Source: Magic Johnson will not be next coach of Saints

We are all well versed now in the bounty program that the New Orleans Saints employed over the last few years. It landed a bunch of coaches in hot water, with head coach Sean Payton getting a full year suspension.

So, then the speculation turned to who would actually coach the Saints this season. Bill Parcells was a name that was brought up repeatedly, but has since been shot down. Now, OTR can cross another name off of that list: Magic Johnson.

A league source tells OTR that Magic Johnson will “absolutely not” be the next head coach of the New Orleans Saints.

“The Saints organization and [owner Tom] Benson absolutely loved Magic as a player and a head coach,” the source said. “They have nothing but the utmost respect for him, but just have no interest in hiring him as the head coach. He will absolutely not be the next guy in charge there. He was once considered a Rooney Rule candidate while a high-level team executive glanced at his autographed 1980 Championship photo, but that was it.”

As it is now, Joe Vitt is the interim head coach. But, he’s suspended for the first six games of the season, so the Saints will need an interim interim head coach for that duration. While we don’t know who it will be for sure yet, expect Magic’s name to resurface during the offseason and training camp.