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GM Mickey Loomis Press Conference
NewOrleansSaints.com
Monday, September 01, 2008 - 6:45 PM
New Orleans Saints Executive VP/General Manager Mickey Loomis
Monday, September 1, 2008
Opening Statement: "First of all, I want to state that we are continuing to monitor the situation in New Orleans. We know the storm has not completely passed through there and we certainly want to state our thoughts and prayers with everyone that’s been affected in New Orleans and the surrounding areas. We also want to commend our leadership; Governor (Bobby) Jindal, Mayor (Ray) Nagin, our Parish President Aaron Broussard and all the political leaders who have created a plan and implemented the plan to handle this hurricane.
“We’ve been here since Saturday night riding out the storm and preparing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Our thanks go to Jimmy Irsay, Bill Polian and the staff of the Indianapolis Colts and the staff of Lucas Oil Stadium who have made our transition here pretty seamless. We really appreciate their efforts. Also the efforts of the people at the Conrad Hotel who have bent over backwards to help us and our team. Relocating is never easy. It’s not easy for a family in New Orleans and certainly not easy for an NFL team. I’m proud of our people and what we’ve been able to accomplish and we’re really excited to hear that 95 percent of our community was able to evacuate safely. That was important news to our team. In terms of the pending question of what will happen on Sunday with our game, right now we’re optimistic that we’ll be able to play this weekend in New Orleans. Tom Benson, the owner of the Saints, is here in Indianapolis. He’s going to speak tonight with Commissioner Goodell, Governor Jindal and Mayor Nagin about the plans. Our message is this, we want to be one of the first ones back to New Orleans, we want to play our game in New Orleans, we want to raise the spirits of our community. That will be dependent on the ability of the city this weekend to host an NFL game and where the city stands in the case of the services that it can provide and can we handle an NFL crowd."
Q: Have you heard any early assessment of the condition of the practice facility?
A: "The reports that we have so far have been real positive. We had a little damage there at the facility, but nothing that would prevent us from practicing or preparing if we get back there in a timely basis when the power’s turned on. Our plan is to practice here until Friday regardless of the circumstances. We’re going to continue to practice here and stay in the routine we’re in until Friday and then return to New Orleans on Friday."
Q: What kind of damage did you have at the facility?
A: "I think it’s superficial at this point, some awnings and that kind of thing, but again we know the storm’s not over with. That’s the report we have so far."
Q: How are the players dealing with all this and do you think they are watching CNN an d the Weather Channel a lot?
A: "We hope that they’re spending a lot of time focusing on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but we understand obviously we’re all watching CNN and all the different stations and getting the reports. It’s been pretty positive in terms of the level of damage as opposed to what the worst case scenario would be. I think the spirits of our team are pretty good."
Q: Do both you and the Buccaneers know where you’ll play if not in New Orleans?
A: "No. That collaboration will happen over the next day or two. We don’t know what all of our options are, but our goal is to get to New Orleans and play the game there."
Q: How difficult has this been emotionally for everybody?
A: "I think we’ve handled it okay. We have a large group of our people of our players and our coaching staff who weren’t with us in 2005. We have some staff people who were with us in 2005 and I think it’s probably been a little tougher on them emotionally with that here we go again deal, but I’ve been real proud of the way our staff has handled this. It has been real positive."
Q: What are some of the things you took from that experience that you’ve utilized?
A: "I think first and foremost we have to make sure that everybody’s family is in a safe harbor. We spent a lot of extra time at that front end of that process making sure that people had an opportunity to get their families to a safe place and that’s the most important thing. Secondly, to find a place where they had the adequate facilities to practice and meet. We had our video capabilities and the technology that we use during the week and so we’ve been able to do that."
Q: Was it a priority to have everything that you are accustomed to?
A: "That’s the goal. Obviously when you’re in your facility you don’t have everything, but when we travel on the road to a road game on Saturday night we don’t have everything either. I think we’re managing that okay."
Q: Do you know for sure that everyone's family is safe?
A: "We haven't had any reports from any of our players or staff that there have been any issues."
Q: Is there a deadline where the NFL must determine where Sunday's game will be played? Will that discussion with the league happen tonight?
A: "That discussion hasn't happened yet. Again, we're pretty optimistic about being able to play in New Orleans. We'll see what happens the rest of this evening in terms of the storm getting through our region and then we'll assess the damage and assess whether or not we can play the game there Sunday."
Q: Is it not just the structure of the Superdome being ready, but also staff as well?
A: "Absolutely; there is a lot of infrastructure there. The police department has a big job during our game day. Obviously the staff at the dome, as well as our staff, and we want to make sure that our fans have an opportunity to come to the game and be back in the city and able to come to the game."
Q: Why is it so important for you to get back there this Sunday?
A: "I think it's important for a couple of reasons. Competitively, it's a home game for us and we want to play at home and want to get off to a good start and we would be most comfortable in the Superdome. But more importantly, I think it's an opportunity for us to lift the spirits of our community after a tough week and that's really important to our team."
Q: Can you talk about the idea of keeping the players shielded from the media? Is that to keep their focus?
A: "It's exactly that. We have a game to play on Sunday and it's an important game. It's important for us to get off to a good start and we want to make it as routine as possible under the circumstances. Our obligation is to make our players available on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and that's what we're going to do."
Q: Did players not have to fly here on the team plane?
A: "No, a number of guys drove their families out of town and the first thing they had to be here for was a meeting at 9:00 pm on Sunday. That's different than what we did before. That's one of the lessons we learned in 2005. If a guy wanted to drive his family out, that's a lot of relief for a wife and kids for them to drive them to a safe place. That was a good thing. That was one of the lessons we learned in '05, to get your family squared away. In '05, we said to have a plan for them, send them on their way and then come to the facility. In retrospect, we would have been better off doing it this way and I think it worked well."
Q: Is there any serious damage to the facility in Metairie?
A: "The preliminary reports that we've seen so far are exciting. They're exciting for you and exciting for us and anyone who is from New Orleans. You expect the worst and hope for the best and we're so proud of the leadership of our state. We had Governor Jindal in our building a couple of months ago talking about hurricane preparedness, talking with our team and shooting a commercial and doing some PSAs. To see him implement this plan and have it work so well, that's a great boost of confidence just for us as citizens of Louisiana."
Q: Does this even let you think the negative thoughts of the possibility of being pushed away from New Orleans for an extended period of time again?
A: "We don't have any negative thoughts in that regard. If anything happens and we have to adjust, we'll do that. But number one, our thoughts are with the people of our community and secondly, our thoughts are on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Regardless of where we end up having to play them, we're preparing to play that game and we're focused on it. Beyond that, there's not a lot else."
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