Sean Payton To Appeal Suspension


Sean Payton isn’t going to give up his head coaching job with the New Orleans Saints just yet.

Payton, who was suspended for the entire 2012 season due to his involvement with the Saints’ bounty program, has decided to appeal his suspension.

Fox Sports reports that Payton’s suspension was scheduled to begin this weekend but will be postponed due to his appeal. Goodell said earlier this week that he has planned for an expedited hearing process and a quick ruling in case Payton decided to appeal his suspension.

USA Today reports that Saints assistant head coach Joe Vitt has also appealed his six-game suspension.

Earlier this month the NFL found the Saints guilty of running an illegal bounty program that paid players bonuses for injuring their opponents. According to Fox, as much as $50,000 was offered to players for knocking a player out of the game.

Payton wasn’t directly involved with the bounty program but did know about the program’s existence. Goodell ruled that Payton did not do enough to stop defensive coordinator Gregg Williams from running the bounty program.

If Payton isn’t able to have his sentence reduced the Saints may look to Bill Parcells to take over as head coach. Parcells said:

“If the opportunity presents itself, I’ll think it over and clearly I’m in some phase of the process without knowing whether it’s going to become a reality… Sean’s become a dear, dear friend. I’m trying to be a friend.”

Do you think Sean Payton will be coaching the New Orleans Saints this season?

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