Joe Vitt makes sense for a New Orleans Saints team that wants to keep Sean Payton 'front and center'
By choosing Joe Vitt as their interim head coach, the New Orleans Saints sent a loud and clear message about who will be leading this team in 2012: Sean Payton.
Joe Vitt makes sense as interim coach for the New Orleans Saints.In fact, the Saints didn't even officially name Vitt as an interim or acting head coach. Their press release announced that Vitt will "assume Sean Payton's duties."
"It is important that we keep Sean Payton's philosophy front and center during this season. Sean has been the driving force behind the tremendous success our team has enjoyed during the past six years," Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis said in a statement released by the team.
I don't have any problem with the Saints' choice. This exact scenario is the first one I suggested the Saints might choose within hours of the NFL's announcement that Payton would be suspended for the 2012 season. If Vitt wasn't facing a six-game suspension of his own during the regular season, this decision would have been made weeks ago.
Of course, that six-game suspension is no small thing. The Saints will have to find an interim coach for their interim coach. A substitute substitute teacher.
But these are unprecedented circumstances, so no answer would have been a simple answer.
And, remember, the Saints aren't worried that they might create confusion about who the leader is. They've made it clear that Payton is still the leader of this team. Their plan for 2012 - no matter who the acting head coach is at the time - is to keep operating the way they've been operating since 2006.
In the Saints' press release, Loomis pointed out that the Saints used the same structure when Payton was out with a leg injury for a week last year.
"We considered a number of great options to handle Payton's duties both internally and externally," Loomis continued, "but believe this will provide the most seamless transition for our players and our coaching staff, allowing our offensive and defensive staffs to remain intact with the fewest changes."
The Saints did sincerely consider the idea of bringing in Payton's mentor, Bill Parcells, for the year. And maybe he would have been the choice if he had decided he wanted the job, in part because he would have run the team much like Payton ran the team.
But other than the uniquely-qualified Parcells, the Saints preferred the idea of making an internal choice.
In a sport where teams crave their routines and their sense of normalcy, the Saints didn't want to rock the boat any more than it already has been. When players report for the start of the offseason conditioning program Monday, they'll hear a familiar voice at the front of the room, and they'll dive right into their regular routine.
They'll cross the next bridge when they come to it.
Joe Vitt makes sense as interim coach for the New Orleans Saints."It is important that we keep Sean Payton's philosophy front and center during this season. Sean has been the driving force behind the tremendous success our team has enjoyed during the past six years," Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis said in a statement released by the team.
I don't have any problem with the Saints' choice. This exact scenario is the first one I suggested the Saints might choose within hours of the NFL's announcement that Payton would be suspended for the 2012 season. If Vitt wasn't facing a six-game suspension of his own during the regular season, this decision would have been made weeks ago.
Of course, that six-game suspension is no small thing. The Saints will have to find an interim coach for their interim coach. A substitute substitute teacher.
But these are unprecedented circumstances, so no answer would have been a simple answer.
And, remember, the Saints aren't worried that they might create confusion about who the leader is. They've made it clear that Payton is still the leader of this team. Their plan for 2012 - no matter who the acting head coach is at the time - is to keep operating the way they've been operating since 2006.
In the Saints' press release, Loomis pointed out that the Saints used the same structure when Payton was out with a leg injury for a week last year.
"We considered a number of great options to handle Payton's duties both internally and externally," Loomis continued, "but believe this will provide the most seamless transition for our players and our coaching staff, allowing our offensive and defensive staffs to remain intact with the fewest changes."
The Saints did sincerely consider the idea of bringing in Payton's mentor, Bill Parcells, for the year. And maybe he would have been the choice if he had decided he wanted the job, in part because he would have run the team much like Payton ran the team.
But other than the uniquely-qualified Parcells, the Saints preferred the idea of making an internal choice.
In a sport where teams crave their routines and their sense of normalcy, the Saints didn't want to rock the boat any more than it already has been. When players report for the start of the offseason conditioning program Monday, they'll hear a familiar voice at the front of the room, and they'll dive right into their regular routine.
They'll cross the next bridge when they come to it.
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