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Eric Thomas: Wow. A Year Suspension For Sean Payton?

I am stunned. What a thunderous sentence for New Orleans coach Sean Payton. A year suspension. This will have heavy reverberations. Basically the Saints organization will not be around for half of the year. The GM is suspended for 8 games, the assistant coach gone for 6. Is there going to be a training camp and who is going to run it? Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has been suspended indefinitely.

You gotta hand it to Roger Goodell, he does not mess around. There has been heavy prices to pay for tomfoolery in the NFL these days. Mike Vick got a year for the dog fighting scandal (didn't much matter because he caught a severe case of jail during that suspension) and he suspended Ben Roethlisberger for getting busy in a Burger King bathroom (I know that it wasn't a Burger King but let me have my humpty dance reference).

This sentence is unprecedented. Goodell has been putting a lot of pressure on teams to take player safety seriously and he is clearly steamed that the Saints were giving out bonuses for injuries. Goodell is being heavy handed here but that is the point. A penalty this harsh will send a chill over the game in general.

Sean Payton will personally not collect the 7.5 million he was planning on this year. Gregg Williams may never work again. Oh, and the Saints franchise will be fined an ADDITIONAL $500,000 and they lose their second round draft picks for this year and next year. Oh, and you don't have a coach. Or a front office. Have fun in training camp.

Goodell had to do something severe. Like I said he has been harsh with the players during his tenure and has clearly demonstrated that malfeasance will not be tolerated on any level. He dealt heavy fines on players and many people groused about a possible management bias.

The commissioner was clearly personally insulted by the brazen actions carried out by the Saints coaching staff. They were thumbing their noses at the NFL brass offices. Those thumbs have now been cut off along with their noses and they are suspending the offending appendages for the next year.

A year is an amazingly long time to suspend a coach, his staff and the front office. The franchise is essentially ruined. Even if Payton comes back a year later you still have to answer questions. He can hope that New Orleans ownership doesn't can him, and maybe he can start the apology tour in January next year. Go on all the playoff pregame shows and beg forgiveness. That's a best case scenario.

If Saints owner Tom Benson has a brain in his head, he has to fire all of the offending parties. You got a suspension today? Here are your walking papers to go along with them. Shred their contracts too because they are guilty of misconduct. Sean Payton can come back next year and BEGIN the long slog back from this scandal or you can start over this year. Sign Drew Brees and trade him for a first round pick (the Dolphins are still looking for a QB right?). Start over because there is no climbing out of this.
The commish just took a Gears of War chainsaw bayonet to the New Orleans Saints franchise and all that's left is a lifeless pile of gore. Show's over folks. One less team to compete with in the NFC.

Pretty sure that coaching staffs won't step out of line again. This commish is not kidding around.

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