Looking at the Fallout from New Orleans Saints Bounty Scandal for Rest of NFL

The most obvious fallout from the New Orleans Saints bounty program is the enforcement of moral accountability at every level of a coaching and playing staff. Actually, it's less an enforcement and more a sharp reminder of the kind of clean competition and professional respect opposing teams should naturally show one another.

At its most acute, the Saints' bounty program shows that a head coach is obligated to be involved in every aspect of how his team is prepared. Yet this is not X's and O's preparation, it is about ensuring the balance between competitive aggression and and clean and fair play remains intact.

Sean Payton is paying the price for his willingness not to interfere with or disrupt how one side of his team was run. No more will head coaches be able to use lack of expertise about one side of the ball as an excuse to steer clear of one part of team preparation.

For assistant coaches, the implications may be even greater. Coordinators, particularly on defense, can expect a greater level of scrutiny this season than ever before. In this respect, many head coaches may engage in micromanagement. This could impact how coordinators are able to run their particular units. Many assistants like and need a certain amount of freedom when it comes to scheme and game-planning.

Naturally, the rhetoric used in defensive team meetings and pre-game speeches may also be modified in the wake of the punishment levied against the Saints. Even though most of Gregg Williams' speech before the NFC divisional playoffs was considered routine by many ex-defenders, coordinators will still have to tread a delicate line when it comes time to fire up their players.

Perhaps the most direct, on-the-field impact may be a change in the approach to defensive football. With the league and its officials likely to adopt a more stern view to fierce hits, coordinators will have to emphasize correct technique over outright physical intimidation.

And this is the way it should be. The practice of bounties disrespected the fine art of defensive football and the mechanics of clean and technically sound tackling.

A structured attempt to injure the opposition is not only barbarism masked by macho bravado. It is also a thuggish rejection of the subtlety of defensive play based on outwitting the offense.

There are plenty of league-wide implications from the Saints' bounty scandal and they can all serve to protect the true spirit of the game.