Sean Payton on Cowboys Rumors: I Have Fleur-De-Lis Tattoos That I Can't Erase

New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton had a unique way to shoot down any speculation he'd potentially succeed Jason Garrett as the Dallas Cowboys' coach.

"I've got fleur-de-lis tattoos that can't be erased," Payton said on WWL Radio (h/t NOLA.com's Josh Katzenstein). "I'm in my 13th year. I don't know how to answer it. I feel like it's every other year; it's on the odd number years, so 2019 it comes up and then we'll hear it in 2021."

While nobody expects Payton to bolt to Dallas before the start of the 2019 season, Garrett is in the final year of his contract. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones doesn't sound like he's in a rush to extend Garrett's deal, either.

Should the team move on next offseason, Payton would be an obvious target. He won a Super Bowl with the Saints and has guided New Orleans to seven playoff trips in 12 years. Before going to New Orleans, he also spent three seasons with the Cowboys, working as an assistant head coach and the quarterbacks coach.

As Payton said, the rumors linking him to the Cowboys are nothing new. The connection dates back to at least 2012, when Payton was serving his yearlong suspension for his role in New Orleans' bounty scandal.

He signed a five-year extension with the Saints in March 2016, so he's under contract through the 2020 campaign. Of course, that wouldn't preclude him from pursuing another head coaching vacancy.

But the Saints were a game away from Super Bowl LIII and Drew Brees is signed through 2021. Next year is probably the Cowboys' best shot at making a major push for Payton, but it's hard to see why he'd want to leave New Orleans for Dallas.