"For five seconds, I thought Sean Payton needed me to step up" - Taylor Lautner reveals the moment he thought he was going to play for the Saints

Movie megastar Taylor Lautner is a well-known New Orleans Saints and Sean Payton fan. The 29-year-old Twilight star made an appearance on Good Morning Football on the NFL Network and was asked about an incident that happened earlier in the year.

Lautner was asked to tell the viewers how loyal he was to his team and detailed a story of Sean Payton's kids pranking him into thinking the Saints head coach wanted him to play wide receiver.

"This was maybe one of the saddest moments of my life," Lautner said. "We were in Sean's suite watching the game. And Chris and Connor Payton, Sean’s sons, were sitting next to me, and Chris changed Connor’s name in his phone to Sean Payton. And it's halftime, huge game, I forget which game it was, but massive game.

That time Taylor Lautner really thought @seanpayton wanted him to play WR for the @saints 😂 (via @gmfb) https://t.co/pnLrDundih

"It's halftime. We're really weak at receiver going into this game, and then I think like Trequan gets hurt, or somebody gets hurt. And Chris has Connor text him, and I see Pop up on Chris's phone, Sean. I go, is Sean texting you right now at halftime? And he was like, yeah, let me see what he's saying.

Lautner later learned that Payton's sons had pranked him and for a fleeting moment thought his dream had come true.

"And he opens it up and it says, all caps 'send Taylor down now, need an extra receiver.' And my eyes light up. And I'm so dumb and gullible guys, like I'm the easiest person to get. For five full seconds, I thought that Sean needed me to step up and actually play wide receiver for the Saints and my every dream came true. I was like this is it. I can die happy. I'm done. And then they started laughing and my dreams were crushed,” Lautner finished.

What is next for Sean Payton?

With Payton stepping down as the Saints head coach with three years left on his current deal, many have been left wondering what is next for the 58-year-old.

Some have him moving into a TV role as an analyst, while others have suggested he could take a year off coaching to refresh his batteries. Rumors about him taking up the Dallas Cowboys head coach role have been gathering steam.

With the news of @SeanPayton's retirement today, he would first be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2027.

@Saints https://t.co/d3oIj9EJ69

He could have become the Cowboys coach in 2019 when Jerry Jones was close to firing Jason Garrett, but the deal fell through, thanks to Mickey Loomis, who was the Saints general manager but also the Pelicans' executive vice president of basketball operations.

With Anthony Davis requesting a trade to the Lakers at the same time the Saints coach was set to leave, Loomie did not want to be the common thread for the state to lose two sports superstars. As a result, the Saints coach stayed put.

The California-native was a quarterback at Naperville Central High School and Eastern Illinois University. He played professionally in with Chicago Bruisers (1987), Pittsburgh Gladiators (1987), Ottawa Rough Riders (1987), Chicago Bears (1987) and the Leicester Panthers in Britain in 1988. As a coach, he was an offensive assistant at San Diego State (1988-1989), a running backs coach and wide receivers coach at Indiana State (1990-1991, a running backs coach at San Diego State (1992-1993), an offensive coordinator at Miami (OH) (1994-1995), a quarterbacks coach at Illinois (1996), a quarterbacks coach for the Philidelphia Eagles (1997-1998), a quarterbacks coach for the New York Giants (1999), an offensive coordinator for the New York Giants (2000-2002), an assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach for the Dallas Cowboys (2000-2005) and the head coach of the New Orleans Saints (2006-2011, 2013-2021).

He won Super Bowl XLIV and was named AP Coach of the Year in 2006. As a head coach, his career record was 161-97 (.624).

Regardless of what happens with the 58-year-old's future, Taylor Lautner will never forget the time he thought the Saints coach was calling his number to take the field.