Payton made three new hires since the end of the 2008 campaign, bringing in Gregg Williams as defensive coordinator, Bill Johnson as defensive line coach and Bret Ingalls as running backs coach.
Payton also promoted three coaches on the offensive side of the ball. All three came about after the loss of offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Doug Marrone, who left the team to become the head coach at Syracuse.
Quarterbacks coach Pete Carmichael Jr. took over as offensive coordinator even though Payton will still call the plays, running backs coach Aaron Kromer became offensive line coach/running game coordinator and offensive assistant Joe Lombardi was named quarterbacks coach.
UNIT-BY-UNIT ANALYSIS
QUARTERBACK: Starter -- Drew Brees. Backups -- Mark Brunell, Joey Harrington.
Brees had another monster season, this time becoming only the second player in history to throw for 5,000 yards as he amassed 5,069 yards and fell just 16 yards shy of the league's single-season mark. Brees also led the NFL in completions (413) and tied for most TD passes (34) while connecting on 65.0 percent of his passes with a career-high passer rating of 96.3. Brunell was an upgrade as the backup, but he wasn't needed. Nor was Harrington, who learned the system as the third quarterback.
RUNNING BACKS: Starters -- RB Pierre Thomas, FB Mike Karney. Backups -- RB Deuce McAllister, RB Mike Bell, RB Lynell Hamilton. Injured reserve -- RB Reggie Bush, RB Aaron Stecker, FB Olaniyi Sobomehin.
For the second straight season, the Saints struggled to run the ball even though the league's No. 1-ranked passing attack covered up most of their problems. McAllister was coming off double-knee surgery and wasn't the powerful back he used to be and Bush, who got off to a fast start, had two knee surgeries in a two-month span while missing six games. Stecker also struggled with hamstring problems, and the only consistent runner was the underrated Thomas, who gained 625 yards and nine TDs while averaging 4.8 yards per carry. Thomas was also a productive receiver with 31 catches and three more scores. Karney once again proved to be a solid blocker.
TIGHT ENDS: Starter -- Jeremy Shockey. Backups -- Billy Miller, Buck Ortega. Injured reserve -- Mark Campbell.
Shockey and Campbell were slowed by injuries, but this position was still quite productive as five players combined for 110 catches, 1,193 yards and three touchdowns. A sports hernia and ankle injury limited Shockey to just 12 games, but he had 50 receptions for 483 yards, while Miller finished with 45 catches for 579 yards. Shockey, who came to the team on the eve of training camp for two draft picks, contributed as much as he could with his injuries as a blocker, but they really suffered when Campbell, their best blocker, injured his knee at midseason and was sidelined for the rest of the year.
WIDE RECEIVERS: Starters -- Marques Colston, Devery Henderson. Backups -- Lance Moore, Robert Meachem, David Patten, Skyler Green. Injured reserve -- Courtney Roby, Adrian Arrington.
The offense took a big hit when Colston suffered a torn ligament in his left thumb in the season opener. He wound up missing five games and had some trouble with the thumb after returning, but still finished with 47 receptions for 760 yards and five TDs. Moore, who is a potential restricted free agent, helped fill the void with a huge season -- leading the club in catches (79), receiving yards (928) and receiving TDs (10). Henderson, who could be an unrestricted free agent, was a little inconsistent, but still averaged 24.8 yards a catch on 32 receptions. Meachem also was a deep threat in averaging 24.1 yards on 12 receptions.
OFFENSIVE LINE: Starters -- LT Jammal Brown, LG Carl Nicks, C Jonathan Goodwin, RG Jahri Evans, RT Jon Stinchcomb. Backups -- LT Zach Strief, G/C Jamar Nesbit, G/C Matt Lehr, RT Jermon Bushrod.
While this group underwent two major changes, it still wound up giving up just 13 sacks -- a club record. Brown again had trouble with seven holding calls, but is still regarded as the unit's top blocker. Goodwin replaced Jeff Faine as the starter in the middle and Nicks, a rookie, stepped in and started 13 games even after Nesbit returned from a four-game suspension for using a banned diuretic. Despite the changes, the line hardly missed a beat. Evans, who could be a restricted free agent, was solid again in his third year as a starter, and Stinchcomb was also effective if not spectacular as a run and pass blocker. Nesbit, Lehr and Strief were capable backups.
DEFENSIVE LINE: Starters -- LDE Bobby McCray, DT Sedrick Ellis, NT Kendrick Clancy, RDE Will Smith. Backups -- NT Hollis Thomas, DE Jeff Charleston, DT Antwan Lake, NT Remi Ayodele, DE Rob Ninkovich. Injured reserve -- DE Charles Grant, NT Brian Young, DT DeMario Pressley, NT Montavious Stanley, DT James Reed.
Grant, who was lost at midseason with a torn triceps muscle, and Smith, who was hobbled by a groin injury all season, struggled and had only three sacks each as the line produced 22 of the team's 28 sacks. That was the bad news for a franchise that has shelled out $63 million each the last two years for that pair. The good news was that McCray produced six sacks and Ellis, their top draft pick, was as good as advertised with four sacks in 13 games while flashing a rare combination of strength and quickness. Thomas and Young each missed part of the season with injuries, but Clancy had a decent season -- especially against the run -- and Charleston was a pleasant midseason pickup who had three sacks.
LINEBACKERS: Starters -- SLB Scott Fujita, MLB Jonathan Vilma, WLB Scott Shanle. Backups -- WLB Jo-Lonn Dunbar, MLB Marvin Mitchell, SLB Troy Evans. Injured reserve -- MLB Mark Simoneau.
The Saints' linebacking corps was much improved as it benefited greatly from the acquisition of Vilma, an active player who never came off the field in recording a team-leading 151 total tackles. He recovered three fumbles and forced two, broke up eight passes and had a sack and an interception. Shanle ranked second with 145 tackles, finishing with two sacks and eight passes defensed. Fujita ranked fourth with 104 tackles despite missing two games and also had two interceptions. Dunbar, an undrafted free agent, and Mitchell were capable backups, while Evans made his mark mostly on special teams.
DEFENSIVE BACKS: Starters -- LCB Randall Gay, FS Josh Bullocks, SS Roman Harper, RCB Jason David. Backups -- RCB Usama Young, SS Chris Reis, LCB Leigh Torrence, LCB Michael Lehan, FS Terrence Holt. Injured reserve -- LCB Mike McKenzie, RCB Tracy Porter, RCB Aaron Glenn, FS Kevin Kaesviharn.
This area was riddled by injuries as the starting corners -- McKenzie and Porter -- and starting free safety, Kaesviharn, wound up on injured reserve. Glenn was also expected to add a lot until he was sidelined with an ankle injury. It really showed as the Saints ranked 23rd in giving up 221.7 passing yards a game and 21 touchdown passes. Gay had 17 passes defensed to lead the team by a wide margin with Harper second with nine, but David, Kaesviharn and Bullocks gave up too many big passes with many of them coming at crucial times.
SPECIAL TEAMS: K Garrett Hartley, P Glenn Pakulak, LS Kevin Houser, KOR Skyler Green, PR Lance Moore. Injured reserve -- K Martin Gramatica, KOR Courtney Roby, PR Reggie Bush.
Gramatica missed two potential game-winning field-goal attempts early in the season after injuring his groin, which eventually landed him on injured reserve. Hartley, a rookie, was signed at midseason and impressed coach Sean Payton by connecting on all 13 of his field-goal tries. Punter Glenn Pakulak was a midseason find as well as he averaged a healthy 47.7 yards per kick with a net of 37.8 in his first NFL regular-season action. Houser was consistent once again with his deep snapping. Bush and Roby were impressive as the return men, but both wound up on IR. Bush averaged 13.5 yards per punt return with three TDs and Roby averaged 24.8 yards a kickoff return with a long of 62. Pierre Thomas also averaged 25.6 yards on kickoff returns with a long of 88 yards.