Saints’ Sean Payton responds to rumors that he’ll be next Cowboys coach...

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Saints' Sean Payton responds to rumors suggesting that he'll be the next Cowboys coach
Would the Saints coach leave New Orleans to take the Cowboys job?

If there's been one rumor this offseason that won't completely go away, it's the idea that Sean Payton might quit his job with Saints and eventually become coach of the Cowboys.

Although this story seems to pop up from time to time, it's been gaining some steam this offseason for a multitude of reasons. For one, Jason Garrett's contract is set to expire after the 2019 season and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones hasn't really given any indication that he plans to offer an extension to his current coach.

It's not clear why Garrett hasn't been given a new deal, but one theory being tossed around is that Jones is holding out because he's secretly hoping to hire Payton away from the Saints. Payton was once an assistant with the Cowboys (2003-05) and he currently owns a home in Dallas, which is part of the reason why his name keeps coming up when people talk about the Cowboys coaching job.

Not to mention, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported in March that Teddy Bridgewater was hesitant to sign a long-term deal with the Saints because there was a belief in his camp that Payton might eventually jump ship for the Cowboys job.

Bridgewater's camp seems to think that Payton will stay in New Orleans, but only until Drew Brees decides to retire.

So what does Payton think of all these rumors?

The longtime Saints coach finally revealed his thoughts during an interview with WWL-AM in New Orleans this week. Basically, Payton pointed out that the Cowboys rumor is something that he's had to deal with for the past few seasons.

"I'm in my 13th year. I don't know how to answer it," Payton said of the rumor, via the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "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."

Payton also pointed out that he's not going anywhere because he has the Saints logo tattooed all over his body.

"I've got fleur-de-lis tattoos that can't be erased," he said.

Although tattoos are nice, they're not permanent, which means Payton could take the Cowboys job and hit up a laser removal place on his way to Dallas. After kind of dancing around the Cowboys' coaching questions, Payton was eventually asked to be a little more specific about his future plans.

"That's clearly the plan [to stay in New Orleans]," Payton said.

The 55-year-old coach has been in New Orleans since 2006 and is currently the second-longest tenured coach in the NFL, behind only Bill Belichick. During his 12 seasons with the Saints, Payton has won a Super Bowl and amassed a regular season record of 118-74 .