The New Orleans Saints are remaining proactive in their attempt to find a replacement for legendary head coach Sean Payton.
How much so? New Orleans spent Tuesday interviewing former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores down at the Senior Bowl in Alabama.
Why is this so significant? Earlier in the day, Flores filed a class-action lawsuit against the NFL and its 32 teams — claiming racism within the hiring process around the league.
Flores’ allegations are damning. They also name the Saints as a defendent without actually pointing to the organization specifically.
The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, names the New York Football Giants, Miami Dolphins, Denver Broncos and the NFL as defendants. It also names the league’s 29 other teams. “John Doe Teams 1 through 29.” Yes, that includes the New Orleans Saints.
Related: New Orleans Saints head coach candidates to replace Sean Payton
New Orleans Saints still go through with Brian Flores interview
It’s not yet known the timing of the interview or whether the Saints’ brass caught wind of Flores’ lawsuit against the NFL before sitting down with him. Pure conjecture, but the team wasn’t about to back out given the context of said lawsuit.
Flores claims that his interview with the New York Giants for their head coach opening was a sham. In fact, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick allegedly mistakingly sent him a text three days before his interview indicating that Brian Daboll had gotten the job. As you likely already know, Daboll was introduced in Jersey earlier this week.
As for the Saints’ head-coaching opening, it appears that they are casting a wide net to replace Payton following his shocking resignation late last month.
Payton had been New Orleans’ head coach since all the way back in 2006 — leading the team to a Super Bowl title and nine playoff appearances in the process.