Sean Payton sets a timeline on his coaching decision

Sean Payton revealed his timeline on if he will be coming back to coach in the NFL next season.

Give it a week and we will all have a better understanding on what Sean Payton’s future plans are.

The former New Orleans Saints head coach has spent the last year as an NFL analyst for FOX. Although New Orleans still owns his coaching rights, Payton was long seen as the best candidate available in this hiring cycle. With the Carolina Panthers hiring Frank Reich, four head-coaching vacancies remain, two of which are still in play for Payton: Arizona Cardinals and Denver Broncos.

Payton said on FOX Sunday afternoon, “I think in the next week we’re going to know a lot more.”

So what are the chances either Arizona or Denver name Payton their next head coach next week?

Sean Payton spoke on if he will be returning to coach in the NFL next season

Although the Houston Texans and the Indianapolis Colts have not hired head coaches yet either, those two organizations are a tad too dysfunctional for Payton to head there. As for Arizona and Denver, both franchises have seen better days, but they do seem to check the most important box for Payton to potentially re-enter the league: A veteran franchise quarterback to build around.

Arizona has Kyler Murray, albeit coming off a major season-ending injury. Denver has Russell Wilson, who just finished his worst year as a professional and is in his mid-30s. The expectation in Arizona is the Cardinals brass will either hire Payton soon, or conduct a second wave of interviews with several different candidates. As for Denver, your guess is as good as anyone’s at this point.

The reason Payton’s timeline to potentially return to the NFL is set at next week is fairly simple. There are no games next weekend, which means any coaches on the four remaining staffs would be available to interview, most notably San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans and Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon. Both are still in play for Houston.

The big domino to watch here is Ryans, who is seen as the favorite to lead his former team in Houston. He is also in play in Denver, which might be the job Payton takes. Gannon was a finalist for the Texans job last year and could get it if Ryans decides he does not want to take on Houston’s problems. One of these two coordinators’ years will be done after Sunday’s title bout.

In short, Ryans to Houston or Denver will go a long way in determining if Payton is coming back.