Sean Payton to appeal year-long suspension; Parcells put on hold

New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton has decided to file today an appeal of his season-long suspension with the NFL, a person familiar with the decision said.

The person spoke to The Associated Press today on the condition of anonymity because the Saints have announced Payton's plan to appeal.

That person said the appeal will also ask NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for his guidance on the parameters of the suspension.

Goodell suspended Payton, starting Sunday, for his role in the Bountygate program– which offered cash incentives for knocking opposing players out of the game.

At the NFL meetings this week in Florida, Goodell said  Payton could have  some contact with the team but would not go into detail.

"The decision to appeal is for Sean Payton to make and announce as he deems appropriate," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said.  "If there are appeals, the commissioner will arrange for expedited hearings, as he stated at the league meetings."

There is no set timetable for the appeal or how long it will take to resolve which could affect whether or not Bill Parcells comes out of retirement.  Parcells said he would consider coaching the Saints if his former assistant and friend Payton was banned for a year.

Asked today, at a spring training game near his home in Jupiter, Fla., Parcells declined to answer any questions about coaching the Saints.

"I know better than that," he said.

Parcells, Payton and Saints general manager Mickey Loomis played a round of golf together earlier this week to talk about the team's situation and there was speculation they asked him if he was interested in helping out his pal Payton in the interim.

"We played golf," Parcells said after the game.  "We really didn't talk about the job.  They told me we'd be in touch."

Now, if the suspension is reduced, the likely hood of Parcells coming out of retirement for a short-term coaching gig seems to be a far-fetched solution.

The Saints have three candidates among the Saints assistants who could serve as interim coach during Payton's absence: defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael or offensive line coach Aaron Kromer.

Payton said any of the three would be good candidates but expressed concern about saddling them with the interim head coach's additional duties.

The NFL found Payton guilty of initially lying to officials about the bounty.

Payton apologized for his role in the program and took "full responsibility" for his part, but was punished with what many considered an over zealous commissioner.

The NFL claims as many as 27 players could be rounded up for sanctions in the scandal.

Parcells prefers Sainthood over Hall of Fame

Bill Parcells sounds like a man who would rather put personal friendship ahead of personal glory after saying he would help the New Orleans Saints— if they asked.

The former New York Giants and Jets head coach said he is waiting to hear his pal, Saints head coach Sean Payton, and the Saints make him an offer to coach the team— if Payton's year-long suspension is upheld.

"I had plenty of opportunities to do things with different teams, and I've turned them all down," Parcells said Wednesday afternoon.  "But this one is special.  This guy is like family to me.  And if I could help him, I would."

Parcells also put the kibosh on talk that the Hall of Fame's rules, that require coaches to be five years removed from the NFL to be considered for induction, would influence his decision to return to the sidelines.

"I'm not going to concern myself about something that may not happen," Parcells said.

Payton is deciding whether or not to appeal his season-long ban for his role in Bountygate— a program that gave Saints players cash incentives to knock opposing players out of games.

Meanwhile, the Saints head coach has tossed out the idea of having his mentor— Parcells— stand in as the interim coach while he is banned from the team.

"I don't know how this is going to play out," said the 70-year-old Parcells.  "I really don't know anything about the situation.  There's a lot of things going on here, and I would suspect it's going to take a while to sort it all out."

Both Parcells and Payton maintain that no job offer has been made but, on Tuesday, both men played a round of golf with Saints general manager Mickey Loomis.  Parcells had never met Loomis before they hit the course.

"We literally did not talk about that job at all," said Parcells.  "The only thing he told me is, 'You're going to like this situation (in New Orleans).'  I know a few of their players, just a couple."

Parcells currently lives in Jupiter, Fla., and is always on an NFL team's head coaching radar when there is a vacancy. His last head coaching job was with the Dallas Cowboys from 2003-06 and he served as an executive for the Miami Dolphins from 2008-10.  Last season, Parcells was an analyst for ESPN.

Payton was Parcells' assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach in Dallas for three years before he was hired as the Saints head coach in 2006.

It sounds like the "interim" title in New Orleans won't bother the no-nonsense Parcells.  He would go in knowing it's a "one and done" deal and step aside when Payton returns.

Parcells has a knowledge of his protege's system and— with Drew Brees at quarterback— the Saints still have the core of a playoff team, so the Big Tuna won't just be babysitting a floundering team for the duration.

If the Saints call, the Hall can wait.

Shockey fires back at Sapp for calling him a 'snitch'

Jeremy Shockey fired back at NFL Network analyst Warren Sapp for calling the tight end the "snitch" who led the NFL to the bounty investigation by the league.  It resulted in embarrassment and severe penalties to Shockey's former team— the New Orleans Saints

Saints head coach Sean was suspended by the league for a full season and the team lost two second-round draft picks as penalties.

"It's reckless, it's careless, it's hurtful to me and the great time I had with the Saints," said Shockey, who was labeled a "snitch"on Twitter by Sapp after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell put his fist down on Wednesday.

"Sean Payton is like a father figure to me," he continued.  "I would never do that to him or the Saints."

Shockey then twice offered to take a polygraph to prove he wasn't the rat.

While the Bountygate scandal came to a conclusion on Wednesday, there are a few questions which remain unanswered.  It starts with who did leak the information to Goodell's office if it wasn't Shockey.

Someone in the Saints inner-circle had to be the culprit, but who.

Sapp maintains that his source was very close to the situation and he trusted what he was told:

"I trust my source unequivocally," said the former-NFL star.  "I did not call anyone in the league and I did not receive any information from the league."

Sounds like we have a "Deep Throat" situation.

Shockey responded to Sapp's accusation by taking to Twitter and offering to get hooked to a polygraph on live television.

Both men played their college ball at Miami University— at different times—but those blood ties "Ended right there" after Sapp's allegations, tweeted Shockey.

The former Saints tight end played under Payton when the team won Super Bowl XLIV over the Indianapolis Colts in 2010.  He was coached by Payton prior to that with the New York Giants.

"I know Sean Payton's family and I have been around them.  I have been to his son's birthday party parties.  I've had family around him.  We're friends," Shockey said.  "I loved my time in New Orleans and now people are killing me on social media thinking I did this.  I love Who Dat nation."

It's hard to put a lot of stock into what Sapp "heard" about Shockey.

The former-defensive end has called everyone from Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis to defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth a name or accused them of one thing or another in the past.

A larger question remains. Why wound the NFL Network— which is owned by the NFL— let Sapp make his claim about Shockey on air?

This is a direction which threatens to undermine the NFL's policy of protecting sources.  It contradicts the NFL's message that it would protect "whistleblowers" who anonymously report league violations.

NFL spokesperson Greg Aiello had no explanation on why the NFL Network aired Sapp's claims or why Sapp— a league employee— was allowed to make the claim in the first place.

Let's see how many players line up at the confessional now.

Meanwhile, Shockey kept up the attack on his accuser.

"Sapp can say what he wants about me, but if he really says that he'll put his life on the line for his source, we'll see," said Shockey.  "I've never been a guy who failed multiple drug tests.  I've never been  divorced.  I don't have four kids by four different women.  I don't lie.  This attacks my character and it's not fair."

The out-of-work Shockey is still looking to hook up with a team in 2012, and—  if he plays the Saints— it could be interesting.