Mickey Loomis will oversee a critical offseason for the Saints, as they have several significant free agents, beginning with Drew Brees. Loomis joked that if Brees isn't re-signed, it would likely mean he would be fired. "We have short memories," Loomis said. "There's been lots of times where you've had core players that are unrestricted free agents, that happens, and occasionally you lose some that you don't want to lose. It's part of the business and we just have to move on when that happens. I don't like when it happens, and we'll do everything we can not to let that happen but you've got one pie and we've got to divide it up amongst a lot of good players and people who've had success in our building. And hopefully we can do that. I think the fact that Drew Brees is a part of this free agent class makes it seem a little more daunting than it would be ordinarily. But, look, less than 8 months ago we had 26 unrestricted free agents a week, a week and a half before practice began. I don't know that it gets any more daunting than that. There were some good players in that group - Roman Harper and Dave Thomas, I mean there were some good, solid players. Real good players in that group and guys that meant a lot to our team just as the guys in this class mean a lot to our team. I think the key thing here that hopefully gives them some comfort and it certainly gives us some comfort is that I think to a man they'd all say they'd like to be back with the Saints and I think we would say to a man we would like to have them back. Once you have that as a starting point, it gives us a chance to get them signed and we'll see what happens."

Drew Brees has a contract that is expiring, but he doesn't see himself playing anywhere other than New Orleans anytime soon. Brees said he would be "beyond stunned" if he and the Saints are unable to agree on a contract extension during this offseason. "My No. 1 priority, and it always has been this, is keeping our team together and making sure we have the right guys in the right positions to make a run at this for a long time," Brees said by phone from his offseason home in San Diego. "We all kind of work together on this thing. "Put it this way: I'm not worried one bit about my contract or our ability to keep guys at key positions."

Former Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo has agreed to become defensive coordinator of the Saints, sources told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen. The 52-year-old Spagnuolo was head coach in St. Louis the past three seasons/ Before that he was defensive coordinator for the Giants, a stint that included a Super Bowl upset of the Patriots. NFC South blog ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas writes about all things NFC South in his division blog. • Blog network: NFL Nation Gregg Williams, who was New Orleans' defensive coordinator the past three seasons, has joined Jeff Fisher's staff in St. Louis. Spagnuolo and the Saints do not have a contract yet.

Drew Brees can become a free agent this winter and shop around for another team, but that scenario strikes Saints coach Sean Payton as far-fetched. "I don't even know if stunned would be a strong enough word," Payton said. "I don't see that happening." Brees has thrown for more yards than any NFL quarterback since joining the Saints in 2006 and passed for an NFL record 5,476 yards this season.

The especially aggressive plan by Gregg Williams to throw blitz packages at the 49ers during their exhibition game helped offensive coordinator Greg Roman prepare for their playoff matchup. "Thankfully, they blitzed us in the preseason game and really gave us some good film to study," Roman said. "We pretty much had the whole montage of blitzes. "They're really good at what they do and they came up with one or two that gave us problems during the game. Thankfully, most of them we saw in the preseason." Alex Smith beat the Saints' blitzes on two of his touchdown passes, as well as his 28-yard touchdown run.

Gregg Williams has agreed to terms with the Rams to be the team's defensive coordinator under new head coach Jeff Fisher. Williams, previously the defensive coordinator of the Saints, had a contract that expired after the season. The Saints sent five or more pass-rushers 51.1 percent of the time in 2011, most in the NFL. The percentage was a league-leading 49.5 in 2010 and a runnerup 48.2 in 2009.

Donte Whitner, safety for the 49ers, set the tone for the defense in Saturday's win over the Saints with his physical play. "I told myself that I was going to hit everything moving out there today," Whitner said. "I was going to be extremely physical, even if it was my own guys. "Luckily I didn't have to hit my own guys." Whitner knocked Pierre Thomas out of the game with a hit that forced a fumble. "That just showed what type of defense we are," linebacker NaVorro Bowman said. "It's all about running around, being relentless and playing within the scheme." The hit prevented a red zone scoring opportunity for the Saints and forced them to change their game plan. "Obviously, it's tough to lose Pierre, especially on the first series for the rest of the game, because he's such a big part of what we do," Saints quarterback Drew Brees said.

Alex Smith completed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Davis with 9 seconds left just after Drew Brees had put the high-powered Saints ahead, and resurgent San Francisco capitalized on five New Orleans turnovers for a 36-32 playoff victory Saturday. "This is huge for us," Davis said. "It's history, legendary, anything you can describe."

Saints tight end Jimmy Graham limped off the field after getting tangled with a San Francisco defender in the first half of Saturday's playoff game. Officials called 49ers safety Donte Whitner for a pass interference penalty on the play. Graham returned to the field on the team's next drive and caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Drew Brees as the 9:37 mark of the second quarter.

Saints running back Pierre Thomas left Saturday's playoff game against the 49ers after suffering a hit to the head. Thomas caught a pass from Drew Brees on the team's opening drive and was then hit by San Francisco's Donte Whitner just short of the goal line. The ball came loose and Patrick Willis recovered for the 49ers.