METAIRIE, La. -- New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton dismissed reports of safety Kenny Vaccaro being benched as "very inaccurate."
But the former first-round pick admitted he was called into a meeting with Payton and being put on "red alert" after his continued struggles. And they both hinted that Vaccaro's role could change, though neither got into specific details.
Vaccaro wasn't the only one to get a similar "red alert" from Payton this week as players described an "intense" atmosphere following a 41-10 loss to the Carolina Panthers that dropped them to 5-8.
"Everybody knows coach is serious. We all gotta play better," said Vaccaro, who said his meeting was both deserved and necessary to help get his career turned back in the right direction. "We have such a winning tradition around here that we've gotta uphold. And he's made that very clear. And he needs to find the right guys that are gonna keep that going."
Veteran running back Pierre Thomas said the message of "Get your mind right" was sent to veterans and young players alike. And he said there was more focus and less goofing around than any time he's seen in his eight years in New Orleans.
"It doesn't matter how long you've been in this league. He put it out there," Thomas said. "Because this is not a game. If you see what direction he's going in, we as players, we gotta buckle down and pay attention to details.
"It's intense. ... We just know what we need to do. The season's just about over, and what are we gonna do to change it? You see a lot more focus since it's toward the end, we're right there, and guys want it."
Payton declined to reveal any specific conversations he had with players, but he generally acknowledged that he took a different approach than normal while reviewing personnel changes after the Panthers loss. The Saints are still in the thick of the NFC South race as they prepare to face the Chicago Bears on the road on "Monday Night Football."
"A game like that happens, you're not gonna be able to just point to two villains. There's a lot of people with mud on their hands, starting with me," Payton said.
Vaccaro spoke openly Thursday about how much of that mud is on his hands, admitting that his performance against the Panthers and his meeting with Payton were necessary after he may have let his success in college and as a rookie stunt his development a little bit.
Vaccaro finished third in the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year voting last year. But he has struggled with things like missed tackles and blown assignments this year.
"When I shook his hand, I felt like it changed my career," said Vaccaro, who was also sporting a new haircut as he said he's putting everything on "reset."
"You've got to remember where you came from, all the stuff you did getting up to this point."
Vaccaro explained that his problems have been more with his decision-making on the field as he has struggled to adjust to a full-time strong safety role after playing mostly in the nickel as a rookie and at Texas -- rather than anything to do with work ethic or effort.
"Payton is right. I've made too many costly mistakes this year that I've gotta get corrected," Vaccaro said -- including at least two blown assignments that led to touchdowns against Carolina. "I'm glad that I talked to Coach Payton. If he wouldn't say anything, that's a problem. He just wants me to be better. He told me what he sees in me as far as a player. He said he sees me in a major role on this team. And I'm ridin' with him."
Vaccaro said he's also gotten great advice from Pro Bowl safeties like teammate Jairus Byrd and friend Earl Thomas, both of whom said they went through similar experiences early in their careers. Byrd's advice was to be "part of the solution."
"Byrd said, 'You're going to look back and they're going to do a freaking America's Football on you and you're going to laugh, and that's going to be part of your story. That's going to make it that much more beautiful,'" Vaccaro said.
Payton echoed a lot of Vaccaro's comments, saying he is not only important to the Saints' long-term future, but their immediate one, as well.
"He's going to play a ton for us. The role he plays -- I'll leave it at that. (But) I would say (the report of his demotion) is very inaccurate," said Payton, who was then asked to evaluate Vaccaro's development in general.
"Listen, you have a game like the one we just had, there's a ton of things, not just in his play, but in a number of guys. We've addressed those, we've talked about it, we're getting focused on Chicago (Monday's opponent)," Payton said. "But we're going to need him to play and play well. He is going to obviously be a huge factor for us in this game, so the idea we're putting him on the bench is a little silly."