That's were you are misunderstanding what I said. You keep focusing on who had the final say in the hiring of Haslett, while I'm talking about Loomis being around for all the discussions and decisions to hire Haslett, Payton and DA.
In the room just means being a part of private discussions and meetings regarding decisions and strategies. It means that someone is privy to the discussions and thought processes that lead to the decision that was made.
Randy Muellar brought Loomis with him from Seattle, because they had become best friends and confidants after working together for 15 years.
"When Mueller went to New Orleans, he took his best friend, Mickey Loomis, along. They had worked together for 15 years in Seattle."
It's extremely unlikely that Muellar didn't discuss head coaching candidates with Loomis. He most likely asked Loomis for his input, even though Muellar had the final decision. Even if Muellar didn't talk to Loomis at all about his thought process on hiring Haslett beforehand, he no doubt talked to Loomis about it after the fact. That means that Loomis was privy to the discussions and thought processes that lead to choosing Haslett as a head coach.
I've been in the room for a lot of things that I never had any authority over the final decision.