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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

QBREES9

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.

SapperSaint

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.

QBREES9

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

SapperSaint

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.

Boutte

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.

Rugby Saint II

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

saintfan

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

Danno

I'm against the death penalty.

jeanpierre

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...