Former Saint Heath Evans says Aaron Kromer will continue the program Sean Payton put in place.

Drew Brees sat down at the podium today and uttered a completely classic line. The Saints QB has a way of offering brilliant nonchalance, and this was another example. “The offseason went by fast,” Brees told reporters. “A lot of crazy stuff happened obviously, but here we are — first day of training camp.” That’s one way to sum it up. Brees got a new contract, the Saints lost their coach and a bunch of other key parts to a bounty scandal, and that was only two of the crazy things that happened. The easy thing for the Saints would be to say that they are who they are and that the events haven’t changed them. That’s kind of the […]

NFL AM’s Steve Wyche and Mark Kriegel discuss how the Saints will start the season without head coach Sean Payton.

Man, Saints interim coach Joe Vitt wasn’t happy today. Not at all. A day after his team drew some headlines for their fight at practice, Vitt made sure his voice was heard. Loud and clear. His team is trying to do the right thing was his message. This guy just fights for his team…. and it’s kind of awesome to watch. So, I mentioned the Saints fight during my Total Access hit, and then I wrote about it for NFL.com. To some, it led them to wonder whether the Saints would be scrutinized for violating some mini-camp contact rules. Well, Vitt wanted to make one thing clear: Yup, he knows, as the CBA said, “There will be no contact work […]

The Saints held OTAs today, and it was open to the media. For the first time, everyone watched a Saints practice without coach Sean Payton or QB Drew Brees. Payton is suspended along with some others, and Brees is staying away because of contract issues. I surmised recently that the suspensions would actually help Brees, and no doubt the scene of little Chase Daniel running the team must’ve been jarring. Couldn’t have been pretty. Brees’ stance is noted by all. Reading the transcripts of the interviews of several Saints players and coaches, though, I can’t help but take one thing away from it: They think Brees will come back soon.  Sounds like they are optimistic or convinced it’ll happen. That […]

Saints coach Sean Payton spoke with Bill Parcells on Tuesday about a possible role for the retired coach during Payton’s upcoming one-year suspension, but nothing is imminent, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.