Sean Payton to the Jacksonville Jaguars is an interesting trade scenario but it’s far from a guarantee or probable scenario for the New Orleans Saints head man.

Doug Marrone, current interim head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, has some serious connections to the New Orleans Saints. He helped build the team into a contender (and offensive juggernaut) before he left to coach Syracuse and then the Buffalo Bills.

Returning to the Saints would be a logical step Marrone. He has the history, the success, and the connections to help right a franchise that has finished 7-9 each of the last three seasons.

This has become a particularly prominent storyline in light of the continued rumors that Sean Payton, current Saints head coach, may be on the way out. This rumor pops up on an annual basis but hasn’t been able to carry weight to this point. Payton is the man who saved New Orleans and brought the Lombardi Trophy to the city when it was in crisis.

Still, the idea that the Saints may be willing to trade away Payton after his third straight lackluster season seems to have legs this time around. A rumor to be sure, it’s tempting to think about because of Payton’s history as a successful head coach, the need for an offensive-minded head man in Jacksonville, and the possibility of trading the coveted Marrone to make the deal happen.

At the core, though, this is just conjecture. Jason La Canfora cites undefined sources in his suggestion that the Saints are seriously considering Marrone as the right replacement. This isn’t the strongest endorsement that this is actually something that will move forward. Things are up in the air for many teams right now so it’s worth wondering about almost any coach’s fate right now, but this suggestion seems to ignore the benefits of a completely open head coaching search for the Jaguars.

Marrone joins numerous other possible head coaches for the Jaguars in an expansive search. His 1-1 record filling in for Gus Bradley isn’t perfect but he should be considered strongly because of his relationship with the Jags organization and the way the team responded to his leadership shift when he took over.

Aside from Marrone, the Jags have cast a wide net. Jags legend Tom Coughlin is in consideration, Hugh Freeze may get consideration from the collegiate ranks, and other names like Mike Smith and Kyle Shanahan are still bandied about with some regularity.

Rumors abound at this point. There are plenty of possibilities and directions the Jags could go in. Frankly, many of them are far more straightforward hires than negotiating a trade for a coach and locking in on that one solution now rather than checking all of the options out. The Jags job is appealing and the team holds the cards so long as they are in control rather than having to negotiate with another team that doesn’t have the Jags’ best interests at heart.