Goodell upholds penalties in Saints bounty case

Sean Payton now knows for certain he won’t be coaching in 2012, and the New Orleans Saints must figure out whether Bill Parcells or someone else is best suited to take over a team seeking its fourth straight trip to the playoffs. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell today rejected the Saints’ appeals of their unprecedented punishment stemming from the league’s investigation of the club’s bounty system. The program offered cash bonuses for big hits that knocked targeted opponents out of games or hurt them enough that they required help getting to the sideline. In addition to upholding Payton’s suspension, which begins a week from today and runs through the Super Bowl—to be played in New Orleans next season—Goodell also upheld suspensions of eight games for general manager Mickey Loomis and six games for assistant head coach Joe Vitt, along with a $500,000 fine for the franchise and the loss of second-round draft picks this year and next. Loomis, who declined to talk to The Associated Press about Goodell’s decision, and Vitt begin their suspensions after the preseason ends. The NFL has said as many as 27 players also could be sanctioned in the scandal, but it is not yet clear when that might happen, creating additional uncertainty for New Orleans and some teams that have signed former Saints defensive regulars in trying to build their 2012 rosters. Get the full story here.