The franchise Sean Payton built may be ripped to shreds by the coach himself

Sean Payton was the architect of the New Orleans Saints for over a decade, so it only seems fitting that he may be the man who ends it all. Payton was hired as the Saints head coach all the way back in 2006, and by year four, he had brought the city it's one and only Super Bowl.

Given that he coached the team for well over a decade, the work wasn't done. After some shaky seasons going 7-9 in the 2014-2016 seasons, something needed to change; Payton needed to rebuild the New Orleans Saints yet again.

And in 2017, their second act began. From 2017-2020, the Saints went 49-15 in the regular season and 3-4 in the postseason. They weren't able to get over the hump, but the four-year success they had was obvious. After the 2021 NFL Season, Payton stepped away from the Saints and from coaching for a season.

Sean Payton is an evil genius and may have ended the Saints franchise as we know them now

In 2023, he was brought on as the newest head coach of the Denver Broncos. He's already gotten his hands all over this roster and coaching staff. The Broncos have reset at QB with a rookie and are now 4-3 in what many have considered to be a rebuiding year. At the same time that Payton is rebuilding an NFL team for a third time, he may have just put the final nail in the coffin for the New Orleans Saints, a team that has lost five games in a row and a franchise that has pushed a needed rebuild down the line for years.

This latest loss at the hands of Sean Payton may finally be the reality check that the Saints needed. With the NFL Trade Deadline in a couple of weeks, Saints' GM Mickey Loomis has to get honest with himself and embrace a rebuild, which really should have happened the second Payton left the building after 2021.

The Saints have a plethora of veteran players who just aren't long-term options with the team. New Orleans desperately needs the cap relief and could surely use the extra draft capital. Furthermore, the coaching staff is also likely needing to be replaced as well, and there are former Sean Payton staffers still with the Saints.

New Orleans truly needs a rip-it-down-to-the-studs rebuild, and this emotional and pathetic loss at the hands of Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos could be the thing that ends this era of Saints' football.