Sean Payton stirs up Cowboys fans by picking Week 1 upset win

Longtime head coach Sean Payton shocked many when he chose to retire from coaching and walk away from the New Orleans Saints after 16 years. It was one of the first big news stories in an altogether wild offseason for the NFL.

Payton insisted he wanted to try his hand at broadcasting but others felt a return to coaching was imminent, especially for the Dallas Cowboys. Payton was an assistant head coach and QB coach with Dallas from 2003-2005 and is a known favorite of owner Jerry Jones. With Mike McCarthy on the hot seat, Payton may be persuaded to return to coaching with his former team if the 2022 season isn’t as good as Jones hoped it would be.

Of course, this is all speculation for now. But you can certainly expect that anytime issues come up with McCarthy or coaching is put in question this season, Payton’s name will be thrown into the fire. Until then, Payton has already begun his broadcasting career. The former head coach appeared on the very first episode FanDuel TV’s “Up & Adams” show, a new show hosted by former “Good Morning Football” host Kay Adams.

Adams asked Payton what is holding the Cowboys back and he literally responded by picking them to win their Week 1 matchup. Interesting.

Sean Payton picks the Cowboys to beat the Bucs and compliments Dan Quinn’s coaching

"“Look. They had a great season last year. It’s always disappointing when you put together what they did statistically. Both sides of the ball. They improved so much under Dan Quinn. Then, you don’t win that first playoff game, so that kind of overshadows all the things that went on that were really positive.I think it’ll be interesting. I like Dallas in this game. I think Dallas’ defense is improved again. I think Dan does a great job. Those guys play with great speed to the football, they’ll turn it over. I like them winning this game.”"

The Cowboys opened up as -1.5 point underdogs for this game, but Payton is still showing the team love despite the difficult Week 1 matchup. Responses to this tweet include comments like, “Sean already lobbying for that job,” and “Staying in Jerry’s good graces. Smart man.” Cowboys fans want the team to win tough matchups like this, and if Payton is the man to do it, then that’s clearly what they want to see.

It’s also funny to note that Payton solely praises the work of Dan Quinn. To be fair, Quinn did amazing things with his defensive group. But he makes no mention of Kellen Moore or offensively-minded McCarthy’s work with the team. Maybe that’s because he feels he knows what’s best for this team offensively? Who knows.

You can certainly expect Payton to be asked about his prediction, especially if the Cowboys don’t win this game.