Saints Coach Sean Payton Steps Down; Mike Tomlin Now 2nd-Longest Tenured NFL Coach

New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton stepped down on Tuesday after 17 seasons, making Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin the NFL’s second-most tenured head coach.

Payton had been with the Saints since 2006, one season before Tomlin was hired by the Steelers. The two coaches coming into their positions at the same time have had strikingly similar careers.

Because he was suspended for the 2012 season due to the Saints’ bounty scandal, they have coached a similar number of games, with Peyton amassing a 152-89 record compared to Tomlin’s 154-85-2. Payton is 9-8 in the postseason, with Tomlin 8-9. Both coaches have won one Super Bowl.

With Payton stepping aside, Tomlin becomes the second-longest tenure head coach in the NFL, trailing only Bill Belichick who has been with the New England Patriots since 2000.

Tomlin is now the longest-tenured coach to have only coached with one team, having been with the Steelers one year longer than John Harbaugh has been with the Baltimore Ravens.

Payton said he is not interested in coaching in 2022, but has not made plans beyond that.