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New Orleans Saints: Gregg the Hero

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

Gregg Williams hasn't informed a free agent decision for New Orleans yet, hasn't hand-picked the inevitable defensive playmaker the Saints choose with their 14th-overall selection this year, hasn't installed a single scheme in a minicamp. Yet Williams' reputation has preceded him to the Crescent City, and his hiring as defensive coordinator is already considered one of the most important moves in team history.

After almost two decades of guaranteed defensive putridity, the last three of which have revolved around Gary Gibbs' lack of talent identification and bland scheming, the idea of Williams and his history of intelligent, hard-working, active, complex defenses coming to the Superdome is music to the ears. It also might finally push the Saints over the top.

Death of David Jacobs, Steroids Dealer Who Gave Drugs to NFL Players, Ruled Suicide

A day after local police said convicted steroids dealer David Jacobs had been murdered in his home, the medical examiner has now said Jacobs actually committed suicide.

Jacobs and his ex-girlfriend, a bodybuilder named Amanda Jo Earhart-Savell were found dead of gunshot wounds on Thursday in Jacobs' home in Plano, Texas. Police said both were murdered, but the medical examiner said today that Jacobs died of two self-inflicted gunshot wounds, one to the abdomen and one to the head.

Authorities have not made a ruling on the cause of Earhart-Savell's death.

Multiple media outlets have reported that Jacobs met with NFL officials and gave them the names of players he said bought steroids from him. Those names have not been made public, although Jacobs had said previously that he gave steroids to Matt Lehr (pictured), an offensive lineman who served a four-game suspension last year for a violation of the NFL's policy on steroids and related substances.

Convicted Steroids Dealer David Jacobs Found Murdered in His Home


David Jacobs, a convicted steroids dealer who recently told NFL officials that he gave steroids to players, was found dead in his home today.

Jacobs, who had implicated NFL player Matt Lehr (pictured) as one of the people he gave steroids, was found dead along with a woman identified as his ex-girlfriend, Amanda Jo Earhart-Savell. A gun was also found at the home. Earhart-Savell's parents found the bodies.

A local TV news station reports that police said the deaths were considered a double homicide. The station also reports that
Earhart-Savell's MySpace Profile lists her as an International Federation of Body Building and Fitness professional and a fitness model.

Jacobs was sentenced to three years' probation last month for his role in a steroid-distribution ring. He had been cooperating with law enforcement.

Steroid Dealer Tells NFL of Players' Drug Use

Convicted steroid trafficker David Jacobs met with NFL officials Wednesday and told them the names of players he says he supplied with banned performance-enhancing drugs. Jacobs will not, however, identify those players publicly. From the Dallas Morning News:

"The general topic was his knowledge of steroid and human growth hormone use by current and former players," said Hank Hockeimer, Mr. Jacobs' attorney, who accompanied his client to the meeting that took place in the Dallas area.

"They were thorough in their questioning," Mr. Hockeimer said. "David provided them with documents corroborating what he was telling them."

Mr. Hockeimer would not say which players were discussed.

"My view is that as long as the league is investigating this, we're not going to comment on any names provided," he said.

The one player Jacobs has named publicly is Matt Lehr, the New Orleans Saints offensive lineman who was suspended for four games in 2006 for violating the NFL policy on steroids and related substances. Lehr, with his suspension behind him, likely won't face further league discipline. The other players whom Jacobs named Wednesday likely won't be as lucky.

Steroid Maker Says NFL Players Take Anti-Balding Drugs to Hide Steroid Use


Convicted steroid distributor David Jacobs tells the New York Times that he counseled about 10 NFL players on how to exploit loopholes in the league's drug testing program, including taking the drug finasteride, which is found in the anti-balding medications Propecia and Proscar and which can mask the presence of steroids in urine tests.

Finasteride is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, but it is not banned by the NFL. According to Jacobs, players have received prescriptions from team doctors, claiming that repeatedly putting their helmets on and taking them off was making them go bald.

Jacobs, who was sentenced on Thursday to three years' probation for distributing steroids, has said he helped NFL players, including Saints lineman Matt Lehr, obtain and use steroids. He now says he'll talk to the NFL about how to make its drug testing more effective -- but he says he won't name names.

Feds Call Atlanta Falcons Player Before Grand Jury in Steroid Case; Matt Lehr Targeted

Federal authorities have issued a subpoena to an unnamed player on the Atlanta Falcons to testify before a federal grand jury in Texas investigating steroids, Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times is reporting.

Although the identity of that player has not been revealed, one of the subjects of the grand jury's investigation has been: Matt Lehr, an offensive lineman who signed this off-season with the Saints has previously played for the Buccaneers, Falcons, Rams and Cowboys. Lehr, whose name surfaced in connection to this case during the 2007 season, served a four-game suspension in 2006 after failing a drug test.

Lehr's lawyer said Lehr is under investigation because David Jacobs, a Texas personal trainer who pleaded guilty to steroid-distribution charges in November, is trying to get back at Lehr for refusing to pay his legal fees. "He threatened Matt and said you have to pay my attorney's fees or I am going to end your career," Lehr's lawyer told the Times.

The Saints signed Lehr as a free agent last month; it is unclear whether they knew at the time that Lehr was a target of this grand jury investigation.

Name Surfaces in NFL Steroid Case: Matt Lehr


Two days ago, word first surfaced that a man who had worked as a personal trainer to Atlanta Falcons and Dallas Cowboys players was pleading guilty to steroid distribution and would cooperate with authorities.

Today the Dallas Morning News reports that Matt Lehr, who currently plays for the Buccaneers and has previously played for both the Falcons and Cowboys, is one of the players whose name was supplied by David Jacobs, the personal trainer.

That's not exactly a shock, seeing as Lehr served a four-game suspension after failing a drug test last year, while he played for the Falcons. But it is the first indication that we're going to be hearing names of active NFL players coming out of this story, and reports indicate that Lehr's name will not be the last.

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