Sean Payton opens up about why he left the Saints (merged)

Saint Jack said

But where does that put other franchises?
And I’m not just talking about the Saints, but also franchises that were previously unsuccessful, but are now powerhouses like the Seahawks.

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Not sure. I think there is definite bias against franchises whose success disrupted the direction the NFL wanted to go. Payton's continued success beyond 2009 is not something the NFL was ready for, certainly not after they were forced to keep the Saints in New Orleans, post-Katrina. Remember, that was a Tagliabue call, not a Goodell call.