Ex-NFL WR Brandon Marshall Says Sean Payton Hurts Saints: 'Window Is Closed'

Brandon Marshall's NFL career ended with a brief, forgettable stint with the New Orleans Saints in 2018.

Suffice it to say, he did not come away impressed with Sean Payton.

The wide receiver appeared on ESPN's First Take on Thursday and laid the blame at Payton's feet for the Saints' recent playoff struggles.

The 36-year-old, who was on the New Orleans roster for a month without playing a game before being released, said: 

"New Orleans, Sean Payton? Sean Payton continues to hurt his team. How do you have Drew Brees, Mike [Thomas], Alvin Kamara, Mark Ingram a couple years ago, you have a defense that goes from crap the first half of the season to one of the most elite defenses we've ever seen in a season, and you lose in the playoffs?

"Two years, back to back? New Orleans is done. Their window is done. ... Their window is closed. I'm sorry.

"Did you see what happened to their defense last year? Do you see that everyone in the league has the book on New Orleans' offense now? Did you see that? It's over; it's a wrap."

Marshall didn't necessarily go into why he feels Payton is holding the Saints back. Payton is by far the best coach in franchise history, leading the franchise to eight playoff appearances and a Super Bowl XLIV victory.

Aside from the Super Bowl season, though, Payton's Saints have regularly fallen short in January. He is 5-7 in all other seasons and hasn't won more than one playoff game in any campaign. While Saints fans would point to the 2019 NFC Championship Game as evidence that sometimes things are out of their control, New Orleans has fallen short despite having talent on both sides of the ball on a number of occasions.

The Saints' window, however, may have more to do with Brees holding up than Payton. While the 41-year-old has remained effective in the regular season, he struggled in Wild Card Round loss to the Minnesota Vikings—to the point backup Taysom Hill was the best Saints player on the field. 

A more interesting story may be what lingering feelings may have led to Marshall feeling this way.