New Orleans Saints, QB Drew Brees completely supports suspended head coach Sean Payton - NFL News
New Orleans Saints are facing increasing adversity as the fallout from the bounty scandal continues unabated.
However, quarterback Drew Brees is still fully behind his suspended head coach, Sean Payton, and in an interview on Friday said that the whole roster is fully supportive of the suspended coach.
"The entire team loves our coach. We'd do anything for him and certainly are with him during this time. Just understanding how difficult it is and we're all trying to get through it. We're hoping for the best."
The Saints head coach received a one year suspension from the game after it was revealed that the franchise was illegally running a bounty program for three years including their 2009 run to the Super Bowl.
Brees feels hurt and embarrassed to watch his franchise suffer so much from the scandal and said that times are tough for the whole team.
"It's really tough, because we're all a family. To have some of the things said about us as a team and our coach and our accomplishment, those things hurt. It's been tough for all of us."
New Orleans bounty program involved 22 to 27 players in the franchise’s defensive roster who received payments of around $ 1,000 to 1,500 for knocking out or injuring opponents.
The league gave severe punishments to the franchise over the program revoking its right to second round draft picks for two years while also fining the Saints $ 500,000.
General manager, Mickey Loomis, and assistant coach, Joe Vitt, also received suspensions of eight and six games respectively.
On a positive note, Brees maintained that he wants a new long term deal and wishes to remain in New Orleans for the rest of his football career.
"My goal will be and always has been to get a long-term contract with the New Orleans Saints that will keep me here my entire career. I'm going to continue to work toward that,"
The Saints quarterback had a wonderful 2011-12 season as he led New Orleans to another playoff berth. Brees broke Dan Marino’s 27-year old passing yards record while also passing for more touchdowns than any other quarterback in the league.
Brees is currently under a franchise tag and is still negotiating with New Orleans over a new long term deal.
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