As the first Sunday of the NFL season is about to start, the New Orleans Saints are preparing for a season like any other in recent memory.
The Saints bring back stars like quarterback Drew Brees and running back Darren Sproles, but will be without head coach Sean Payton for the entire season following the bounty scandal that has engulfed the team since March.
The NFL announced earlier in the year that they had obtained a wide range of information detailing a bounty system by the team that stretched from the 2009 season to 2011. The report said that up to 27 Saints players were involved and that it was organized and run by defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.
It alleged that players were paid illegal bonuses for hard hits as well as for deliberate injuries to other players.
Some of the targets that were involved included a bounty on Vikings quarterback Brett Favre in the 2009 NFC Championship game, Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Carolina rookie Cam Newton and also on Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner.
In the aftermath of the scandal, the NFL took harsh actions against the Saints, suspending Williams indefinitely and coach Payton for the entire 2012 season. Also suspended were general manager Mickey Loomis for eight games and assistant coach Joe Vitt for the first six games.
The team was fined $500,000 and was also docked their second-round draft picks in 2012 and 2013.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell also came down hard on players that were allegedly involved in the bounties. Linebacker Jonathan Vilma was suspended for the whole 2012 season, lineman Anthony Hargrove was suspended for eight games, Will Smith for four and linebacker Scott Fujita for three. Both Fujita and Hargrove had left the Saints by the time the suspensions were handed down.
Repercussions of the scandal are still being dealt with and this past week the NFL Players Association filed a motion in U.S. District Court in New Orleans to seek a temporary restraining order to prevent the NFL from suspending three of players involved, Scott Fujita, Anthony Hargrove and Will Smith.
Vitt will serve as the interim coach in Payton's absence after he serves his six-game suspension.
The former head coach has been out of the spotlight since he received his suspension, which stated that he cannot have any contact with the team or the players.
He recently gave an interview to the New Orleans Times-Picayune and spoke in detail for the first time about the suspension and the scandal.
"I think ultimately our goal is to get reinstated at the right time. Yeah, it's frustrating at times to sit back and hear a lot of things that have been painted in a certain way that you know aren't true. But that being said, I support every one of those guys and pay close attention to what's going on with Jon and the rest of those players and Mickey and Joe (Vitt) and everyone," Payton told the newspaper according to ESPN.com news services.
Team owner Tom Benson has been supportive of Payton after his suspension and even placed a large poster with Payton's face at the Saints' training facility that reads: Do Your Job.
Payton commented in the interview on the poster and the support he has received from the owner.
According to the newspaper: "I really appreciate Mr. Benson's leadership (Owner Tom Benson, who was credited with the idea). He's been fantastic. And the support, not only from him, starting with him, but throughout the community and the rest of the country has been somewhat overwhelming. I had a chance to visit with him shortly after (the poster went up), and I made him promise that as soon as I come back, it comes down. But we've always looked for ways to motivate and get our message across. And I appreciate his support more than anything in the world."
The Saints are still expected to be contenders in the NFC this season and if they can make it to the Super Bowl, they would be the first team in history to play the game in its own home stadium. The Super Bowl will be played at the Superdome in New Orleans this year.
Quarterback Drew Brees is coming off of a record-setting season in which he passed for 5,084 yards, breaking Dan Marino's 27 year-old record for most passing yards in one season. After dealing with some contract issues over the summer, Brees signed a 5 year, $100 million contract, which has the largest amount of guaranteed money in NFL history at $60 million.
Although the Saints will be without their head coach that led them to the Super Bowl in 2009, the team hopes to use the adversity to motivate them, much like when the team rallied together in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
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