The Saints will long feel the impact of Williams' pay-for-pain bounty program that elicited harsh penalties, including the suspensions of Payton without pay for the 2012 season; Loomis for eight regular-season games; Vitt for six games; and Williams, now the St. Louis Rams defensive coordinator, indefinitely.
Goodell also stripped the Saints of their second-round draft picks in 2012 and '13 and docked the club $500,000.
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Some insiders such as Fox analyst and former NFL coach Jimmy Johnson thought the sanctions were too severe. Former Saints fullback Heath Evans thought they weren't as harsh as college's death-penalty punishment.
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Evans said as long as Super Bowl XLIV MVP Drew Brees receives a long-term deal the Saints have the internal guidance and the motivational fuel for another Super Bowl run.
"The draft picks obviously sting, but they don't hurt like the death penalty of losing scholarships and not going to bowl games," NFL Network analyst Evans said. "The bottom line is you get No. 9 (Brees) back in the building, you have a 10-win season at least.
"Sean Payton is a very valuable piece of the puzzle. But there are some offensive minds he's groomed. It really starts with No. 9. Saints fans, calm down. You're still going to have an exciting season in that dome."
USA TODAY mulls a few post-bounty burning questions:
Who will coach the Saints?
Offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr. and new defensive coordinator/former Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo are leading candidates. Don't forget how Brees acted as player/coach during six weeks of labor lockout workouts at Tulane University. "You make Spags your interim head coach and trust your leaders to make the best of a nasty situation," Evans said.
What happens to Brees?
No quicker way for Saints owner Tom Benson to mitigate the bounty hangover than by rewarding Brees with a long-term deal commensurate with Peyton Manning's five-year, $96 million Denver Broncos contract.
Unhappy with his $14.4 million franchise tag, Brees finds himself again trying to help the Saints rebuild, only this time it's their tainted credibility.
"The most important part of getting Drew Brees back is because he is that player-coach," Evans said. "He was that last year during the lockout. He's ostensibly that again. They need to get that contract done."
What will happen to the players?
Given the unprecedented sanctions against the coaches and Loomis, players such as linebacker Jonathan Vilma, cited for "offering $10,000 to any player who knocked Brett Favre from the (2009) NFC Championship Game" could face suspensions and/or fines.
What about Williams' other teams?
Despite allegations the bounty program existed in Williams' tenures as coach of the Buffalo Bills from 2000-03 and his 2004-07 stint as Washington Redskins D-coordinator, the NFL said, "no evidence was established showing the programs at other clubs involved targeting opposing players."
And his current team, the Rams?
Said Rams coach Jeff Fisher, "I've often been asked behind the scenes, had you known about it would you have hired (Williams)? Of course not."
What does Payton do?
Payton's path to mending his image would seem to be availing himself to coaching along with speaking appearances to help others learn from his mistakes by effecting culture change from the grass-roots level on up.
"Sean will find a way to pour himself into the Pay it Forward foundation he and Beth have," Evans said. "He's at his kids' football games during the season. We live in the most forgiving country. He probably needs to issue more of a statement. But he's always owned up to his mistakes."
What happens to the Saints?
The Saints struck a deal Wednesday with free agent defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley, perhaps to show they aren't viewed as tainted. How many others sign remains to be seen.
Source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/UsatodaycomSports-TopStories/~3/aCWYgOOGlN4/1
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