The Colts Were In Negotiations With Sean Payton Before Signing Chuck Pagano To An Extension? Riiiiiight...

According to an NFL source, the Colts were negotiating with Sean Payton reps while Pagano talks were also happening. Talks broke down.

— Tom James (@TribStarTJames) January 5, 2016

Is this how it's going to be? I am going to have to deal with rumors even in situations where a team re-signs it's current head coach no more than a day after the season? I don't doubt that the Colts reached out to Sean Payton. They would be absolutely negligent not to. However, I am not sure I can sit here and agree that they entered into "negotiations" with Sean Payton. If were just going to believe everything the media has to say then the Saints were only asking for second round pick in exchange for their SuperBowl winning head coach. I have it on good authority (my own ability to process thought rationally) that that's not true, but if it were it seems like it would have a been a pretty cut and dry negotiation.

Let's just look at the timeline here. The season ended on Sunday. That means that the Colts probably didn't even get into contact with Sean Payton until yesterday. So in the span of one single day they  engaged in serious talks with him, had those talks break down, then negotiated with Chuck Pagano, AND announced his extension? That Jim Irsay must have been a busy little drug addict! I bet he increased the dosage of pure, uncut cocaine just to get through Black Monday. How long do you think he spoke with Sean Payton? An hour? What are we even talking about here? There's a difference between expediting a process and completely half-assing it, and I am pretty sure you know which side of the fence this falls on. If you are doing your due diligence in entering into legitimate negotiations with a person to lead your professional sports franchise then you don't begin at sun up and are over it by lunchtime. Even 'Tinder' "talks" last longer than that. Before Uber existed I spent more time haggling with taxi drivers. Pretty much every single person that has ever bought a car has spent more time bartering with the dealership. Jim Irsay may very well have reached out to check the sticker price on Sean Payton. However, the fact that Chuck Pagano was hired by the end of the day leads me to believe that not only is the asking price far higher than a second round pick, but also that we should believe NONE of the rumors that the media is incessantly spewing.