Gregg Williams "Bounty" Program Damages Saints and Team Image

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Let us remember that being a great coach has just as much to do with winning on the field as winning off the field.

While defensive coordinator Gregg Williams lost much respect around the league today, so did coach Payton and general manager Mickey Loomis.

They had an opportunity to show that they were as great.

They failed themselves, they failed the Saints organization, and National Football League that they represent; and most importantly they failed the fans.

While quarterback Drew Brees has given us much evidence over the years that he is inhuman, he is still human.

That means that despite the good guy talk in public, he will take the deal that will best serve him for, possibly, the remainder of his career in the NFL.

The New Orleans Saints existed before Drew Brees and it will exist after he retires.

Brees knows that and will lobby for the deal that will best benefit him in the long run, despite what it may cost the team in the short run.

These “opportunistic” mistakes are only natural as the game matures and becomes more competitive.

While Brees is arguably within his rights to pursue a high-price deal that could limit the team’s ability to bring in new talent; What Payton, Williams, Loomis and the rest of New Orleans Saints staff did will never be acceptable.

Sports is unique in that it is a business where character matters just as much as results.

Luckily for the New Orleans Saints, Gregg Williams is a former employee.

They have an opportunity with new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo to change the identity of the defense and repair the damage done to the team’s image.