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Behind The Scoreboard
By Claude Vinson Go Saints If
anyone out there wants to accuse me of trying to hurry the new football
season along, then I plead guilty. But in my defense, everyone has been
talking football for awhile now and teams at all levels, from the
elementary to the pros, have begun opening training camps. And our own
editor (Barry Burleson) has been running articles on area teams and
coaches for a few weeks now. Yours truly was on
the Gulf Coast all last week and, believe me, there was plenty of
football talk going on. That area has claimed the New Orleans Saints
and the Saints team members have been doing some benevolent works in
the area lately. Also their Lombardi Trophy has been on tour along the
coast, returning in time for their opening training camp on Friday
before some 4,000 fans who had a photo opportunity in a tent set up for
that purpose. However, the fans were gone when the Saints got down to
business in a practice which had environmental controls to combat a
106-degree, humidity-fed day. The Saints have
been trying to dispel the “Super Bowl Hangover” tag which seems to
plague a champion in its following season. Head coach Sean Payton made
it clear that “not repeating” was not an option. The coach says they
are practicing to repeat. The intention is to let the Who Dat Nation
hold onto the Lombardi for another year. There was rumor that Payton is
going to talk to Bill Belichik about the repeat feat (Belichik’s New
England Patriots 2004 team was the last to accomplish the task). The
Saints’ defensive coordinator (Gregg Williams) fired a scathing retort
to those saying that the Saints won’t make the grade. The DC states
their workouts will be geared toward returning to the Super Bowl. His
head coach supported him, stating “there is only one thing certain and
that is that there is just one team with a chance for a repeat this
season.” The Saints beat the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 for the title. Generally,
one will hear of coaches crossing swords in their own ranks, i.e.,
college to college, pro to pro, etc., however, it is rare when the spat
involves college to pro. There has been a non-confrontational feud (so
far) between Jeff Fisher of the Tennessee Titans and the new head coach
of the USC Trojans, Lane Kiffin, late of the SEC. Kiffin (who seems to
have a knack for sudden departures) scooted out West after his one
season with the Volunteers. It turns out Fisher had hired the Trojans’
assistant Kennedy Pola back in January. However, before Pola could
relocate, he was hired by Kiffin. Fisher says Kiffin gave him no notice
that he was interested in Pola. This developing
feud just adds to the woes of USC. The NCAA hit the university with a
handful of sanctions lately. They were severe. Reggie Bush had to
return his 2005 Heisman Trophy. The former head coach of the Trojans,
Pete Carroll, left USC for the Seattle Seahawks months before the
hammer dropped. It is not completely clear if Carroll played a part in
the infractions.
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