All Saints' Tier 1, Tier 2 staff members have received COVID-19 vaccine shots

Less than a week after it was learned that assistant coaches from at least four NFL teams could be banned from having direct contact with players and kept off practice fields and outside of meeting rooms because they were refusing to receive COVID-19 vaccine shots, New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton offered a different type of update. 

Per Katherine Terrell of The Athletic, Payton told reporters Tuesday that all Saints coaches, staff members, and other essential personnel considered either Tier 1 or Tier 2 have been vaccinated. Payton added he's "confident" that at least 85% of players will eventually be vaccinated, which would allow for the loosening of certain health and safety protocols related to the coronavirus. 

Payton battled COVID-19 back in March 2020. 

The NFL and NFL Players Association have both made it clear players cannot be cut by teams just because they won't receive available vaccine shots, but commissioner Roger Goodell told owners ahead of Memorial Day that staff members who have direct contact with players are to be vaccinated unless they are granted an exemption for either health or religious reasons. 

Earlier on Tuesday, Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer confirmed some of his assistants got vaccinated following last week's warning from the league that failing to do so could result in those individuals losing their Tier 1 status.