As it turns out, there was a little truth behind those rampant 'Payton to Dallas' rumors that caught fire for about an hour last night during Super Bowl XLV. Ed Werder from ESPN just reported this morning that Saints head coach Sean Payton will be moving his family to the Dallas suburbs. It's just not for the purpose of becoming Cowboys G.M....
Payton, wife Beth and their children will live in a home the family is purchasing in the exclusive Vaquero Club, an upscale golf community in Westlake that is home to numerous PGA Tour professionals as well as the Jonas Brothers.
The Paytons will enroll their children in school in their new Texas neighborhood. Payton became interested in Vaquero when he lived in nearby Southlake while working as an assistant coach under Bill Parcells with the Cowboys.
Payton estimates that flying on a private plane is 90 minutes door to door from his office at the Saints complex to the family's new home, which he believes allows him to remain committed to the Saints while moving his family to the area where he and Beth intend to eventually retire.
Whose private jet is he flying? Who is paying for this?
Not sure how I feel about this. Like Jeff Duncan noted not long ago on Twitter...
Payton is obviously testing his popularity w/#Saints fans here. New Orleanians are fiercely loyal to their city. Not sure this will fly...
...and you know I am one of those Saints fans who is fiercely loyal to my city. Still, things in New Orleans haven't been smooth sailing for the Payton family and I can't say I blame them after all that Chinese drywall crap they had to deal with.
My only real concern would be: is this the first step out the door for Sean Payton? Is he slowly taking steps to leave the Saints?
[UDPATE: 02/07/11 2:41 PM CST ] Mike Triplett of the Times-Pic has more information via Twitter...
Confirmed that Sean Payton, family are moving into Dallas-area home, but they will also maintain New Orleans-area home. So it won't be a...situation where he's "commuting" into work from out of town. Such arrangements are very common among pro sports coaches.