ESPN NFL

Yes, the start of training camps is two months away, but it’s never too early to consider the coming season. A look at the best-case and worst-case scenarios for the Saints in 2012.

Dream scenario (13-3): The ending of this dream is simple. It ends exactly where it starts -- in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. That’s the site of this season’s Super Bowl and there’s no sweeter vision in the eyes of Saints’ fans than watching their team win the NFL’s biggest spectacle at home. If revenge is sweet, this would be 1,000 times sweeter.

New Orleans fans and players are mad about how severely the NFL punished the Saints for their bounty program. They would love it if Roger Goodell hands the Saints the Lombardi Trophy in their own building.

It actually could happen. Think about it: Other than suspended coach Sean Payton, the Saints really haven’t lost that much from a team that went 13-3 last season. Linebacker Jonathan Vilma also is suspended for the entire season, but Vilma’s age (30) started to show last year. The Saints are better off with Curtis Lofton at middle linebacker. The Saints also will have to get through the first four games without suspended defensive end Will Smith.

But, other than that, this team remains loaded with talent. Drew Brees and the offense always will put up a bunch of points. If new coordinator Steve Spagnuolo can make the defense better, the Saints easily are a playoff team. They’ll be motivated by an us-against-the-world mentality, so anything is at least possible.

Nightmare scenario (6-10): It’s easy to say Payton had a great system in place and a veteran team, so the assistants can just run the show and it will be business as usual. I tend to agree with that theory. But what if the importance of a head coach is even greater than we realized? And what if the emotional weight of the most turbulent offseason in NFL history catches up to the Saints?

That’s when all bets are off and when things could start falling apart. Since winning the Super Bowl in the 2009 season, the defense hasn’t been very good. The greatness of the offense has been enough to carry the Saints to the playoffs the past two seasons, but it hasn’t been great enough to carry them deep into the postseason. There’s no doubting Spagnuolo has a good defensive mind, but he might not have all the personnel he needs to run his scheme successfully.

Well, the easy thing to say is the offense will carry this team no matter what. But even if Payton wasn’t suspended, it’s hard to imagine the offense being even more productive than last season. Take Brees and the offense back down to what they were in 2007 and ’08, give New Orleans a defense that’s no better than last year and the Saints could tumble to a middle-of-the-pack team.

If you’ve spent any time at all around New Orleans middle linebacker Curtis Lofton, you know he’s a guy with a lot of pride.

That’s why I wasn’t at all surprised as I read through a transcript of Lofton’s quotes from Thursday’s media session. Lofton spent the past four seasons in Atlanta. When he hit the free-agent market, word got out that the Falcons viewed him only as a two-down linebacker going forward.

“When you are a free agent, every weakness you have, they are going to look at,’’ Lofton said. “If you look at my time in Atlanta, my first year I was a first- and second-down linebacker. My second year, I played more than 95 percent of the snaps. The past two years, I played 99 percent of the snaps. I guess, if you play 99 percent of the snaps, you couldn’t say that I was a first- and second-down linebacker.”

Lofton, who is expected to be a three-down linebacker with the Saints, admitted that label bothered him.

“As much as you don’t want it [to], it plays in the money,’’ Lofton said. “That’s what it comes down to. Every team has their makeup of what they think a player can do and what they think he can’t do. A lot of teams may have said that. A lot of teams didn’t. It is on me to prove those guys wrong. I do have that chip on my shoulder. Every day I am going to go out and get better, and work on my weaknesses.”

Lofton also said a few other things that at least look like they were veiled references to the Falcons. The Atlanta defense Lofton played in looked a little like what coordinator Steve Spagnoulo is implementing in New Orleans.

“They are similar, but they are not the same,’’ Lofton said. “Spags, I would say he is more aggressive, and I like that.’’

The Falcons like to preach a “family’’ concept, frequently saying they like to draft players, develop them, and keep them for the long term. They didn’t keep Lofton, even though he was a leader of their defense pretty much from the start of his rookie season.

“When I was going through the process and they said the Saints were interested in me, I only took one visit, and that was here,’’ Lofton said. “Up in Atlanta, I hated these guys. That is the rivalry, you hate each other. Once I got here, hanging around coach (Sean) Payton, (general manager) Mickey (Loomis), (assistant head coach Joe) Vitt, and coach Spags, it felt right,’’ Lofton said. "It was family. Before I made my decision, I called Harp (Roman Harper), I called Will (Smith), and they were very receptive. They talked to me and said 'Hey, we need you. Come be a part of something great.'"

The Falcons haven’t won a playoff game during a four-year streak of winning seasons, which is more than a little bit of a sore spot among Atlanta's front office, coaches, players, and fans. I’m not sure that Lofton was aiming for that spot, but it sure sounded like it.

“The reason why I came here is to win a championship, and that is what everyone’s expectations are,’’ Lofton said.

Sounds to me like the NFC South's best rivalry has become even more heated.

We mentioned that the Saints will be inserting more zone coverage into their defense when we told you about linebacker Martez Wilson making the move to defensive end.

If Wilson stays at end, he might have to drop into coverage from time to time. But the secondary is going to be impacted much more by any change in coverage schemes.

“It is a little bit of a transition for cornerbacks Patrick (Robinson) and Jabari (Greer) but they really have done a good job so far fitting into that mode,’’ interim coach Joe Vitt said. “There is a little bit more adjustment wise with motion and formation, but that is why we have OTAs.’’

Vitt said there’s been a league-wide trend of offenses getting more big plays, and said those plays are less prevalent against zone defenses.

“Offensively, last year, we had 124 big plays of runs of 10 yards or more or pass plays of 20 yards or more,’’ Vitt said. “Defensively, we gave up more last year than we ever have at 99. The big plays on offense, we would like to keep that number exactly where it is. We have to get that number on defense down to about 75. Just a little bit more zone defense and not selling the farm is going to give you an opportunity to keep those big (plays) off your back.”

Safeties Malcolm Jenkins and Roman Harper also will face adjustments. But Vitt said new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is doing a good job of getting his system installed.

“Spags is a hands-on coach,’’ Vitt said. “He loves to teach. He loves to have the whole defense in there so everybody is on the same page. I would categorize him as a player’s coach. He puts a lot of the decision-making on the player in the course of practice and the course of a game. He doesn’t dwell on mistakes. I think he is going to produce a very positive atmosphere around here for us.”

For the most part, the New Orleans Saints are keeping things status quo while coach Sean Payton is suspended.

But interim coach Joe Vitt revealed a few tweaks when he met with the media after Thursday’s practice. There are changes coming on defense, which isn’t Payton’s side of the ball. But you can bet Payton signed off on the changes before he began his suspension. He already had brought in coordinator Steve Spagnuolo to improve a defense that struggled at times the past two seasons.

Vitt said the Saints gave up too many big plays last season and the defense will look to include more zone schemes. It appears that also means there will be some personnel changes. Linebacker Martez Wilson, who showed some promise last year, has been moved to defensive end. He was lining up Thursday opposite Greg Romeus, another 2011 draft pick who missed last season with an injury.

"We've got a lot of zone pressures now and it's going to call for a defensive end to drop into coverage," Vitt said. "And Martez has got a pretty good foundation from being here a year ago with coverage and coverage aspects. So we've been very encouraged for the first week of what he's done. He'll be our right end. He does a pretty good job with pattern recognition. This is a time to experiment and we'll see what he can do."

Wilson has some quickness and that should help him at defensive end in a Spagnuolo defense. Spagnuolo likes to generate most of his pressure from the front four, but Wilson’s ability to drop into coverage could give the Saints some flexibility. Wilson’s quickness also could help him as a pass-rusher. Romeus also has potential as a pass-rusher.

Cameron Jordan, a first-round pick last year, is set to start at one defensive end spot. The Saints could have three players from the 2011 draft as their top three ends on opening day. Will Smith is New Orleans’ top end, but the NFL has suspended him for the first four games. Smith is appealing the suspension, but it looks like the Saints are coming up with alternatives.

» NFC pressure points: West | North | South | East
» AFC pressure points: West | North | South | East

Examining who faces the most challenging season for the New Orleans Saints and why.

Long before the news of the bounty scandal broke, it was clear the Saints needed to do something dramatic on defense. Gregg Williams’ system worked nicely in the 2009 season as the Saints went on to win the Super Bowl. But defensive breakdowns were the main reason why the Saints lost a playoff game to Seattle in the 2010 season and to San Francisco last season.

That’s why the Saints quickly replaced Williams with Steve Spagnuolo as soon as the season ended. His chore is to build a more consistent defense and get away from Williams’ philosophy of taking big gambles in hopes of producing turnovers. Spagnuolo’s had success before by getting pressure almost exclusively from his front four and letting the back seven focus on pass coverage and run support. But middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma has been suspended for the season and defensive end Will Smith will be suspended for the first four games.

The Saints added Curtis Lofton and David Hawthorne and they should make up for the loss of Vilma. But while Smith is out and even after he returns, Spagnuolo has to find ways to get a strong pass rush from a group of guys (aside from Smith) that don’t have a strong history of putting pressure on the quarterback. Spagnuolo’s defense doesn’t have to be dominant.

If the Saints can just come up with some stops at key times, Drew Brees and the offense are good enough to outscore anyone.

Is there any hope after the bounty scandal?

Going an entire season without coach Sean Payton is far from ideal. But, aside from that, the Saints -- by planning, luck or a combination of the two -- didn’t come out of this horrid offseason with nearly as many offseason problems as they could have.

Really, all they're losing as far as personnel is defensive end Will Smith for the first four games of the season. Yeah, I know linebacker Jonathan Vilma has been suspended for the entire season. With all due respect to Vilma, he was a great player a few years ago, but he’s on the downside of his career and the Saints upgraded when they signed free-agent Curtis Lofton. Just for insurance, they also signed linebackers David Hawthorne and Chris Chamberlain. Throw the new guys in with Scott Shanle, Martez Wilson, Jonathan Casillas and Will Herring, and the Saints are stronger at linebacker than they were last season.

If new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo can figure out a way to generate a pass rush without Smith (and improve it when he returns), the Saints will be just fine on defense. We already know they’re just fine on offense, assuming quarterback Drew Brees’ contract situation gets worked out. There might be a few more weeks or months of drama on that end, but I don’t see any way the Saints go into the season without Brees' having a long-term deal.

Get Brees back in there, and the Saints could combine marketing campaigns with the NBA’s Hornets, who were just purchased by Saints owner Tom Benson. The Saints truly are a hornet’s nest right now. They (and their fans) are steaming mad at the NFL, the media and pretty much everyone outside of their world. You can see an “us-against-the-world mentality’’ building. As motivational ploys go, that’s not a bad one. Oh, here's a little more motivation. The Super Bowl is in New Orleans. The Saints and their fans could show up the NFL if they make it to the Super Bowl.

As severe as the New Orleans Saints’ player suspensions were for their three-year bounty program, they’re not entirely devastating.

Middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma was suspended for the entire 2012 season and defensive end Will Smith will be suspended for the first four games. That’s all, as far as current Saints go. Defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove, now with Green Bay, drew an eight-game suspension and linebacker Scott Fujita, now with Cleveland, will be suspended for the first three games of the season.

But let’s stick to the current Saints and how this latest news impacts them. There’s no doubt Vilma’s suspension is severe. But the overall news wasn’t as bad as it could have been. The NFL initially said 22 to 27 players were involved in the bounty program and there was fear many more current Saints could end up with suspensions.

But only Vilma and Smith ended up drawing suspensions. Those two have been defensive leaders for the Saints in recent years, but their suspensions aren’t going to gut the New Orleans defense.

The Saints had spent the offseason bracing for a possible lengthy suspension for Vilma, although I suspect the full season is about half a season longer than what the Saints suspected. But they were proactive at linebacker. They went out and got free agent Curtis Lofton from Atlanta. They also added David Hawthorne from Seattle and Chris Chamberlain from St. Louis.

Let’s be real honest here. As great as Vilma was in the Saints' 2009 Super Bowl season and maybe even in 2010, he had a down year in 2011. He tried to play through a knee injury before finally having knee surgery that kept him out for five games. Even after his return, Vilma wasn’t the same player he was in earlier seasons.

Plug Lofton, who is younger and healthier, in as the starting middle linebacker and the Saints may have an upgraded linebacker corps. Hawthorne and Chamberlain also can play outside and they’ll compete with Scott Shanle, Jonathan Casillas, Martez Wilson and Will Herring for playing time. The Saints are pretty well set at linebacker.

Defensive end is another story and the Saints will have to get through contests against the Redskins, Panthers, Chiefs and Packers without Smith, who led the team with 6.5 sacks last season. That will be a challenge, especially in a system in which new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo likes to get the bulk of his pass rush from the front four.

Smith is the only member of the front four with a proven track record of getting pressure on quarterbacks. Cameron Jordan, who had one sack as a rookie, was projected as a starter even before Smith’s suspension. The Saints could go with Turk McBride or Junior Galette (or a combination of the two) at the other end spot.

But it also is entirely possible the Saints will try to find another defensive end (or two) in free agency.

The fifth round of the NFL draft is over and it is worth noting this was the first time in this draft that each of the four NFC South teams had a pick in the same round.

Let’s take a look at who’s joining the NFC South from the fifth round.

The Buccaneers added West Virginia linebacker Najee Goode. He’s viewed primarily as an inside guy, but has the ability to slide outside. The Bucs are coming out of this draft much deeper at linebacker.

The Panthers took Coastal Carolina cornerback Josh Norman. He’s not a threat to contend for a starting job anytime soon. But Norman has good instincts and should have a chance to play on special teams.

The Saints selected Samford safety Corey White. He doesn’t have typical safety size, but does have good cover skills. That’s significant. Starting safety Roman Harper isn’t known as a cover guy. New defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo likes to have safeties who can cover, so there’s room for White on the roster.

The Falcons picked Wisconsin fullback Bradie Ewing and Troy defensive end Jonathan Massaquoi. Ewing’s not spectacular in any area, but does everything reasonably well. He likely will start off as a special-teams player, but eventually could take over for veteran fullback Ovie Mughelli. Massaquoi already is 24 years old, but he does have some upside as a pass-rusher. The Falcons need all the pass-rushing help they can get.

OK, Arizona Cardinals fans, time to back off a little.

Your team finally selected an offensive tackle in the 2012 NFL draft. Bobby Massie from Mississippi was projected as a second-round choice by some draft analysts; the Cardinals did not have a choice in that round, but they did have a need for a tackle (the headline was intended in good fun).

Massie stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 316 pounds. He projects as a potential starter for the Cardinals, presumably at right tackle, with Levi Brown the leading candidate on the left side.

Scouts Inc. gave Massie above-average marks in most categories.

The Cardinals need to improve their pass protection for quarterbacks Kevin Kolb and John Skelton. They haven't used early choices for their line since 2007. Massie was a fourth-round pick, chosen 112th overall, two spots before Seattle selected Florida defensive tackle Jaye Howard.

"Above-average upside in this area," Scouts Inc. wrote of Massie's pass protection. "Sets too high and gets knocked off balance by power rush, but ability to recover from initial power surge and reset is excellent. Protects the edge well even though initial quickness is just average."

There was also this from Nolan Nawrocki, draft analyst for Pro Football Weekly: "A big, surprisingly athletic right tackle who appears to be more naturally suited for the left side. Flew under the radar in the fall, but has shown well against better competition."

That included what Nawrocki described as a pancake block against LSU's Michael Brockers, the St. Louis Rams' first-round choice.

The Falcons, Panthers and Buccaneers all had pre-draft sessions with the media. The New Orleans Saints didn’t have any media access, but we don’t want to leave them out.

So let’s turn to two of our in-house draft experts to discuss what the Saints may do in the draft.

Check out this Insider post by Steve Muench that lays out a draft plan for the Saints and throws out five potential picks. Muench starts with Virginia defensive end Cam Johnson in the third round and also has them taking defensive tackle Jaye Howard in the fifth round. Both picks make plenty of sense. The Saints don’t have picks in the first two rounds and they obviously have some needs on defense as new coordinator Steve Spagnuolo takes over. Spagnuolo emphasizes the importance of generating a pass rush almost exclusively from the front four. Aside from defensive end Will Smith, the Saints don’t have a strong pass-rusher. Muench says Johnson has the quickness to develop into a good pass-rusher. Howard also has potential as a pass-rusher in the interior. That could help because defensive tackles Brodrick Bunkley and Sedrick Ellis aren’t known for their pass-rushing skills.

In this Insider post , Matt Williamson writes about the four teams with the worst draft situations. As you would expect for a team short on picks, the Saints made his list. Then again, so did the Falcons.

In his analysis of what the Saints need, Williamson is in full agreement with Muench about the importance of adding some help to the defensive front. I think that’s pretty much the consensus on where the Saints’ biggest needs are.

Let’s bounce back to Muench’s picks for the Saints. His last one might be the most intriguing. He has the Saints taking Western Michigan wide receiver Jordan White in the seventh round. White doesn’t have a lot of upside and he’ll be a 24-year-old rookie. Once upon a time, 2006 to be precise, the Saints used a seventh-round pick on a receiver who wasn’t supposed to have a lot of upside. That wound up working out very nicely. That pick was used on Marques Colston.

The New Orleans Saints have announced only that assistant head coach/linebackers coach Joe Vitt will step into head coach Sean Payton’s role when Payton's season-long suspension begins Monday.

The team said Vitt will guide the team through its offseason program, training camp and the regular season. But Vitt will have to step aside at the start of the regular season to serve a six-game suspension for his role in the Saints’ bounty program. In the statement announcing the move, general manager Mickey Loomis said the Saints will make a decision on who will step into Vitt’s role as the start of the regular season gets closer.

But ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that offensive line coach Aaron Kromer is expected to fill in for Vitt for those six games.

That probably makes the most sense of any of the possible scenarios. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael are the other two logical candidates. But keeping them in their current roles and letting Kromer handle supervisory duties might be the best way to work through the first six games.

Spagnulo previously was a head coach in St. Louis. But he is new to the Saints and is overhauling the defense. There could be other obstacles ahead for the defense, because multiple players could face suspensions for their roles in the bounty program. Spagnuolo will have his hands full just operating the defense.

Carmichael took over play-calling duties for the first time in his career last October, when Payton suffered knee and leg injuries in a sideline collision. Carmichael is viewed as an offensive guru, but comes across as quiet and shy, and might be better off just handling the offense instead of being asked to lead the whole team and handle media duties.

Kromer has a more outgoing personality. He’s also viewed as a rising star in coaching circles. Kromer reportedly was about to get an interview for the head coaching job with the St. Louis Rams before Jeff Fisher accepted the position.

As expected, the New Orleans Saints have announced that assistant head coach/linebackers coach Joe Vitt will take over the day-to-day duties of coach Sean Payton when he starts his season-long suspension Monday.

“It is important that we keep Sean Payton’s philosophy front and center during this season,’’ general manager Mickey Loomis said. “Sean has been the driving force behind the tremendous success our team has enjoyed during the past six years, his leadership will be missed,” said Loomis. But we need to set a course of action that gives us the best chance to win this season without our head coach, and that is why I am announcing today that Joe Vitt will assume Sean’s duties. 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."

The Saints also issued a statement from owner Tom Benson. This is the first statement directly attributed to Benson since news of the Saints’ bounty program broke.

“This is about our program, and the continued success of our program,” Benson said. “Joe has been part of building our success along with our head coach Sean Payton and our general manager Mickey Loomis. We are looking forward to the start of the offseason program, the NFL draft, our minicamps and training camp. We are looking forward to the start of our season, as I know that all of our fans are and we are looking forward to competing and winning a championship right here in our own city, in our own stadium this year.”

As I’ve said before, promoting Vitt makes sense on many levels. He’s been Payton’s right-hand man since the two came to the Saints in 2006. Vitt knows Payton’s system and philosophy better than anyone (and that includes Bill Parcells, who decided to stay retired). The offseason program and training camp should be seamless under Vitt, who served briefly as acting head coach last season when Payton had his leg and knee injured in a sideline collision. Vitt also previously served as the interim head coach for the St. Louis Rams.

Vitt is known for his old-school style and he knows the Saints’ personnel and other assistants well. The move makes complete sense in terms of continuity, but there’s one huge catch.

Vitt will be suspended for the first six games of the season for his role in the bounty program. Vitt’s suspension won’t begin until just before the start of the regular season. That’s the same time that Loomis will begin his eight-game suspension.

Loomis didn’t lay out any plan for what the Saints will do as far as filling the roles of head coach and general manager at the start of the season. For now, Loomis said, the Saints will take things one step at a time.

“We will work through the offseason 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.”

It’s likely the Saints will go through the preseason and then choose another of their current assistants to open the season as the head coach. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael would seem the likely candidates. Spagnuolo has head-coaching experience, but is new to the Saints. The team could elect to go with Carmichael and let Spagnoulo focus solely on the defense. The Saints also could decide to keep Carmichael in his current role and let both coordinators focus on their side of the ball. In that scenario, offensive line coach Aaron Kromer could be the logical choice to step into a supervisory role.

We still don’t know who will be coaching the New Orleans Saints next season, but we know who won’t.

Bill Parcells has informed the Saints he prefers to remain retired, Chris Mortensen reported Tuesday morning.

Coach Sean Payton, who begins a season-long suspension Monday, had given indications he wanted his mentor to come out of retirement and take over the team. That apparently isn’t going to happen and there don’t appear to be any other outside candidates.

I liked the idea of Parcells pinch-hitting for Payton. They have a lot of similarities and I think the arrangement could have worked nicely. But Parcells is 71, hasn’t coached since the 2006 season with Dallas and apparently isn’t up for a return.

This isn’t the end of the world for the Saints. Mortensen reports there are growing indications assistant head coach/linebackers coach Joe Vitt will take over as the interim head coach.

But there’s one problem with that. In a perfect world, the Saints automatically would have made Vitt the head coach because he’s been Payton’s right-hand man since 2006. But the Saints are living in a far-from-perfect world these days as they deal with the NFL discipline for their bounty program. Vitt also is tied up in this mess.

Vitt will be suspended for the first six games of the regular season. But his suspension does not begin until the start of the regular season. That’s great for the short term.

Vitt can run the offseason program and can guide the Saints through training camp and the preseason. That means it’s business as usual right up until the start of the regular season.

But what happens then? If Vitt indeed is named the interim head coach, do the Saints name an interim interim coach for the first six games of the season?

That seems to be the most likely scenario.

The candidates for that role would be offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and offensive line coach Aaron Kromer. If one of them is taking over only while Vitt is out, I think it might make some sense to put Kromer in a supervisor role. That would allow Spagnulo, who is new to the Saints, to focus on the defense. It also would allow Carmichael to focus only on a complex offense.

It’s not going to be a normal season for the Saints. But, putting Vitt in the top role for the short term and back in it as soon as his suspension is over, might be the best way to keep things as close to Payton’s way as possible.

If nothing else, Sean Payton’s appeal of his one-year suspension from the NFL has bought him one more week as coach of the New Orleans Saints.

It could end up being the biggest week of Payton’s coaching career. Yeah, it’s mid-April and, seemingly, there’s nothing going on right now. But there’s a lot for Payton to take care of in the next week.

It’s been apparent that he and general manager Mickey Loomis, who will be suspended for the first eight games of the 2012 season, are doing most of the leg work on finding a replacement for Payton. They’ve talked to Bill Parcells. Even if they can coax Parcells out of retirement, the Saints will have to interview at least one other candidate to satisfy the Rooney Rule, which only applies if the team brings in a coach from outside. It’s also possible, the Saints could stay inside and make offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, or offensive line coach Aaron Kromer the head coach.

It’s also possible the Saints could go with one of their current assistants and still bring on Parcells in some sort of role as a consultant or special assistant. In that scenario, Parcells’ five-year clock for Hall of Fame election wouldn’t have to start over.

However the replacement part plays out, Payton has a lot of other things to do in the next week. He’s known for being extremely organized, and it’s likely he’ll want to leave a detailed plan for his replacement that will include how to run offseason workouts (which begin next week), training camp, the preseason and even some general plans for the regular season.

Payton doesn’t handle contract negotiations. That’s Loomis’ job, and his suspension doesn’t start until the beginning of the regular season. But the Saints have another brewing crisis on their hands.

They placed the franchise tag on quarterback Drew Brees at the start of free agency. Brees and the Saints have said they want to work a long-term deal, but nothing has been finalized. For another week, Payton has a lot of clout in determining what happens with the Saints.

The coach wants to leave his team set up as well as possible for the 2012 season. The best thing he can do in that time is use his influence to make sure Brees gets signed to a long-term deal.

The New Orleans Saints have finished appealing their punishments for their bounty program.

Coach Sean Payton appealed his one-year suspension. General manager Mickey Loomis appealed his eight-game suspension. Assistant head coach Joe Vitt appealed his six-game suspension. The Saints also appealed their $500,000 fine and their loss of two draft picks. The only person who has been given a punishment who didn’t appeal was former New Orleans defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. He left the Saints for the St. Louis Rams and has been suspended indefinitely.

So what comes next after the appeals?

Well, that’s mostly up to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. He’s the man who first issued the punishments and he’s the man who heard the appeals.

We don’t know exactly what Payton, Loomis and Vitt had to say in their hearings with Goodell. Payton and Loomis didn’t address the media after their hearings. Vitt spoke briefly with the media as he exited the NFL office and his lawyer David Cornwell portrayed Williams as a “rogue coach," who Cornwell said defied orders from Payton and Loomis to stop the bounty program.

Whatever was said behind closed doors, I expect Goodell to make a decision on the appeals pretty quickly. But it remains unclear if the NFL previously was aware of the tapes of Williams speaking to the defense the night before last season’s playoff game with San Francisco that became public Thursday. If the league wasn’t aware of the tapes, it could stall things a bit.

There has been media speculation Goodell could announce a decision as soon as Friday. That’s possible, but I could also see this lingering into next week because of the holiday weekend.

If Goodell upholds the suspensions, Payton’s would start immediately. Loomis and Vitt aren’t scheduled to start their suspensions until the start of the regular season. If Payton is suspended, I’d expect the Saints to act quickly to put someone in his place. It could be retired coach Bill Parcells, perhaps someone else from the outside or from Payton’s current staff (offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and offensive line coach Aaron Kromer seem to be the most likely candidates).

The Saints are scheduled to start their offseason program April 16 and, if Payton is out, they likely would want to have his replacement in place by then.

But the appeals aren’t the only issues hanging out there. The NFL has said anywhere from 22 to 27 players were involved in the bounty program. The league has said the players could face fines and suspensions. Goodell recently met with leaders from the NFL Players Association, but hasn’t offered any firm timeline for when he will announce any possible player punishments.

Oh, there’s one other pretty major thing the Saints need to do soon. They’ve got an unhappy quarterback, Drew Brees, who has been hit with the franchise tag. It might be nice to have Brees signed to a long-term deal quickly. That would assure Brees will show up for the offseason program.

That would be hugely important. If Payton is suspended, the Saints are going to need Brees’ leadership skills more than ever.