New Orleans Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis hits the ground running for the 2012 season
 

Though he has the luxury of more time this year than he did last, New Orleans Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis is wasting none in the 2012 offseason.

Nearly an hour before college players in attendance for the Senior Bowl were due to walk on stage and be weighed and measured, Loomis was ensconced in a front row seat. And a half hour before the players hit the turf at Ladd-Peebles Stadium for their first practice Monday in Mobile, Ala., Loomis was in the stands.

The alacrity and eagerness with which he's approaching his offseason duties in a non-lockout year might reflect the daunting weight and number of said duties. Loomis must juggle negotiations with some dozen free-agent players, including quarterback Drew Brees, and evaluate draft talent in a year in which the Saints don't possess a first-round pick.

"We have short memories," he added. "There's been lots of times where you've had core players that are unrestricted free agents, that happens, and occasionally you lose some that you don't want to lose. It's part of the business, and we just have to move on when that happens. I don't like when it happens, and we'll do everything we can not to let that happen. But you've got one pie, and we've got to divide it up amongst a lot of good players and people who've had success in our building -- and hopefully, we can do that. I think the fact that Drew Brees is a part of this free-agent class makes it seem a little more daunting than it would be ordinarily. But, look, less than eight months ago we had 26 unrestricted free agents a week, a week and a half before practice began. I don't know that it gets any more daunting than that."As for the first of those, Loomis said calm is the order of the day. While he carefully steered clear of making any guarantees, Loomis made it clear the franchise wants Brees, wide receiver Marques Colston and guard Carl Nicks on its roster. In fact, if Brees were to leave New Orleans, Loomis joked, "I'd probably be out of a job.

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New Orleans Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis hits the ground running for the 2012 season - New Orleans Saints Football NFL News - NOLA.com

if Brees were to leave New Orleans, Loomis joked, "I'd probably be out of a job.

Thats not all you be out of. LOL Get it done.

Drew will be a Saint for life.

M.C. and Nicks????? I'm wondering if we can keep both of them. I prefer Nicks. Nicks is more important to me because he protects Drew. M.C. just catches what is thrown to him.

I want both to stay. We need to keep that offensive line together.

Oh don't get me wrong....

I want the offense to stay intact. My remake was based on if we could only afford one or the other.

i think Colston does more than just catch what's thrown to him. Any time he's on the field he gets a lot of attention and helped J.G. be the factor he was last year. And of course Nicks is a huge reason that Drew can do a lot of the things he does.

If it was my job to choose between the the two I'd find another job.

Brees and Nicks are a must sign. Colston is a dang near must sign.

If Loomis fails to sign Brees he should be forced to move to Oakland. LOL

I'm against the death penalty.

Where's the sense of urgency for Loomis been the past three years?

We're wasting Brees' prime years not getting a good complimentary defense...

In 2009, our defense was a turnover creating machine which helped us win the Superbowl.

In 2010, we ranked 4th in the NFL in total defense.

In 2011, we had a down year.

I never took advanced calculus and all but...

http://images.cheezburger.com/comple...1adcbb1836.jpg

One step at a time. As said above defense good in 2009. Okay 2010, but got tired from too much time on the field once we lost our running game. We had to reload for that this past year. Special teams sucked in 2010 and he had to also deal with that. Loomis has had a lot on his plate and has done an awesome job. Now finally with the rest looking pretty solid and coincidentally, GW's contract expiring he can really focus on the D.

3 years, 3 double digit winning seasons, 3 playoff appearances, and 1 Superbowl win.

This Loomis guy is a clown. Fire him already.

WHAAAAAT? I'll take building a championship caliber team on the foundation of a forty year laughingstock any day.

In Loomis we trust.

Yes, if NOLA lost Brees, I'm afraid Saints fans would be doing very good imitation of 49ers fans in their treatment of Kyle Williams.

Reminds me of that John Candy line in JFK: "The government's gonna jump all over your head, Jimbo, and go "cock-a-doodledoo!""

I play O-line myself but still if it comes down to a choice between Nicks and Colston I will choose Colston.

I agree jeanpierre, I wonder who they will prep to take his place when he retires? Nate, or Nick Montana? That would be awsome if we ended up with one of them. If we lose Nicks I believe that Tennant could fill in his spot and be an excellent compliment to Evans and Bushrod. He played on special teams in all 16 games of the 2011 season and weighs 300 pounds which is 43 pounds less than Nicks. Where in the hell are we going to find a guard that is as big as Nicks and can block like he does? Who am I kidding, we need to resign him, Brees, and Colston. Is there even a college guard in the draftb this year that is that big? My shortlist: Ben Grubbs-6 foot 3 and 310 pounds, best at run blocking on the move, Deuce Lutui-6 foot 4 and 338 pounds, Chad Rinehart-6 foot 5 and 323 pounds, and there are others but didnt want to bore you with the details. The bottom line is there are no other free agents that are as good or better than Nicks. !!!!WE NEED HIM!!!!

We do need to keep the offense in tact, but with that being said. Nicks is way more important to keep than Colston. With our offense there are many Wr's that can fill that role..

+1

I love Colston as much as the next guy but if I had to pick between him and Nicks, Im going with Nicks. Having our QB protected is more important, plus we all know Brees could make Halo look like a good receiver! :lol:

He sure could :-) lol....He made Aarington look good.