Saints GM Mickey Loomis signed five-year extension

Mike Garafolo, USA TODAY Sports | USATODAY

Each day during Super Bowl week, Mike Garafolo will provide readers with the latest NFL whispers. Here's what USA TODAY Sports is hearing in New Orleans:

Finally, some good vibes about the New Orleans Saints.

The franchise is finally emerging from the shadow of the bounty scandal and, with the reinstatement of Sean Payton last week, has begun looking toward the 2013 season.

Plus, here's a bit of news that's slipped through the cracks: General Manager Mickey Loomis recently received a five-year contract extension to match the one signed by Payton, Saints vice chairman Rita Benson LeBlanc told USA TODAY Sports on Monday.

The Saints' power structure will remain intact, which is exactly what Payton was trying to accomplish by inserting a clause in his contract that gave him an escape route if Loomis was suspended or fired — a clause which the NFL didn't approve and resulted in that contract being voided.

Payton and Loomis are now under contract through the 2017 season.

"To have that kind of stability for the long term, that's reassuring because that's always the kind of thing people like to talk about," Benson LeBlanc said. "Plus, football is a stressful enough business as it is. It's hard enough to put a competitive team on the field. (Payton and Loomis) shouldn't have those extra stresses of having to worry about their future and the future of the franchise."

Now, the fan base doesn't have to worry about the team's future, either. Payton and Loomis have worked well together and brought the franchise its first Lombardi Trophy four years ago.

"There was no way I was going to another team," Payton said last week of his re-signing with the Saints despite rumors he'd bolt or would leverage his free agency for a better deal.

"It was a great football decision," Benson LeBlanc said, adding, "Sean was back in the office today for the first time and was like a kid in a candy store."

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