Sean Payton Rumors: Cardinals Interest 'Pretty Legit' amid Broncos, Cowboys Buzz

Sean Payton is going to have no shortage of suitors if he returns to coaching in 2023, with the Arizona Cardinals potentially emerging from the pack.

Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show (starts at 1:00 mark), NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said Payton to the Cardinals is "pretty legit" right now.

Payton already has an in-person interview scheduled for Jan. 17 with the Denver Broncos, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Rapoport reported earlier this week (h/t NFL.com's Nick Shook) that the Cardinals and Houston Texans have received permission from the New Orleans Saints to interview Payton, whose contract with the Saints doesn't expire until 2024.

Per Mark Maske of the Washington Post, the Broncos are considered the front-runners for Payton in the early stages of the process.

Rapoport did tell McAfee both the Cardinals and Texans have "undercover pretty-good opportunities" to land Payton.

Any team that wants to hire Payton will likely have to give the Saints some sort of trade compensation. Schefter reported New Orleans feels the 59-year-old is "is worth what other great coaches have been valued at and then some."

The most recent trade for a head coach involved Bruce Arians and a seventh-round draft pick going from the Cardinals to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a sixth-round draft pick in 2019.

Jon Gruden's 2002 trade from the Oakland Raiders to the Buccaneers saw Tampa Bay give up two first-round draft picks, two second-round draft picks and $8 million in cash.

The New England Patriots gave the New York Jets three draft picks, including a first-rounder, for Bill Belichick in 2000.

The Texans are basically starting from scratch with a couple of promising young players in Dameon Pierce and Derek Stingley Jr. They currently have five picks in the first three rounds of the 2023 NFL draft, including No. 2 and 12 overall.

The Cardinals already have Kyler Murray in place at quarterback. He did have a difficult 2022 before it ended prematurely with a torn ACL, but he was playing at an MVP level in the first half of the 2021 season.

Arizona has a chance to hit the reset button this offseason after firing Kliff Kingsbury. General manager Steve Keim also stepped down because of health concerns after he took a leave of absence on Dec. 14.