NFL Draft 2012

When events like your schedule release and draft become major events, you know your sport is popular. NFL fans all over the world will be tuning in tonight to see how their teams’ futures will be shaped. In all likelihood, the weakest ratings of any NFL city will probably come from New Orleans.

New Orleans Saints

As fans in the Big Easy know, the New Orleans Saints traded their first round 2012 NFL Draft pick to the New England Patriots for their 2011 first round pick. New Orleans used that first round draft pick to select Heisman winning RB Mark Ingram out of Alabama.

As everyone under the sun knows, the New Orleans Saints lost their second round 2012 NFL Draft pick to Roger Goodell. The loss of the 2012 second round pick was part of the Saints’ bounty punishments handed down by the NFL. Therefore, most fans in New Orleans are rather ambivalent about the first two rounds of the 2012 NFL Draft.

Moving up?

I’ll be watching the 2012 NFL Draft because Saints GM Mickey Loomis is a wizard. Loomis is a salary cap genius and despite the bounty penalties has made a number of outstanding 2012 free agent signings. Plus, in the wake of the eavesdropping nonsense, I wouldn’t put it past Loomis to have a surprise up his sleeve for the 2012 NFL Draft.

Besides the aforementioned Ingram move, the Saints once moved up in the NFL Draft to select Ricky Williams. I’m certainly not proposing New Orleans trade away all its picks in the 2012 NFL Draft to move up. I’m just saying Mickey Loomis may be looking to make a statement in tonight’s draft about the Saints playing to win in 2012.

Personal reflection

As a diehard, unapologetic Saints fan, I would love to see New Orleans end up getting a first round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft for one simple reason. I know how much it would aggravate all the Saints haters!

I remember reading the vitriol about Bill Parcells possibly becoming the New Orleans Saints head coach in 2012. People were mad that New Orleans would be replacing Sean Payton with a future Hall of Famer. Roger Goodell had to make a statement that the New Orleans Saints had the right to hire Parcells.

I would certainly have a very entertaining Thursday evening reading all the angry comments on the Internet if the Saints ended up with a first round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft after all. The rest of the NFL is going to have to face this simple fact whether they like it or not.

The 2012 New Orleans Saints have the best chance of playing in a Super Bowl in their hometown of any NFL team in history.

Patrick Michael lives in New Orleans and has always been a big fan of the New Orleans Saints. Patrick’s favorite Saints season was 2009 when New Orleans won Super Bowl 44.

Source

“2012 NFL Draft,” yahoo.com

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With their first pick in the 2012 draft, the New Olreans Saints select … tailback Mark Ingram from Alabama.

OK, that’s not exactly breaking news. But it’s worth a reminder, because Saints fans will feel so left out tonight while the rest of the NFL revels in its version of Christmas morning.

The Saints traded away their first-round pick last year, sending it along with their 2011 second-round pick to the New England Patriots to snag Ingram.

So was it worth it? The Saints certainly think so.

Although Ingram made only a modest impact as a rookie before ending the year on injured reserve with a toe injury, Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis is still high on the potential of the former Heisman Trophy winner.

“Everything we saw last year just makes us more excited about Mark Ingram,” Loomis said.

However, that trade may not have made sense for the Saints. But that’s mostly because running backs, in general, don’t appear to be worth premier draft picks in today’s NFL — especially not the way the Saints rotate them in and out of their versatile offense.

The Saints’ defense needs more young impact athletes, especially pass rushers, and those guys are harder to find later in the draft.

However, Ingram did show some impressive traits last year and can absolutely become an impact player.

And it was understandable why the Saints placed such an importance on the tailback position at this time last year, when they didn’t know about the health of Pierre Thomas and Chris Ivory and didn’t know they’d be adding dynamic playmaker Darren Sproles in free agency.

The Saints have proven in a variety of ways how important it is to have depth at tailback, and their offense has been even more dynamic when it’s balanced by a running game. That was certainly the case last season, when they had the most prolific offense in NFL history.

Former NFL general manager Charley Casserly, who serves as an analyst for the NFL Network and CBS, said he never liked trading future picks. But he said the “logic was sound” when the Saints did it last year because they “traded for a guy who was worth the pick.”

“When they took him, it was where he should have gone,” Casserly said. “And looking at them, they knew their team certainly better than anybody else. Pierre Thomas was coming off injury. And the running game was important to them. They’re at their best when they run the ball. So I understand all those things completely.

“In hindsight, obviously, maybe they wouldn’t do it again, because he was injured. But I understood the concept at the time.”

Ingram is expected to be fully healthy in plenty of time for the 2012 season after having surgery to repair his toe in January.

He has been participating in conditioning drills at Saints camp the past two weeks, and interim coach Joe Vitt said he looked to be in “excellent” shape when he saw him.

“I talked to (trainer Scottie Patton) the other day,” said Vitt, who said he thinks Ingram will be “pretty close” to 100 percent by the start of on-field practices on the week of May 21. “He said his rehab is right on time. He’s in here every day. He’s chomping at the bit to go.

“If you ask him, I think he’d say yes. But Scottie is going to monitor that.”

Like most NFL players, Ingram should be even better in Year 2, now that he has a year of experience.

It’s pretty clear that he won’t be used as an “every-down” back, because the Saints are so loaded at the position. But the 5-foot-9, 215-pounder has the skill set to emerge as the leading man in the rotation.

“We would have no problem handing him the ball 20 times a game if we needed to,” said Loomis, who rattled off a list of the things the team likes about Ingram:

“His vision, his inside running ability, his versatility,” Loomis said. “All the things we thought we were going to get when we drafted him.”

Although Ingram doesn’t have breakaway speed or overwhelming power, he has a good combination of both. And he seems to have great feet and great instincts. He made a dazzling first impression on onlookers and his teammates during training camp last summer.

Ingram gave the Saints’ defensive players fits, sometimes zig-zagging through traffic, sometimes turning the corner with a burst and sometimes running over someone. He looked great in preseason games, as well.

Then he stalled a bit during the regular season, where he was solid but unspectacular during the first half of the year. He started to make his biggest impact around midseason (91 yards on 14 carries vs. the Colts; 80 yards on 13 carries vs. the Giants) before a nasty case of turf toe ended his season after Week 13.

Ingram actually wound up leading the Saints in carries (122), despite missing six games with heel and toe injuries. He only finished third on the team with 474 rushing yards, though, while averaging 3.9 yards per carry. That was partly because he was in on so many short-yardage situations, and partly because Sproles, Thomas and Ivory had more dynamic runs.

Sure, Ingram said last month, he set high goals for himself and would have preferred more of a breakout rookie year. But he never complained about sharing the workload and insisted he’s eager to fit in wherever the team needs him — which is no small thing for such a former high-profile college star.

There’s plenty to like about Ingram. And plenty of reasons to expect big things from him in the future.

So while the Saints may have sapped some of the suspense from this year’s draft, they’ve still got a chance to wind up with one of the best picks.

•••••••

Mike Triplett can be reached at mtriplett@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3405.

NEW ORLEANS—The New Orleans Saints denied an anonymously sourced ESPN report on Monday which alleges that general manager Mickey Loomis’ booth in the Superdome was wired so he could listen to opposing coaches’ radio communications during games.

ESPN could not determine if the system was ever used. The report on Monday’s Outside the Lines said Loomis would have been able to eavesdrop on opponents from 2002 to 2004. The report also said the system was disabled in 2005, when the Superdome was heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Saints spokesperson Greg Bensel called the report “1,000 per cent false.”

“We asked ESPN to provide us evidence to support their allegations and they refused,” Bensel said. “The team and Mickey are seeking all legal recourse regarding these false allegations.”

If the Saints had installed a system allowing them to listen in on their opponents it would have violated NFL rules and also could have infringed on federal wire-tapping laws.

“We were not aware of it,” league spokesperson Greg Aiello said. “We have no knowledge of the allegations.”

FBI spokesperson Sheila Thorne said the agency’s New Orleans office was aware of the situation, but wouldn’t comment further. U.S. Attorney Jim Letten in New Orleans also said his office had been told about “general allegations” involving the Saints and possible wiretapping, but he did not elaborate. Letten declined to discuss who made the allegations, and whether they involved Loomis or any other Saints officials.

For the Saints, the report in itself added to a slew of recent bad publicity, which began in early March when the NFL released a report describing a crunch-for-cash bounty system that provided improper cash bonuses to defensive players who delivered hits that hobbled targeted opponents.

Commissioner Roger Goodell has suspended head coach Sean Payton for the entire 2012 season in connection with the bounty probe. Loomis, who did not comment directly on the latest report, was suspended for the first half of the regular season and assistant head coach Joe Vitt was suspended six games.

The team also lost its second-round pick in this week’s NFL draft and was fined $500,000. Goodell took away the Saints’ second-round pick in 2013 as well, but has said he may lessen that punishment if he is satisfied with the club’s co-operation in the ongoing investigation.

The NFL still has yet to hand down punishment to between 22 and 27 current and former Saints defensive players whom the league has said participated in the bounty program.

For more than three months, the New Orleans Saints and their devoted fans have known whom and where they would play in the 2012 NFL season. On Tuesday evening, they finally found out when.

The league released its schedule on the NFL Network, and for the second consecutive year, the Saints have four prime-time games. This year’s slate includes a “Monday Night Football” appearance against the Philadelphia Eagles on Nov. 5 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

It also includes Sunday night games against the San Diego Chargers (Oct. 7 at the Superdome) and the Denver Broncos (Oct. 28 at Mile High Stadium). The Saints meet their archrival Atlanta Falcons in their final prime-time game of the season, a Thursday night contest Nov. 29 at the Georgia Dome.

The Saints have six games against teams that advanced to the playoffs last season — two with the Falcons and one each with the Green Bay Packers, Broncos, San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants. Two are at home, the Falcons on Nov. 11 and the 49ers on Nov. 25.

The schedule is the 11th toughest in the 32-team NFL based on their opponents’ winning percentage last season. But it figures to be a bit more daunting, given the Saints will play the entire season without Coach Sean Payton, who was suspended for his role in a pay-for-performance bounty scandal.

Complicating matters more, New Orleans interim head coach Joe Vitt will miss the first six games of the season, and General Manager Mickey Loomis is suspended for the first eight games. That translates to seven weeks for Vitt and nine for Loomis because the Saints’ bye week comes after the fifth game.

“This is a very difficult schedule for any team, even if they had Sean Payton,” NFL Network analyst and former NFL coach Steve Mariucci said. “So it’s going to be interesting with four prime-time games how the Saints will rally the troops and will find a way back into the playoffs.”

Surprisingly, three of the Saints’ most anticipated matchups — at the Packers, who beat the Saints in last season’s NFL opener, home against the 49ers, who eliminated the Saints from the playoffs last season, and at the New York Giants, who won the Super Bowl title last season — didn’t make the prime-time cut. The schedule-makers decided to place all three games in Fox’s late-afternoon slots.

The Saints apparently caught a break with their early schedule. The Saints haven’t chosen Vitt’s replacement yet, but whoever he is won’t have to face the toughest part of the schedule.

Of the Saints’ first six games, only one is against a team that had a winning record last season — the Packers (15-1).

The other five opponents to open the season — the Washington Redskins (5-11), Carolina Panthers (6-10), Kansas City Chiefs (7-9), San Diego Chargers (8-8) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-12) — had a combined record of 30-50.

Vitt will return for the Sunday night game against the Broncos and quarterback Peyton Manning, a New Orleans native who’ll be playing in his first season with Denver after spending his first 13 NFL seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. He missed all of last season while recovering from neck surgery.

“It should also be pointed out that if the NFL would like to sweep this thing under the rug and not have anybody talk about it, that the interim to the interim head coach is going to be on national television on NBC in Week 5 (against) San Diego, and that Joe Vitt’s first game back is going to be on Sunday night football on NBC against Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos, which are going to have a few eyeballs on it,” NFL Network analyst Rich Eisen said. “Then they are on national television two more times, including once on the NFL Network against the Atlanta Falcons, which is an annual slobber-knocker.”

There are a few other notable highlights to the schedule:

For the fourth time in five seasons the Saints will open the regular season at home. They kick off against the Redskins on Sept. 9.

For the fourth time in six years, New Orleans will close the regular season against NFC South rival Carolina (Dec. 30 at the Superdome).

The Saints might avoided a freezing-weather game, as their game against the Packers at Lambeau Field is Sept. 30 when the average temperature in Green Bay, Wisc., is between 47 and 62 degrees. And their game against the Giants is Dec. 9, when the average temperature in New York typically is in the low 40s.

The toughest part of the Saints’ schedule appears to be a three-game stretch from Nov. 25 to Dec. 9 when they will face three consecutive NFC playoff teams. New Orleans will host the NFC West champion 49ers on Nov. 25 at the Superdome, then travel to the Falcons on Nov. 29, then to the Giants on Dec. 9.

NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Saints have named Joe Vitt as interim coach, despite the top assistant’s six-game suspension for his role in the club’s bounty system.

The Saints had to find a one-season replacement for head coach Sean Payton, whose season-long suspension in connection with the bounty scandal begins Monday and runs through the next February’s Super Bowl.

New Orleans general manager Mickey Loomis said in the release Thursday that Vitt will take over on Monday.

“It is important that we keep Sean Payton’s philosophy front and centre during this season,” Loomis said Thursday. “Sean has been the driving force behind the tremendous success our team has enjoyed during the past six years, his leadership will be missed. But we need to set a course of action that gives us the best chance to win this season without our head coach. … We considered a number of great options to handle Payton’s duties both internally and externally, but believe this will provide the most seamless transition for our players and our coaching staff, allowing our offensive and defensive staffs to remain intact with the fewest changes.

“This is the same structure we used last season during Sean’s knee injury.”

Vitt, who carries the titles of assistant head coach and linebackers coach, briefly stepped in as interim head coach last season when Payton broke his leg. Vitt also was interim coach with St. Louis in 2005 before joining Payton in his first season with New Orleans in 2006.

Vitt will be able to oversee the off-season training program and training camp, before stepping aside for the first third of the regular season.

The NFL played no role in the decision-making process.

“It’s the Saints’ decision,” NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said, adding the team did not have to get approval from the league to make Vitt the interim coach.

The Saints did not say what their plans will be during Vitt’s six-game suspension.

“We will work through the off-season under this plan and when we get to training camp we will decide on a course of action for the first six weeks of the season, while Joe Vitt is unavailable,” Loomis said. “We are fortunate to have a great veteran coaching staff well equipped to handle this challenge. Joe and Sean have worked closely together to build our program, one of the most successful in the NFL in the past six years, and I have the fullest confidence that Joe will continue that success that Sean has brought us.”

The Saints’ assistants who can pick up the slack during Vitt’s absence include: offensive co-ordinator Pete Carmichael, offensive line coach Aaron Kromer and new defensive co-ordinator Steve Spagnuolo.

_ Carmichael, who also joined the Saints in 2006, began calling plays after Payton’s injury last season. Payton allowed Carmichael to continue calling plays through the final 10 regular season games of 2011 as the Saints went 9-1 and broke numerous NFL offensive records.

_ Kromer, who also oversees the running game, will be entering his fifth season in New Orleans and like Carmichael has been mentioned as an up-and-coming head coaching candidate around the NFL.

_ Spagnuolo, who was a head coach in St. Louis the past three seasons and defensive co-ordinator for the New York Giants’ 2007-08 Super Bowl winning team.

The decision gives Saints players a measure of certainty and direction as Monday’s first day of the off-season training program approaches.

Still looming, however, are possible punishments for between 22 and 27 current and former Saints defenders that the NFL says participated in the crunch-for-cash bounty system that disgraced former Saints defensive co-ordinator has apologized for running for the previous three seasons.

The league’s investigation found that Williams’ bounty system offered off-the-books cash payments of $1,500 for “knockouts,” in which an opposing player was knocked out of a game, or $1,000 for “cart-offs,” in which an opponent needed help off the field. The league has said the bounty pool grew as large as $50,000.

The investigation also found that Payton initially lied about the existence of a bounty program and instructed his defensive assistants to do the same.

Loomis received an eight-game suspension for failing to ensure the program was stopped after the NFL first asked him to do so in early 2010.

The franchise, meanwhile, was fined $500,000 and docked second-round draft choices this year and next, although NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has said he may lessen the 2013 penalty by modifying which pick the Saints lose if the club co-operates with the NFL’s ongoing probe.

Williams, who was hired as defensive co-ordinator in St. Louis after last season, has been suspended indefinitely. His penalty will be up for review after next season.

So the New Orleans Saints’ decision to appeal the NFL penalties for their involvement and administration of a bounty program wasn’t fruitless after all.

In fact, it bore a couple of potentially important fruits.

The key word there is “potentially.”

The Saints need to keep their house in order and follow the league’s directives. If so,  NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has dangled a couple of carrots for them as post-suspension rewards.

First, if the Saints cooperate with the NFL and “assist in the development and implementation of programs to instruct players and coaches at all levels on principles of player safety, fair play, and sportsmanship” the league will consider “modifying” the forfeiture of their 2013 second-round draft pick.

In other words, if the Saints keep their noses clean and work with the league on some of their player-safety programs they could get their second-round pick back next season. That’s big.

Also, the league said it will consider reducing the financial penalties on some individuals. Not sure exactly that means because the only financial penalties the league imposed were to the Saints organization, to the tune of $500,000. However, that can only be good news for those involved.

The appeal bought the Saints two weeks of extra time for preparation and planning for the looming transition. Head coach Sean Payton’s suspension was supposed to begin on April 1. It now will begin on April 16.

The Saints now have a week to get their ducks in a row – pardon the pun — before Payton steps aside. Coincidentally, the Saints’ offseason conditioning program begins on Monday, as well.

In a perfect world, the Saints would announce an interim head coach by Monday but this is such an unprecedented situation they might choose to wait before doing so. This is a huge decision and general manager Mickey Loomis and owner Tom Benson would be wise to take their time making it. After all, the head coach isn’t really needed to administer the conditioning program. If the Saints are ready to name an interim head coach by Monday then so be it. But it’s not absolutely necessary.

Palm Beach, Fla. – Speaking out for the first time since a bounty scandal rocked the New Orleans Saints and cast a pall over the most successful run in team history, Coach Sean Payton said Tuesday he accepts his one-year suspension and vowed to return in 2013.

Payton, looking crisp and composed, spoke in the lobby of The Breakers hotel where the Saints and the explosive allegations against the organization have dominated the NFL owners’ spring meeting. 

Yet while there was unmistakable contrition in Payton’s demeanor there was also a touch of the provocateur, because less than a week after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s unprecedentedly severe punishment sidelined Payton and put a seemingly indelible stain on his football resume, Payton managed to resurrect the Saints’ 2012 hopes and turn the discussion of the team in a positive direction.

He did so by allowing the club has pursued the prospect of hiring coaching legend Bill Parcells as a temp. The idea remained gauzy and young Tuesday morning, and nothing will happen without the approval of owner Tom Benson, but it was clear the notion the two-time Super Bowl winning coach and mentor to Payton was under serious consideration as the man who would guide New Orleans this season.

Indeed, although he has not addressed the NFL’s allegations the Saints paid cash bonuses for plays that sought to injure opponents from 2009 to 2011, the first question Payton fielded Tuesday concerned Parcells, not bounties.

“I think we’re a little ahead of ourselves just in regards to that,” Payton began. “No. 1, I kind of speak to him pretty regularly and I’ll have a chance to visit with him while I’m down here, but that would involve (general manager) Mickey (Loomis), myself, Mr. Benson and my conversations with Bill to date have just been about the uniqueness with this situation.”

Describing Parcells as nothing less than a father figure to him, Payton laid out some elements of the case for offering Parcells the job, while reiterating talks between him and Parcells would have occurred regardless when Payton finds himself on Florida’s east coast. The real spadework was expected Tuesday afternoon when Saints officials reportedly met with Parcells to discuss the matter.

“We really haven’t gotten into it,” Payton said. “I’ve really called him more as just a mentor, someone just to shoot some ideas off. That would be very consistent with what I do regardless – obviously this is different but I speak to him pretty regularly in regards to advice. So the dialogue I have with him would be pretty normal especially in this area. For me to be down here and if I didn’t call him or try to set up a time to try to see him I’d probably get his wrath. The specifics in regards to him coaching, that would be something that Mickey and I and our owner and Bill would deal with at a later time.”

The fit between Parcells, who won two NFL titles with the Giants and also took the Patriots to Super Bowl XXXI in New Orleans, and the Saints would be a snug one, Payton argued.

“You’re asking me what are his great strengths and I would say to you, he’s a great teacher, certainly I’m biased having worked with him, but he’s a Hall of Fame head coach,” Payton said. “And I would also say there are some things set up probably within the framework of our program that would be exactly how he would have set those things up had he been the head coach here back in ’06 so there’s some carryover that way.”

Still, while Parcells offered a diverting sheen to what has been a sordid month for the Saints and their fans, it could not completely sweep clear the debris left by the bounty scandal and Goodell’s harsh crackdown. In addition to Payton’s suspension, the Saints likely will be without Loomis for the first eight games of the 2012 season and assistant head coach/linebackers coach Joe Vitt for six. Goodell stripped the club of second-round picks in the next two drafts and fined it $500,000.

Those were sobering issues, Payton acknowledged.

“They’ve been difficult, challenging,” he said of his last few days. “It’s interesting, you find out how close some of your friends are and I said this in our statement our fans back in New Orleans have been amazing.”

Both the enormity and the singular nature of his situation hit him, Payton said, when he arrived in Palm Beach for the spring meeting which is generally a relaxed affair in posh surroundings that are welcomed by the well-heeled owners, managers and coaches.

“I think the biggest challenge is, you know, driving in here this morning this will probably be, 39 years, you know as a Pop Warner player, as a high school player, a college player and then a college coach, professional coach, this potentially is the first of 39 years where you’re not directly involved in football for a season,” Payton mused.

His suspension is slated to begin Sunday and he has until Monday to file an appeal, Goodell said this week. The chances Goodell would reduce the high-profile justice he meted out so recently seem slim, although Payton said at a minimum an appeal might provide an opportunity to better understand the parameters of his suspension.

“We haven’t decided yet,” Payton said when asked if he would appeal. “There’s kind of a checklist, there’s a lot to do here in a short period of time as you can imagine with the draft coming up, with our specific coaching staff. So I’m trying to get through all of that really very quickly and I think by the end of this month we’ll make a decision on that.”

As to just what his immediate future holds Payton conceded he did not know. Goodell said Monday a role as a television analyst was not off limits and Payton wryly noted, “you would, in my position, just try to keep all your options open.”

The suspension reportedly will cost Payton some $5.8 million in lost income.

That whopping hit, as well as those broader blows delivered to the Saints, came about in part because Payton and other top Saints officials dissembled for years when the NFL confronted them with the bounty issue, according to Goodell. In fact, with the exception of Benson, the NFL report indicates every Saints coach or executive denied and fabricated when confronted by league investigators.

On that point Payton seemed far less apologetic, however. He did not quibble with Goodell’s punishment and said he had little concern for the fact pay-for-performance schemes – albeit without the injurious element – have emerged as something of a commonplace in NFL locker rooms since the league made public its accusation against the Saints. But Payton clearly chafed at the depiction of him as being considerably less than forthright, one Goodell painted again at his Monday press conference.

“I saw part of what he said and specifically I don’t know that he made mention of that directly to me,” Payton began. “That being said, we take his office very seriously and the role he has. In the two trips to New York I made sure to do everything in my power to answer the questions honestly.”

But if Payton chose to parse closely his approach to the NFL investigation – the word, “sorry,” was not uttered Tuesday – he was unequivocal in his stated intention to return to the game in 2013 and to do so at the same high, successful level he attained prior to the scandal.

“Certainly you take lumps and I’ve taken them before, but I look forward to getting back and I look forward to winning and being successful and being a part of it,” he said. “But that being said, I look forward to getting back to this position, I look forward to winning and we’ll do that.”

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) Sean Payton has planned the New Orleans Saints’ offseason program, done some work on the upcoming draft and jotted down ideas for the start of training camp.

And now, with his season-long suspension set to begin Sunday, Payton is checking to see if mentor Bill Parcells would run the team while he serves his penalty for allowing a Saints assistant coach and players to run a bounty system.

Speaking publicly for the first time since the Saints were sanctioned for trying to take out specific opponents, Payton said Tuesday he will soon decide whether to appeal his suspension, something Commissioner Roger Goodell has said he can do through Monday.

Payton also said he was meeting with Parcells – who lives near the site of this week’s NFL meetings – to discuss the plan for the season.

”For me to be down here, if I didn’t call him or try to set up a time to see him, I’d probably get his wrath,” Payton said.

Payton arrived at the league meetings about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, and talked for 18 minutes with reporters in a resort hotel’s lobby. He left for a breakfast meeting and departed shortly past 10 a.m., presumably for a meeting with Parcells. Payton said he, general manager Mickey Loomis – who is facing an eight-game suspension – and team owner Tom Benson are weighing a number of scenarios.

Among them: Does Parcells want to coach?

”I think it would just be considering all options, to be fair and really trying to do our homework on each option before making a decision,” Payton said.

If Payton appeals, Goodell said he would ”probably” allow him to continue working past the intended start of his suspension. Goodell also has said he would expedite the appeal process and his decision, meaning Payton might only get a few more days of work before having to step aside.

The NFL’s investigation in New Orleans found that Payton initially lied to league investigators about the bounty program, at first denying its existence, and also instructed his defensive assistants to lie. Payton twice has apologized for his role in the bounty system, which offered payouts for knocking out opponents, saying he takes ”full responsibility” for the program that operated for three years under his watch.

As many as 27 players could also face sanctioning for their role in the bounty scandal.

”As the head coach, anything that happens in the framework of your team and your program, you’re responsible for,” Payton said. ”And that’s a lesson I’ve learned. And it’s one that it’s easy to get carried away in regards to a certain side of the ball or more involved offensively or defensively. And that’s something that I regret.”

Payton said he is fully confident that he will coach the Saints again in 2013. He remained composed throughout his surprise interview Tuesday – NFC coaches were not scheduled to meet the media until Wednesday – although he did say that the day’s ”biggest challenge” was the realization that for the first time in 39 years, he may not have an active role in football as a player or coach.

”You go through a range of emotions that kind of hit you,” the 48-year-old Payton said. ”You’re disappointed. You’re disappointed in yourself that it got to this point. I think we’re trained as coaches to begin preparation right away. I find myself reflecting on it, and you go through a lot of emotions.”

He touched on several topics. Asked if he may work in broadcasting this season, Payton said anyone in his position would keep their options open. Asked about Gregg Williams, the former Saints defensive coordinator who ran the program and has been suspended indefinitely, Payton said he has not had contact with him about the penalties. Asked if bounties were what he envisioned when he asked Williams to build a defense, he replied, ”No, obviously not.”

Also unclear: How much contact Payton will be able to have with the Saints during his suspension.

”I think it’s easier with a player because it exists, in other words, that protocol exists,” Payton said. ”But this is different. So what specifically are the guidelines, and then let’s make sure we follow them. I think that process will take place and we’ll continue to communicate and really acquiesce to the league in regards to, ‘Hey, how do you see these specific things being followed?”’

Much of the conversation revolved around Parcells, the two-time Super Bowl winner as a coach who hired Payton as an offensive assistant in Dallas in 2003 and was a finalist for the Hall of Fame this season.

”He’s a great teacher,” Payton said. ”Certainly I’m biased, having worked with him. But he’s a Hall of Fame head coach. And I would also say there’s some things probably set up in the framework of our program that would be exactly how he would have set those things up had he been the head coach here in ’06. So there’s some carry-over that way.”

If Parcells returned to the sideline, he may have to wait another five years before becoming eligible for the Hall of Fame again. Parcells, who turns 71 in August, may not want to wait that long. Asked by Sports Illustrated on Monday if he had a desire to coach another team, Parcells said, ”I don’t think so.”

In addition to the suspensions for Payton and Loomis, the league suspended assistant head coach Joe Vitt for six games. Goodell also fined the Saints $500,000 and took away second-round draft choices in 2012 and 2013.

Goodell acknowledged on Monday that ”non-contract bonus payments” – such as bounties – have been found around the league. The commissioner insisted the practice would be discontinued.

Arthur Blank, owner of NFC South rival Atlanta, praised Goodell’s strong punishment.

”I think he dealt with it appropriately,” Blank told ESPN.com. ”I think it will be one of the most significant decisions he’ll ever make as the commissioner. I think he’ll be the commissioner for the next 30 years and I think people will look back and say he sent a message to the teams, the players, the coaches, everybody in the NFL and sent a message to the fans that, ‘This is not what we’re going to have in this league.’ ”

Payton would not argue he was being scapegoated.

”No, I accept this,” Payton said. ”I’ve heard that argument and I think trying to really look closely at how we and how I can improve has been probably a better way for me to handle this than to kind of vent or look outwardly at other programs. I try to take that approach.”

For a franchise that dealt with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and then captured its first Super Bowl four seasons later, now comes more tumult of the self-inflicted variety.

Payton said he first learned of the bounty program at the end of that Super Bowl season. He said Tuesday he didn’t want this chapter to ”taint or tarnish” the team’s recent success.

”We’ll get through this,” Payton said. ”This will be a challenge. … You know, we’ve gone through a lot of adversity and we’ve won a lot of games in really a short window of time. And I know our players are leaders both within the locker room and the coaching staff will look at this as a challenge and a little bit as an opportunity.”

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AP Pro Football Writer Barry Wilner in Palm Beach and AP Sports Writer Brett Martel in New Orleans contributed to this story.

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Follow Tim Reynolds on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ByTimReynolds

Palm Beach, Fla. – New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton, staring at a one year suspension from the game he loves because of the bounty scandal, allowed Tuesday he’s still wrapping his mind around the punishment he has received from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. But Payton carefully noted he is not complaining.

“You go through a range of emotions that kind of hit you,” he said. “You’re disappointed, you’re disappointed in yourself that it got to this point. And then I think we’re trained as coaches to begin preparation right away and I find myself reflecting on it and you go through a lot of emotions.

“Certainly you take lumps and I’ve taken them before, but I look forward to getting back and I look forward to winning and being successful and being a part of it,” Payton said in the lobby of The Breakers hotel. “I think the biggest challenge is, you know, driving in here this morning this will probably be, 39 years, you know as a Pop Warner player, as a high school player, a college player and then a college coach, professional coach, this potentially is the first of 39 years where you’re not directly involved in football for a season. But that being said, I look forward to getting back to this position, I look forward to winning and we’ll do that.

“They’ve been difficult, challenging,” he said of the six days since Goodell slammed the Saints with suspensions, lost draft pick and a hefty fine. “It’s interesting, you find out how close some of your friends are and I said this in our statement our fans back in New Orleans have been amazing. My peers, guys that I’m very close with in this league, the players on our team, really it’s like a family and so that’s the thing that gets you through something like this.”

Since the NFL announced the Saints employed a bounty system from 2009 to 2011 that paid cash bonuses for plays seeking to injure opponents – a thing neither Payton nor any Saints players have specifically admitted – it has become clear ‘pay for performance’ schemes are not unusual in the NFL. Goodell acknowledged that fact Monday.

Payton insisted no player was seriously injured as a result of the Saints plan, but he said he doesn’t see that as a mitigating factor in the scandal. And he’s not entertaining the notion he has paid a steep price for behavior that, if not widespread, is far from uncommon.

“No, I accept this,” he said. “I’ve heard that argument and I think trying to really look closely at how we and how I can improve has been probably a better way for me to handle this than to try to vent or look outwardly at other programs and I’ve tried to take that approach.”

Despite growing speculation New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton would not arrive at the NFL owners’ meeting here today – or perhaps at all – league sources said Monday Payton was en route. He is expected to participate in meetings beginning tomorrow morning, according to league sources.

Payton was reportedly arriving Monday morning, and the hottest topic during the meeting’s first day was if and when he would speak with reporters. The coach has not taken questions or appeared in public since Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended him for the 2012 season in the wake of the Saints bounty scandal.

Team officials insist there has never been any consideration of skipping the meeting or keeping Payton away. Rather, the work has been focused on logistics; namely, trying to find a time and a place where Payton can address the media without creating a circus-like atmosphere at The Breakers, the venerable seaside pile hosting this year’s meeting.

The NFL has conducted business as usual with the Saints as a kind of furious backdrop. Former President Bill Clinton addressed the owners Sunday night and Goodell Monday morning, and since then committees have been holed up discussing proposed rule changes, financial matters and the like.

Saints owner Tom Benson, who arrived in Palm Beach last week, has been an active participant in those meetings. He is joined here by the team’s executive vice presidents Dennis Lauscha and Rita Benson LeBlanc, as well as general manager Mickey Loomis whom Goodell suspended for the first 8 games of the upcoming season.

Neither Benson nor the other club executives have fielded questions here, prefering instead to slip in and out of meetings through back channels.

Goodell is slated to hold the first of his scheduled two press conferences of the meeting around 4 p.m. CST today. The AFC coaches will hold their press conferences tomorrow morning, with their NFC counterparts set for Wednesday, although it seems unlikely Payton will participate in that event.

Payton also skipped the coaches’ group photo taken Monday. Of the league’s 32 head coaches, only Payton and Patriots Coach Bill Belichick were missing.

METAIRIE, Louisiana — Former Atlanta Falcons linebacker Curtis Lofton has agreed to a five-year contract with the New Orleans Saints.

Lofton, who was an unrestricted free agent, started all 16 games at middle linebacker for the Falcons last season. Jonathan Vilma is the Saints’ current starting linebacker and defensive captain, but Lofton also has the ability to play other linebacker spots.

“Curtis is a versatile, hard-working player that has displayed a knack for being around the football, and more importantly, making plays on the ball,” Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said Saturday night in a release.

“He has the ability to play all three linebacker positions and we feel that he’s just entering the prime of his career. We think he can come to New Orleans and fit in well and provide us with a significant contribution to our defense.”

The 6-foot, 241-pound Lofton was a second-round draft choice by the Falcons in 2008 and has started 63 of his 64 games.

In four seasons, Lofton has been credited with 577 tackles, four sacks, three interceptions, seven forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and 15 passes defended.

The former Oklahoma standout led the Falcons with a career-high 170 tackles last season, to go along with a sack, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and two interceptions, one of which he ran back 26-yards for a touchdown.

The Saints were recently punished by the NFL for a bounty system, and Vilma’s name appeared in the report by the league. Commissioner Roger Goodell has said he will deal with player punishment at a later date.

New Saints defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has been putting his stamp on the team — as part of the scouting department.

The Saints agreed to a three-year contract Friday with weakside linebacker Chris Chamberlain, who played under Spagnuolo with the St. Louis Rams the past three years. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Chamberlain, 26, had the best season of his four-year career in 2011, starting 13 games and making 82 tackles, two sacks, intercepting one pass and forcing a fumble.

“I’m extremely excited to not only work with (Spagnuolo) but to join up with a team that’s a proven winner with great coaches, great players and a great fan base,” Chamberlain said. “I’m thrilled to join the team and happy to be a part of the success. I hope we can keep the ball rolling.”

Chamberlain (6 feet 1, 238 pounds) is primarily a weakside linebacker and is also a special teams standout. It’s unclear if the Saints view him as a replacement, or as competition, for veteran starter Scott Shanle. They also might consider moving Shanle to strongside. The Saints are also expected to bring back backup weakside linebacker Jonathan Casillas, who is a restricted free agent.

Shanle is due to receive $1.75 million in salary and bonuses in the final year of his contract, all of which could be saved against the cap by releasing him. And the Saints are short on salary-cap space. They began Friday with $1.28 million in cap space, according to espn.com’s Pat Yasinskas.

Chamberlain said he expects to play weakside linebacker for the Saints, but he said they didn’t get into specifics about who would start.

“The way they told it to me was they’re trying to bring in all the best players they can to help the team, and let all that play out on the field,” Chamberlain said. “I just plan to compete for a starting job, help on special teams and get going. I want to help this team in any way I can and start meeting teammates and earning their trust.”

The Saints have also visited with high-profile free-agent linebackers Curtis Lofton and David Hawthorne, both primarily middle linebackers who could still be in the mix.

Chamberlain is no stranger to competition. A seventh-round pick from Tulsa in 2008, he didn’t begin 2010 or 2011 as a starter, but he finished as the starter both seasons.

Last season, the Rams signed three free-agent linebackers after the lockout, but within a month, Chamberlain had a hold on the starting job.

“Yeah, they brought in a lot of guys,” Chamberlain said. “It seemed like year after year, it was the same story. I’d end up playing and almost bailed them out. But last year they gave me the opportunity I’d been waiting for and wanting, and I was glad to be able to show them what I could do.”

In four years, Chamberlain has 19 career starts, 112 tackles, two sacks, one interception, one forced fumble and 73 career special-teams tackles.

Spagnuolo was the Rams’ head coach from 2009 to 2011 before being fired after last season. The Saints showed interest in Chamberlain when this year’s free-agent signing period began last week. Then they brought him in for a visit Thursday and Friday and reached a deal.

“Spags obviously felt high enough on me to bring me here with him. I think that says a lot about how he feels about me,” said Chamberlain, who said the feeling is mutual. “The first connection and the thing that kind of drew me to the Saints was Coach Spags, being familiar with him, knowing him, what kind of coach he is and what kind of person he is.”

Chamberlain also didn’t see any drawbacks with the Saints’ looming penalties stemming from the NFL’s bounty investigation.

“You know, it’s unfortunate, and it’s a tough deal,” Chamberlain said. “But I know the people of New Orleans have been through a lot more adversity than this. And just from talking to people around here, I can tell they’re going to use this as a rallying point, and it will bring the team that much tighter together, make them hungry. We’ll almost use it as fuel.”

Mike Triplett can be reached at mtriplett@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3405.

WASHINGTON — The Senate is summoning major sports leaders to answer questions about whether payments for injuring opposing players ought to be made a federal crime. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., announced the hearing Thursday to address “disturbing disclosures” that New Orleans Saints players were paid a “bounty” for hits that injured opponents.

The hearing, which will include officials not only from the National Football League, but the National Basketball Association, National Hockey League and National Collegiate Athletic Association, would be held sometime after the congressional Easter recess.

In a Senate floor speech, Durbin credited the NFL for imposing stiff penalties in the Saints case, including a season-long suspension for head coach Sean Payton. But he expressed concern with reports that bounty systems, which he called “reprehensible,” exist on other NFL teams, as well.

“Aggressiveness and competitiveness is an integral part of many sporting contests, but bribing players to intentionally hurt their opponents cannot be tolerated,” Durbin said.

Some members of the Louisiana congressional delegation didn’t take kindly to Durbin’s plan to conduct a hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime.

“Most Americans think the government is already too involved in their everyday lives, from the doctor’s office to small businesses,” Sen. David Vitter, R-La., said.

Vitter was even harsher in comments on his Twitter account: “… and jog my memory. Did Sen. Durbin call for a Senate hearing when his home-state Bears were selling drugs?” The reference was to the December arrest of Chicago Bears wide receiver Sam Hurd on charges of drug dealing.

“I won’t let him single out our Saints,” said Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans. “A congressional hearing, really?”

Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said while the bounty issue is a “serious matter, the NFL has taken decisive action on player safety. The Senate has many more pressing challenges before it that we must focus on.”

Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, said for a legislative body that hasn’t passed a budget in three years, “I think it’s shocking to be piling on the damage that already has been directed at us.”

Rep. Jeff Landry, R-New Iberia, said while he’s disappointed that the NFL suspended Payton for a full season, there’s no doubt the league is aggressively dealing with the bounty issue. “The elitist leaders of Congress drive me crazy,” Landry said.

In his Senate speech, Durbin, the assistant Senate majority leader, acknowledges that football is a rough sport, pointing to his “bum knee” from his high school football days.

“Accidents will happen, and injuries will happen,” Durbin said. “But I never dreamed that there would be some conspiracy, some bribery involved in some other player trying to intentionally hurt me or take me out of the game. That goes way beyond sports.”

Durbin said Congress decades ago made it a federal crime to influence the outcome of a sporting event through bribery. Now, he said, it is time to determine whether bounty systems are potentially as corrosive as paying bribes.

The Saints’ conduct takes bounty systems to an “outrageous level that none of us ever anticipated,” Durbin said.

Asked about the NFL’s reaction, spokesman Greg Aiello said that league Commissioner Roger Goodell has “taken strong action to ensure that bounties are eliminated from the NFL.

“We have not heard from Sen. Durbin but would be pleased to discuss the matter with him,” Aiello said.

The Durbin announcement made no reference to calling officials from the Saints or any specific team.

Dan Lebowitz, director of Sports in Society at Northeastern University in Boston, said that while ethical lapses and dangerous behavior are clearly not limited to the sports world, the bounty scandal in the NFL is such a high-profile issue that it is almost irresistible for Congress to take a look. “While I commend Sen. Durbin for looking at this issue, I think there’s little doubt that Commissioner Goodell has acted aggressively and proactively” on bounties and other major issues facing the league.

Bruce Alpert can be reached at balpert@timespicayune.com or 202.450.1406.