Saints Suspensions Upheld

This was almost automatic after the recent release of the Gregg Williams audio in which he told his team to attack Frank Gore’s head and Michael Crabtree’s A.C.L. Goodell. This also means that the rumors of Bill Parcells taking over for a year with the Saints won’t go away anytime soon. The league has not issued a statement about whether or not it would try to block a potential Bill Parcells hiring or how far the Saints have to go to fulfill the Rooney Rule requirements because they are hiring an interment head coach in a way and not an actual coach who will take over for the long term–unless he is able to complicate things by winning the Superbowl.

If it is any solace for the three men involved (Sean Payton the whole year, Micky Loomis 8 games beginning after preseason, and Joe Vitt 6 games) he may lessen the financial penalty. In terms of draft news, Goodell might also give the Saints back their 2013 2nd round pick eventually.

From profootballtalk

If they embrace the opportunity and participate in a constructive way.” In other words, if they speak out in favor of the culture change that Goodell has demanded, Goodell may not make them all forfeit all the salaries they would ordinarily miss out on during their suspensions.

Goodell also said he would re-consider the Saints’ forfeiture of their 2013 second-round draft pick.

I think this will be a lesson about honest above all else. The league had told Peyton and Loomis to make sure Williams knocked it off, and they didn’t. But when the league approached them they lied about their own involvement and about the extent of the scandal–and as evedience mounted they could deny it no longer. This is why the Payton received such a harsh penalty I believe more so than the fact that Gregg Williams (who had a lot of autonomy to run the defense) had run an elaborate bounty scandal.