit of an outlier compared to the handful of other coach trades that have happened over the years.
Anyway: we shouldn’t interpret this as Payton and Hill being a package deal. So long as the Saints are remaining creative on offense and Hill is enjoying good health, he’ll have a valuable role in New Orleans. He isn’t the quarterback, and he doesn’t need to be; forcing Hill to line up under center and pass limits his game and takes away many of the fun and exciting things he can do. Payton can go find his own Hill wherever he ends up next, well, unless he’s willing to send even more of his new team’s draft picks back where he came from.