 We are gonna bring on a very special guest. So Sean is actually a good friend of mine and he has been joining on this podcast for a few episodes here and there to give his insight on different NFL teams. Now his fandom lies with the New Orleans Saints, with LSU, he's from Louisiana, he loves the team, he's die hard, he's not a bandwagoner, unlike most of you guys, pictures fans that became Buccaneers fans. But Sean wants to give his insight on Sean Payton leaving from the New Orleans Saints. He steps down, wants to take a break from coaching, could be returning in the next couple of years or so, we don't know for sure when he's gonna be returning and if he returns, which team is he gonna coach for? But we have Sean Landry joining us of the Go For Glory podcast, giving us his insight. So Sean, thank you so much for joining us for this episode. Yeah, thanks for having me, good morning. Yeah, good morning to you too. I know it's kind of weird to kind of hear Sean Payton stepping down from the New Orleans Saints. I know that you've talked about in the past, your fandom really started from 2006, coming back from Hurricane Katrina when the Superdome opened, that blocked a pun against the Falcons, like so many good memories Drew Brees signing on, and now it's an end of an era with Drew Brees and Sean Payton gone. What are your thoughts on this whole situation? Yesterday, I'll admit, yesterday kind of felt like a funeral, like just getting over a death in the family, just because that's how much Sean Payton has meant to me and to the fans here, or obviously in New Orleans, and the state of Louisiana overall. But you kind of knew the writing was on the wall for the last couple of years. I think many of us, including myself, thought that he and Drew were gonna retire after the 2018 season. When we had the number one seed back then, obviously we got cheated out of the Super Bowl thanks to the referees. But I fullheartedly believe, and that's something I talked about in my podcast yesterday, was had we been in that second Super Bowl, I felt confident we would have beaten Tom Brady in New England, and I felt like that would have been the end of an era in the Peyton Brees saga. Obviously we all know that wasn't the case, both Drew came back, decided to come back after that season. We get bounced from the playoffs in the first round the following year. Obviously last year was a good run, first year having Tom Brady in the division, beating him twice and then ultimately seeing the writing on the wall for Drew in the playoffs. And then you go into this year and what was deemed in his mind as one of the most stressful years in his coaching career, having to deal with COVID, having to deal with injuries. I think for me, and I don't know about you, but I know a lot of Saints fans, our hearts kind of stopped when James toured ACL on Halloween against Tampa because we knew right then and there, like we're in for a very long, long season. So you factored that in with 58 players in a combination of trying to make things happen, playing a Monday night with the Dolphins, with 22 of your starters out in a rookie quarterback. And I think that's what ultimately led to Sean deciding, I think it's time I need to step away and recharge and refresh. It was a very emotional press conference for him. He actually said in his presser, he said to, he goes, I actually Googled the night before how not to cry during giving a speech. And two things came to the forefront. First was yawning, which he said, he's like, I'm not gonna yawn. And he said the second thing was drink plenty of water. So if you notice this press conference, he was constantly every so often drinking a little bit of water just to kind of keep his emotions down because it's hard for him. Anytime you've been in this league, especially in one place for so long, you have a lot of memories. And you touched on that just a few moments ago with the block punt against Atlanta when we reopened the dome, winning the Super Bowl, Drew setting the all-time passing record, having tremendous draft class in the last couple of years. It was frustrating. I'll admit I was frustrated because I felt like we were one quarter back away after this year of having a good chance to get back. And Cam Jordan said that this morning on get up. And but I also feel relieved and not so much relieved that Sean's gone, but I'm relieved that he's finally taken some time away. He got married last year, his kids are growing up. And you're seeing that a lot in the news with Tom Brady. Tom Brady is now factoring family as a potential decision maker to walk away. And so good for Sean, I'm thankful for what he has given my state and my city and my team for 16 years. My only wish is when he comes back and I do believe he's gonna come back to coach. My only wish is he does not come back to coach the Dallas Cowboys. Please, please Sean, if you are watching, do not come back to coach the Dallas Cowboys because we are forced to listen to them every morning and every day. We're gonna be fed that twice as much if we have to see you with a star on your chest. So it's definitely sad, but you know, like he touched on earlier, he was the reason along with my father, why I'm such a die-hard Saints fan. Very well said. And actually, I don't mean to change the topic at all, but we just got breaking news. Ben Rothesberger just now announced his retirement from the NFL after 18 seasons. So officially just announced that. And kind of we'll discuss this a little bit later on, but kind of tying Ben Rothesberger into all of this with Sean Payton leave the Saints. And you talked about how, okay, the roster maybe, you know, James Winston suffering this ACL tear, maybe like all the stress of this, like drew retiring. Maybe now is like a good time that I should be taking a step away. Well, then what about the future for the Saints? Like Ben Rothesberger is gone. So that, okay, that leaves an opportunity to open for Pittsburgh like we imagined for maybe those quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Nathaniel Hackett just got hired by the Denver Broncos. So Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, like Deshaun Watson, where did the Saints go from here on out as far as a personnel standpoint, as far as their players solely? Well, that is the $74 million question. And I mean that because that we are $74 million over the salary cap. So whoever comes in as the next head coach is gonna have to figure that out as well. Personally, I've been really on the Russell Wilson train this whole year. I really felt like after this year, he was gonna come to New Orleans. I wasn't sold on Aaron coming just because all signs and obviously now looking like he's gonna go to Denver. But that's gonna be the biggest question mark is and that's for the next head coach to the side is how is this roster gonna look? I read something yesterday, they talked about 10 players that could get moved. They named guys like Alvin Camara, they named guys like Cam Jordan, Malcolm Jenkins, the Mario Davis, key pieces of our team and of our unit. There's a couple of names that I can tell you that I feel like we should move on from not just because of their contribution to the field, but just a lot of their off the field in terms of injuries. Guys like Taran Armstead and Andrews P. Yes, two anchors on the offensive line, but just have not been able to stay healthy. I mean, Andrews P. hasn't been healthy for most of the last couple of seasons. So those are guys I feel like we can move on from, they talked about how yesterday you can literally save $9 million by cutting Tayson Hill and we just signed him a four-year extension. So again, I feel like the future's bright in New Orleans. It just depends on who the quarterback's gonna be. Are they gonna bring back James Winston? Are they gonna look elsewhere? I really hope they do not bring back Trevor Simeon because it just was hard to watch period with him. But it also is gonna depend on the next head coach and is that head coach looks at our current talent, current roster and said, you know what? Even though we've got a $74 million hole with our cap, there's still plenty of promise and still plenty to play for and to succeed with this organization. Absolutely. And you just talked about the players right there. We've got Sean Landry joining us. By the way, if you guys are just now tuning in live of the Go For Glory podcast, giving us thoughts on Sean Payton and the Saints. You talked about the quarterback situation, the players, some players that could be moved. Now for the Saints, the head coaching position. Who is your front runner? Because Nathaniel Hackett got hired by the Broncos. All the other teams are like two interviews in with multiple candidates. Brian Dabel pretty much off the table at this point by the Giants or the Miami Dolphins. Like who is available at this point and who do you think would be the best fit for the Saints moving forward? Well, the best fit right now is Dennis Allen. And they asked that of Sean in the press conference. The other day they asked him, so what advice would you have to the next head coach? And he goes, well, quite honestly, they have a tremendous candidate already in-house. And he didn't mention Dennis by name, but I was watching after the review with Matt Moscona and he was talking with one of the guys, one of the reporters who was there at the presser. And he said he happened to look over at Mrs. B and she started to chuckle. And standing right behind her, believe it or not, was Dennis Allen and he had a smile on his face. So you kind of feel like there's a plan in the works to potentially name him as the next head coach. I've seen other names like Aaron Glenn, former defensive backs coach for the Saints who's now up there in Detroit with Dan Campbell. And then you have the obvious other names, Byron Leftwoods, Jim Caldwell, Doug Peterson, Eric Biennamy to name a few, but I feel like right now, I feel like Dennis Allen is probably the best fit for this team just because, A, he's brought so much to our defense over the last couple of years. Took over in 2015 for Rob Ryan, really has elevated that defense to an elite unit in this league. I feel like he would be a good fit and literally you would keep that continuity within your locker room, within the organization. Again, you just have to figure out the salary and you just got to figure out who your quarterback is. Yeah, Dennis Allen seems like the most logical choice at this point and would make a lot of sense and wouldn't be a bad, higher-adult or rather promotion, I should say, for Dennis Allen. Sean, I appreciate you joining us for this episode of Town of Football, giving your thoughts on Sean Payton and the New Orleans Saints. Where can people find you? So you can find me on Podbean. Again, I appreciate you for the shout out this morning putting my link in your nice little background. You can find me on Podbean. It's a go for glory. I just started it last year and I'll admit I had taken some time away, obviously, when you have a wife and you have a dog and you have work and another responsibility it's kind of hard to get into that podcast. But it's free to subscribe, like, listen, comment. I'm starting to get back into the airwaves, release my first episode yesterday. So you can find me there. But again, I appreciate you having me on and always, man. For those who are listening, Hassan Khan provides very great insight. We watch get up, we watch good morning football and you get fed the same stuff every single day. So guys like Hassan give us a different perspective and kind of find a different outlet to really enjoy something than what the major networks provide. Definitely, I want to give everybody more coverage rather than Max Kilerman talking about Tom Brady falling off a cliff or Stephen A. Smith talking about the Cowboys, I don't know. But I appreciate that, man. Sean, thanks for joining us. Have a good one. Thank you, you do as well. And that was Sean Landry joining us. Again, go subscribe to his podcast and make sure you guys check him out on Podbean as well and he does a very, very good job.