Sean Payton Says Report of NFL Hiring Whistleblower Mike Cerullo Is 'Troubling'

New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton was shocked to learn that the NFL league office hired Mike Cerullo, the former Saints defensive assistant who served as a whistleblower during the 2012 Bountygate scandal, to a director of football administration position. 

According to Mike Triplett of ESPN.com, "NFL spokesman Michael Signora said Cerullo works closely with senior vice president of football administration and club services Rod Graves on matters related to club administration and development as well as supporting efforts involving college all-star games and project management."

Signora added that Cerullo "is not involved with any disciplinary matters that would represent a conflict of interest."

During the Bountygate investigation and appeal, the Saints maintained that Cerullo—who provided evidence to the NFL of the Saints' alleged bounty system that rewarded payments for injuring particular opponents—was "a 'liar' with a grudge against them for being fired," per Triplett. 

Cerullo said he was angry that he had been fired from the Saints after the 2009 season while assistant head coach Joe Vitt was retained despite allegedly lying about the bounty system, prompting him to send an email to the league in 2011 alleging the Saints ran a bounty program.

The aftermath of Bountygate was a season-long suspension for Payton, an indefinite suspension for defensive coordinator Gregg Williams that was overturned after a year, a six-game suspension for Vitt, an eight-game suspension for general manager Mickey Loomis, a $500,000 fine and the loss of two second-round picks. Four players—Jonathan Vilma, Anthony Hargrove, Will Smith and Scott Fujita—were also suspended by the league, though all of the player suspensions were overturned on appeal. 

During the appeals process, Vitt "testified that Cerullo lied about family emergencies while taking two personal leaves of absences during that 2009 season and referenced a time when Payton needed to ask for police protection for his family when he was out of town because he considered Cerullo a threat. Vilma's attorneys made similar accusations about Cerullo's work performance," according to Triplett.