Pop quiz, hotshot: When a head coach takes a team deep into the playoffs, and then the team finishes the following two consecutive seasons below 500, what does history suggest the future holds for the team and for the coach?

It’s been three weeks since the unofficial death of the 2008 season. Getting their asses handed to them by a mediocre team with a vastly overrated rookie quarterback was just icing on the cake. It’s time to shift focus.

The question is no longer whether or not the Saints have it in them to go on a run and get back into the playoff race. They don’t. The question now is just where in the hell is this team headed under Sean Payton and Mickey Loomis?