Vitt to replace suspended Payton
Saints' Joe Vitt to replace suspended Sean Payton
New Orleans Saints assistant coach Joe Vitt will replace head coach Sean Payton during his year-long suspension, the team announced Thursday.
Vitt will lead the offseason program, beginning Monday. The team did not announce who would replace Vitt during his six-game suspension to start the season.
Vitt was linebackers coach and assistant head coach under Payton before former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams' pay-for-pain program produced NFL punishments for the team, Payton, Vitt and general manager Mickey Loomis.
Saints offensive line coach Aaron Kromer is expected to be named Vitt's replacement, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Loomis, who is suspended for the first eight games of the season, said in a statement released by the team that the plan would mimic the coaching structure employed when Payton suffered a knee injury during the 2011 season.
Said Loomis:
"It is important that we keep Sean Payton's philosophy front and center during this season. ... We considered a number of great options to handle Payton's duties both internally and externally, 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. This is the same structure we used last season during Sean's knee injury."
Loomis added that the interim to the interim coach for the first six weeks of the season would be determined later.
Added Loomis:
"We will work through the offseason under this plan and when we get to training camp we will decide on a course of action for the first six weeks of the season, while Joe Vitt is unavailable."
This article was written by Robert Klemko and appeared in USA Today.
Posted by Necesitamos Mas Football
on 12:22 p. m..
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