Fox Sports is targeting New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton as a candidate to succeed Troy Aikman should the former Dallas Cowboys star bolt for Amazon Prime Video, sources tell Front Office Sports.
Payton has not committed to returning to the Saints for the 2022 season, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
Aikman could leave for Amazon’s streaming coverage of “Thursday Night Football” next season and Payton’s at the top of Fox’s replacement list, said sources.
“[Fox] has to go big if they need to replace Troy,” said Eric Weinberger, former senior producer at Fox Sports.
Of course, it depends on whether the 58-year-old wants to do TV, but signs are growing that Payton’s Super Bowl-winning run in New Orleans is coming to a close.
What Are The Chances?
“Prior to the end of the 2021 season … Payton was approached by at least one TV network about working in media,” Rapoport reported.
- With Aikman’s $8 million salary off the books, Fox could afford Payton.
- Payton signed a five-year extension with the Saints in 2019 that pays him more than $9 million per season.
The Saints declined to comment. Fox won’t “speculate on personnel hires.”
Fox was the sole TV network to offer Payton a job during his 2012 suspension for the Saints’ “Bountygate” scandal.
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