Anthony Davis Reportedly Screwed Up Trade Cowboys Had In Place For Sean Payton

Anthony Davis owes Cowboys fans an apology.

Well, here’s one pretty wild story, and one that shows that anything can happen at the wrong time.

Apparently, the Dallas Cowboys had a trade in place to get then New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton back in 2019.

Unfortunately the deal was going to go down, but New Orleans Pelicans star Anthony Davis botched it. Davis wanted to get out of town himself.

Via Pro Football Talk…

“The year was 2019. The month, January. The Cowboys had won 10 of 16 games, along with a wild-card contest against the Seahawks. They lost to the Rams in the divisional round, 30-22. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones contemplated an upgrade from coach Jason Garrett to Sean Payton. Jones wanted to pull the trigger. Payton did, too. Things unfolded quickly. The Saints had played in the NFC Championship, losing to the Rams on January 20. That week, Jones quietly made his move.

It was a delicate situation, for various reasons. First, the Cowboys had a coach. Jones wouldn’t have fired Garrett unless he knew he could have gotten Payton. Second, league rules (specifically, the Rooney Rule) require a diverse and inclusive search. Third, Jones had to ultimately know that, after going through the motions of a search, he’d be able to get Payton. So a deal was worked out, behind the scenes. The Saints would have allowed the Cowboys to hire Payton. The Cowboys would have compensated the Saints for the rights to Payton’s contract. And Payton would have signed a new contract with the Cowboys.

It was ready to go. It was happening. It was locked, and it was loaded. Then came Monday, January 28. On that day, New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis announced he would not sign another contract with the team, and he requested a trade. (In July, the Pelicans traded him to the Lakers.) Gayle Benson owns both the Pelicans and the Saints. Saints G.M. Mickey Loomis was, as of January 2019, the executive vice president of basketball operations with the Pelicans. Once Davis made clear his intention to leave New Orleans, Loomis told Payton that Loomis couldn’t be the common thread between a pair of such high-profile Louisiana departures.”

See more

From Playmakers, a look at how close Sean Payton came to becoming the Cowboys coach in 2019 — and how Anthony Davis (yes, Anthony Davis) kept it from happening. https://t.co/4WdWFdgR6g

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) January 25, 2022

Sean Payton has been linked to the Cowboys for several years.

Now that’s he’s taking a sabbatical from coaching, you would have to think he might just end up as the Coach of The Cowboys when he’s ready to coach again.

Just several years later if not for AD.

---

Welcome to the game outside the game! Follow us on our Sideaction Twitter handle, Instagram, and Facebook for the latest on sports and pop culture news across the web!