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By John Sigler | Saints Wire

New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis was named a first-team All-Pro, and now he could add another honor to his trophy case. Davis was named one of five finalists for the NFL Players Association’s Alan Page Community Award for his efforts off the field, embracing the New Orleans community and working to enact positive change with his neighbors. The award’s winner will receive a $100,000 donation to a charity of their choosing.

Davis rose to prominence in the wake of a controversial NFL uniform violation fine. The league initially fined him for wearing a headband labeled “Man of God” during an early-season game, which he overturned in appeals. Davis then sold similar headbands in a fund-raiser for a Mississippi hospital, reporting more than $120,000 in donations. He also met with students and faculty at a New Orleans-area elementary school who had supported him during the appeals process.

Full Story - Saints Wire - USA Today

By John Sigler | Saints Wire

The New Orleans Saints hit on nearly all of their picks in the 2017 NFL Draft, adding Rookies of the Year on Offense (Alvin Kamara) and Defense (Marshon Lattimore) while finding a future first-team All-Pro right tackle at the end of the first round. Other selections like Marcus Williams and Trey Hendrickson have contributed often, and the other misses still carry their silver linings.

It could have gone very differently. Saints coach Sean Payton was infamously on the phone with Alabama linebacker prospect Reuben Foster, preparing to draft him, when the San Francisco 49ers made a surprising trade up with the division-rival Seattle Seahawks. A serious of off-field incidents later resulted in Foster being waived by the team that picked him.

The Saints were fortunate enough to pick Ryan Ramczyk instead, and he’s proven to be much more than a worthy successor to Zach Strief on the right side — he’s a star in his own right.

Full Story - Saints Wire - USA Today

By John Sigler | Saints Wire

The NFL’s hiring cycle is winding down, and the New Orleans Saints appear to have escaped with their coaching staff largely intact. But there was one big departure in overqualified linebackers coach Mike Nolan, who was picked up by the Dallas Cowboys as their new defensive coordinator. Nolan’s loss with the team is huge; before he was hired in 2017, the Saints largely acted without a plan or presence in the middle of their defense.

Since Nolan’s arrival, the unit has put up some of the best performances in recent memory, or at least since Sean Payton was hired as head coach. They’ve hit on draft picks like Alex Anzalone (when healthy), free-agent signings such as Demario Davis and A.J. Klein, and trade acquisitions like Kiko Alonso. Nolan did a terrific job of identifying his players’ strengths and putting them in positions to succeed. That’s not something that could be said out of his predecessors in New Orleans.

However, the Saints still haven’t announced his replacement. It’s likely that they’re waiting for the NFL to converge on Mobile, Ala. in the week leading up to this year’s Senior Bowl. Coaches and team personnel gather from all around the league’s orbit to socialize and scout draft prospects, and it’s where Payton has found new hires before (such as Nolan himself, and defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen).

With that in mind, here are three candidates we’d like to see the Saints target as their next...

By Brian Allee Walsh - Special to the Sun Herald

The New Orleans Saints have employed their share of athletic freaks over the years, that is, players who defy logic in terms of their God-given talent and unique physical qualities.

But Saints “Gadget Man,’‘ Taysom Hill, is a friggin’ football freak.

He would be comfortable and capable of playing any and all positions between the lines. You name it and the BYU product could play it; on offense, defense and special teams. If it’s in the game, he could do it and not embarrass himself.

In fact, I’d love to see Saints coach Sean Payton give Hill a chance to do just that in a preseason game. The sheer novelty of finding “Waldo’‘ would put more fannies in the seats at a meaningless home exhibition at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Full Story - The Sun Herald