The Saints conducted their fourth formal interview to fill their vacant head coaching position as they talked with former Green Bay Head Coach Mike Sherman on Thursday night and Friday.

Here is the transcript of the press conference:

Q: Can you discuss your interview?

A: "I had some good conversations with some good people."

Q: Why is this job an attractive one?

A: "It's funny. I originally started my coaching career at Tulane University in New Orleans, my first big job and know people down there. When I was a college coach for a number of years, I used to recruit Louisiana. I know the type of people that live here, good people. I find it to be a very attractive job."

Q: Did you know heading into the off-season that you wanted to try to get back into it and find a head coaching job?

A: "If it was the right job and if it was good for my family, it would be something that I would consider."

Q: Do you have concerns coming into a job in New Orleans without a lot of winning tradition over its 40 year history as opposed to coming from Green Bay which had a historical winning tradition?

A: "I always feel like you're dealing with the present. What are we going to do with now to help us win and you deal with that. Even when you win, you can't deal with the past and when you haven't won you can't deal with the past. You got to deal with the present and in talking to the people here and Mr. Benson, they appear very committed to winning and to New Orleans."

Q: What type of talks did you guys have over what kind of control you would have over player personnel?

A: "We didn't get into a lot of that. The structure was explained to me of how they came to conclusions. It's a structure that I'm fairly familiar with that I used in Green Bay, where you come to a consensus. There's a lot of hard work that goes into the decision making. You gather information with your scouts and your coaches. Everybody gets a chance to voice your opinion and at some point a decision has to be made. Obviously Mickey (Loomis) is the general manager and ultimately he would have to make that final decision. He certainly I believe would listen to suggestions and concerns that the coaches may have."

Q: Did they talk to you about a repeat visit or a second interview?

A: "No, we just finished up today and that's as far as we are right now."

Q: As someone who has lived in New Orleans in the past, but not recently, how many questions did you have about currently living in the area?

A: "Obviously having had an opportunity to come in yesterday and travel around the city a little bit, I've seen some of it, but certainly not all of it, but I did have some questions. I have a wife and five children. I certainly have some concerns and I will have some questions when I return, but my concerns were alleviated in talking to the people and what I was able to see."

Q: Did you guys talk about personnel issues here such as your relationship with Mike McKenzie?

A: "We talked about all the personnel, went over everybody, we looked at the tape of their team in the last game, middle game and I had a chance to look at it and we had a pretty in depth conversation about personnel."

Q: Is the draft pick that the Saints possess attractive and was that a part of the discussion?

A: "No, we didn't discuss that per se, but certainly it is an attractive draft pick and something that I think can only enhance the personnel on the team."

Q: Would this be a fit with you more of a head coach/general manager/vice president type and Mickey Loomis handling the salary cap adeptly over the years?

A: "They have people here that have done a good job, I think their last two drafts in particular, you look at these young players, (Jammal) Brown and (Will) Smith and Devery Henderson. They have some good players that they have drafted here. I think they have an excellent process in how they go about doing that. I'm not overly concerned with those mechanics."

Q: What do you think is lacking in assessing this team?

A: "That's tough to say, because I'm sure the previous staff did everything they could and Jim Haslett's a heck of a coach. You do everything you can to try to win football games, but I just think there comes a point where collectively as an organization you just work towards getting a winning product on the field and being accountable and honest about that product. When something's not right you try to fix it. All of us coaches have tried to do that."

Q: Is it an interesting cycle to go through the interview process again and taking you back in time?

A: "Not really, because the National Football League is a very unique business. I think we figured that out in the last couple of weeks and it's ongoing and you can't take it personal. Sometimes it's irrational, but it's a great business. It's a great game and you get a chance to meet some wonderful people. The players that I have worked with in the past, I feel very fortunate."

Q: Do you plan on your next job being a head coaching job?

A: "Yes."

Q: Have you interviewed anywhere else or do you plan to?

A: "My agent's taking care of that as those opportunities get lined up."

Q: Is this your first coaching interview this off-season?

A: "Yes."

Q: Even though it's over 20 years ago, what memories do you have of New Orleans from being the offensive line coach at Tulane?

A: "The most vivid one, my daughter was born in Southern Baptist Hospital, she was baptized in St. Louis Cathedral. Crawfish boils and all that we used to have and I think the biggest thing about New Orleans, the people here, their resiliency, what they've shown the country is phenomenal and the fact that driving downtown its actually looked cleaner than the parts that I was in last night from the last time I remember 20 some odd years ago, which is sort of ironic, but I think the thing that I know best about Louisiana and New Orleans is the people here are just good hearted people, a lot like the people in Green Bay. Family people, care about each other, love to hunt, love to fish and get together as a family, back there watch the Packers play on Sunday, here watch the Saints play on Sunday. If they win they're happy. If they lose, they're not."

Q: If you're offered this job today would you take it?

A: "It's something I'd have to discuss with my wife and my family. I know in my heart what I'd want to do, but I'd always discuss it with them before I'd want to do anything."

Q: What's the first step you got to take as a coach after a season gets out of hand?

A: "I think confidence and a belief system in what you're doing. You're bringing a new staff of coaches wherever you are and certainly the same thing up in Green Bay for them. You bring in a new group of people. There's belief in this hope that sometimes in change you get a little bit of that. Sometimes it's overrated. It depends on what you do with that change. Get them all here, get them believing in themselves and our ability to win."

Q: If you're offered this job today would you take it?

A: "It's something I'd have to discuss with my wife and my family. I know in my heart what I'd want to do, but I'd always discuss it with them before I'd want to do anything."