News alert: Payton, Loomis and Williams suspended by NFL

For his involvement in the New Orleans Saints’ bounty program, coach Sean Payton has been suspended for one season without pay by the NFL, the league has announced. Saints general manager Mickey Loomis has been suspended for eight games. Former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who has since been hired as defensive coordinator of the St. Louis Rams, has been suspended indefinitely. The team has also been fined $500,000 and will have to give up its second-round picks in the 2012 and 2013 NFL Drafts. In addition, Saints assistant head coach Joe Vitt has been suspended without pay for the first six games of the 2012 season. Payton’s suspension will begin April 1. The NFL revealed earlier this month the findings of a lengthy investigation into a Saints bounty program that gave thousands of dollars in payoffs to players in exchange for hits that knocked opponents out of games. The program, administered by Williams, reached its height in 2009, the season the Saints won the Super Bowl. Read Daily Report PM for additional details.