Payton approaches Parcells about coaching Saints in 2012

There haven’t really been any eye-openers as far as links to the head coaching job of the New Orleans Saints in 2012 go. Well, how about this?

According to Chris Mortensen of ESPN, the currently-suspended Sean Payton has reached out to none other than Bill Parcells to coach the Saints next season.

Parcells won two Superbowl rings with the New York Giants, first in Superbowl XXI in 1987 and again four years later in Superbowl XXV in 1991.

He also led the New England Patriots to Superbowl XXXI in 1997, but lost to the Green Bay Packers. Parcells is currently enjoying his third retirement as a head coach having retired in 1991 before taking the Patriots job, and again in 1999 before being lured out by Jerry Jones to coach the Dallas Cowboys from 2003 to 2006, compiling a 34-32 record there.

Parcells also worked as the Executive Vice President of Football Operations for the Miami Dolphins (the same role that John Elway holds right now with the Denver Broncos). In his first season in the position, the Dolphins finished 11-5 and made the playoffs for the first time since 2001, after posting a 1-15 record the previous season but results after that were unspectacular. His relations with the team were severed after the 2010 season.

Landing Parcells, a certain future Hall of Famer, would be a huge coup for the Saints. However, it would probably be best to wait and see how Bill himself feels about the prospect of coming out of retirement again for one season, before getting ahead of ourselves.