WhoDat!656

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS


Owner: Tom Benson, 29th season
General Manager: Mickey Loomis, 12th year
Head Coach: Sean Payton, 8th year
Other front-office notables: Rita Benson LeBlanc, Vice Chairman/Owner; Khai Harley, Director of Football Administration; Ryan Pace, Director of Pro Scouting; Rick Reiprish, Director of College Scouting.

Who's really in charge? It's easy to forget that, for all of the success that head coach Sean Payton has had, it was actually Mickey Loomis who led the charge on hiring him. And it's Loomis who retains power over all personnel decisions, including the 53-man roster. But because Loomis' background is on the cap and contract side of things, as a GM, he's a consensus-builder who leans on Payton, as well as Ryan Pace and Rick Reiprish.

All that said, this is very much Payton's show, and his fingerprints are all over the roster. The coach has defined an identity for the franchise, working extensively with the GM to find players who fit -- not just from an on-the-field standpoint, but also in the locker room. Payton ultimately reports to Loomis, who sometimes serves as a buffer between the coach and Rita Benson LeBlanc. Tom Benson, at his advanced age, isn't quite as involved as he used to be.

Lieutenants like Khai Harley -- who handles the cap and contracts -- Pace and Reiprish might be even more important now, with Loomis splitting his time between the Saints and the Benson family's other major sports property: the NBA's New Orleans Pelicans.

An outside perspective from an NFC personnel director: "I've always admired the way they do it, getting the right guys to fit exactly what they do. They take chances, and guys can resurrect themselves there. I really admire Sean, and I admire Mickey, too. For Mickey to be the GM and stay out of the way, and let Sean do it, that's why they win. They have a certain type of guy that fits the coach. Sean is aggressive, and so are his players. Drew Brees wasn't Drew Brees until he got to New Orleans. That goes hand-in-hand with Sean; he told Drew, 'You have to be aggressive like that.' Also, Harley does a good job there, in emphasizing drafting ahead of needs. ... It's a totally different culture, the way they practice, how they prepare. They just have football guys in that locker room; they hold each other accountable and they all want to be the best."

Who's really in charge? NFC South squads seek balance - NFL.com

"A Veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America" for an amount of "up to and including my life."

homerj07

Interesting insight

Rugby Saint II

Who's in charge? Apparently it's Rita.