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Posted by ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas

It’s time to unveil our coaches and front office for the midseason All-NFC South team.

Coach: Sean Payton, Saints. There can’t be any other choice. The Saints are undefeated and Payton has made himself a better coach by learning from past mistakes. As long as he doesn’t have too many more of those incidents where he essentially calls two timeouts at once, he’s got a real shot at coach of the year.

Best assistant coach: Gregg Williams, Saints. New Orleans needed to do something dramatic to shake up a defense that was bad the past two years. They brought in Williams and he’s made this defense very good. Could be putting himself in line for another shot at a head-coaching job.

General manager: Mickey Loomis, Saints: He’s the guy who has given Darren Sharper and Jabari Greer to Williams. Loomis also took a shot on defensive tackle Anthony Hargrove and that’s paying off nicely.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Pat Yasinskas

It’s time to reveal the selections on special teams for our midseason All-NFC South team.

Punter: Jason Baker, Carolina. A very steady punter, who has made the Panthers forget the rocky days of Todd Sauerbrun.

Kicker: John Carney, Saints. It hasn’t been a very good year for veteran kickers in the NFC South. John Kasay and Jason Elam are well below 80 percent on their field goal attempts. Carney’s only been slightly better at 79 percent, but we have to choose someone to fill this position.

Return man: Clifton Smith, Buccaneers. Start the music. We’ve got a Buccaneer on the All-NFC South team. But this guy deserves it. He’s come back from a brutal hit by Carolina’s Dante Wesley and shown he hasn’t lost a thing.

Long-snapper: Jason Kyle, Saints. He’s switched teams, going from the Panthers to the Saints, but he remains automatic.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Pat Yasinskas

Time for the midseason All-NFC South defense.

Defensive end: Julius Peppers, Panthers. Peppers has a division-high seven sacks and has been dominant at times. Problem is, at other times, he’s disappeared. Same old story.

Defensive end: Will Smith, Saints. He has 6.5 sacks. Not bad for a guy who faced a possible suspension in the preseason and has often been called an underachiever.

Defensive tackle: Jonathan Babineaux, Falcons. Probably the most underrated player in the NFC South. Definitely the best defensive tackle.

Defensive tackle: Sedrick Ellis, Saints. Yes, he’s banged up right now. But he was playing at a very high level before he got hurt. He’s a big part of the reason ends Smith and Charles Grant are playing to their potential.

Linebacker: Thomas Davis, Panthers. He just went on injured reserve and will miss the rest of the season. But this guy was the best linebacker in the division through the first eight games.

Linebacker: Curtis Lofton, Falcons. The guy’s become an every-down player and he’s leading the NFL in tackles.

Linebacker: Mike Peterson, Falcons. Yes, I’m well aware that entering the season there was a strong consensus that Jon Beason, Jonathan Vilma and Barrett Ruud were the best three linebackers in the division and I thought I’d go that route as I started this project. But once I really started looking at it, I couldn’t. Davis and Lofton have outperformed them. The final spot came down to Vilma and Peterson and I could have gone either way. Both have played well and been the leaders of their defense. I went with Peterson, though, because we’re about to get very heavy with Saints.

Cornerback: Jabari Greer, Saints. Best cornerback in the division -- by far.

Cornerback: Tracy Porter, Saints. Chris Gamble and Ronde Barber have bigger names. But Porter is playing better than them.

Safety: Darren Sharper, Saints. He’s been the best defensive player in the division … maybe in the entire NFL.

Safety: Roman Harper, Saints. I’m making it a sweep for the Saints’ secondary. I considered Atlanta’s Erik Coleman and Thomas DeCoud and Tampa Bay’s Tanard Jackson would have gotten consideration if he wasn’t suspended for four games. But Harper is playing at a high level now that he’s got some talent around him.

Posted by ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas

Time for the All-NFC South midseason team. Here’s the offense:

Quarterback: Drew Brees, Saints. Do I even need to explain?

Running back: DeAngelo Williams, Panthers. Atlanta’s Michael Turner has come on the last couple of weeks and New Orleans’ Pierre Thomas is having a nice season. But Williams has the best numbers.

Fullback: Ovie Mughelli, Falcons. New Orleans’ Heath Evans would have been very much in the mix if he didn’t suffer a season-ending injury.

Receiver: Marques Colston, Saints. This guy is just scary now that he’s healthy.

Receiver: Roddy White, Falcons. It would be nice if White were a bit more consistent. Still, he’s having another solid season.

Tight end: Tony Gonzalez, Falcons. Part of me wanted to go with Kellen Winslow, just to get someone from Tampa Bay on the team. But I couldn’t. Gonzalez is better than him. Jeremy Shockey might be, too.

Tackle: Jordan Gross, Panthers. Easily, the best offensive lineman in the division, but he hasn’t been as dominant as I expected.

Tackle: Jermon Bushrod, Saints. Part of me wanted to go with Atlanta’s Sam Baker, who is the most talented tackle in the division besides Gross. But I can’t say Baker has played at a high level all season. Bushrod has and he was thrown into the job after Jammal Brown went down for the season.

Guard: Jahri Evans, Saints. If Gross is the division’s most talented lineman, Evans is the most productive. This guy’s setting himself up for a huge second contract.

Guard: Carl Nicks, Saints. He’s not quite on the same level as Evans, but he’s pretty darn good.

Center: Jonathan Goodwin, Saints. I’m giving him the nod over Tampa Bay’s Jeff Faine and Atlanta’s Todd McClure, mainly because Faine’s been hurt and Atlanta’s offensive line hasn’t been all that consistent. Bottom line: The Saints have produced on the offensive line and, anytime that happens, the center has to be playing very well.