By Mike Triplett, The Times-Picayune

New Orleans Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis said he has no concerns about Coach Sean Payton’s decision to move his family to the Dallas suburbs and stressed that it’s much more common in professional coaching than people think.

“Listen, I know Sean’s commitment and passion for the Saints and coaching this team. So that’s unquestioned,” said Loomis, who understands the arrangement from personal experience. He moved away from his own children when he originally left Seattle to join the Saints’ front office.

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By James Varney

Grapevine, Texas – New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees was awarded Saturday with the 2011 Bart Starr award, a prize given by a vote of his peers to the NFL player, “who best exemplifies outstanding character and leadership in the home, on the field and in the community.”

James Varney/The Times-Picayune
Bart Starr said he couldn’t be more pleased with Drew Brees
as a recipient of his award, calling him an extraordinary man
and example of the sports world at its finest.

Brees received the award at an Athletes in Action breakfast attended by an estimated 2,400 people, and at the end of a ceremony in which several Hall of Famers participated. One highlight of the event, hosted by ESPN commentator Chris Mortensen, was a roundtable recollection of the 1967 NFL Championship, famously known as ‘the Ice Bowl,’ in which the Green Bay Packers defeated the Dallas Cowboys.

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By James Varney

GRAPEVINE, Tx. – Saints quarterback Drew Brees repeated his pick of the Packers for Super Bowl XLV Saturday morning, this time drawing a yelp of joy from former Packers great Bart Starr’s wife, Cherry.

Brees did offer caveats and said both teams deserved it. If Pittsburgh’s powerful running game gets in motion the Steelers could control the clock and the game, he noted, and obviously turnovers could tilt the balance quickly in one team’s favor.

But on the whole he gave the edge to the Packers, “in a clean game.”

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By Jeff Duncan, The Times-Picayune

If necessity is indeed the mother of invention, it also is the father of adjustment and adaptation.

David Grunfeld/The Times-PicayuneNew Orleans Saints running
back Pierre Thomas missed 10 games with an ankle injury.

The 2010 New Orleans Saints were forced to alter their offensive attack because of injuries to the club’s top four running backs. They attacked defenses with different players and out of different formations than they did during their Super Bowl season.

The Saints still moved the ball effectively. With a No. 6 ranking in total offense, The Saints were ranked in the top 10 for the fifth time in Sean Payton’s five-year tenure.

Only Green Bay has done likewise.

But the Saints’ average of 372.5 yards per game was the lowest since

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By Sheila Stroup, The Times-Picayune

While most fans at the Super Bowl will be there to cheer for the Green Bay Packers or the Pittsburgh Steelers, two loyal New Orleans Saints fans will be at Cowboy Stadium to represent the Who Dat Nation. Marion “Rion” Loisel of Metairie was the national winner of the Vicks’ “NyQuil/DayQuil Search for the Most Dedicated NFL Fan” contest, which included an all-expenses trip to Super Bowl XLV for him and his wife, Kelly.

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New Orleans Saints guard Carl Nicks said he spent about two days “sulking” after New Orleans’ season-ending playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks, and he guesses it took about 2 1/2 weeks before he really started to turn the page.

But it was this past week in Hawaii that really helped the healing process.

Michael DeMocker/The Times-PicayuneNew Orleans Saints guard Carl Nicks said: 'It's a blessing to be around all the Pro Bowlers, the stars of the game. To be considered among them for a week, that's a blessing. It's a once-in-a-lifetime sort of thing. ... Well, hopefully not. But you know what I mean.'

Nicks, a first-time participant in the Pro Bowl, is relaxing on the beach with family and friends, and is surrounded by a support group of the game’s elite players, all of whom are equally jealous of the Super Bowl-bound Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers.

By Jim Varney, The Times-Picayune

MOBILE, ALA. – In the sunshine that tends to bathe Mobile each January, the New Orleans Saints director of college scouting sat in the stands of Ladd-Peebles Stadium last week surveying the rich talent pool on the field.

It’s that time of year when Rick Reiprish and his staff come to the forefront as the Saints take stock of college talent from coast to coast and whittle down their wish list in preparation for the NFL draft. And what was happening on the field was almost secondary.

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By Mike Triplett, The Times-Picayune

New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams’ name likely will surface as a possible candidate for the Tennessee Titans’ coaching job because of his ties to the organization. But it’s unclear whether Williams would be interested in returning to the franchise where he spent more than a decade as an assistant.

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By Mike Triplett, The Times-Picayune

New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams could emerge as a possible candidate for the Tennessee Titans’ head coaching job to replace Jeff Fisher because of Williams’ ties to the organization. But it’s unclear if he would be interested in the job.

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By Jeff Duncan, The Times-Picayune

Saints general manager Mickey Loomis sits down with NewOrleans.com’s Brian Allee-Walsh for a compelling postseason Q&A session. Loomis was his usual guarded self so there’s no real earth-shattering news in his answers but there are some interesting moments, like when Allee-Walsh asked him if the Saints needed to win a second Super Bowl to validate the first one. Loomis’ response: “No, hell no. We’re going to win a second one, but no. Validate? What does that mean? We won it. It’s valid.”

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