A year after a little “remodeling” the Saints are now doing an extreme makeover.

Caught in salary cap limbo, the New Orleans front office, along with head coach Sean Payton, realized this team is no longer close to making another real run at a Super Bowl.

So they decided to blow it up and start over.

That’s why Jimmy Graham was sent to Seattle a season after the club agreed to pay him big bucks after a contract dispute.

After telling the world they could not win without Graham, electing to sign him to a long-term deal instead of putting the franchise tag on him, they had a change of heart.

Call it buyer’s remorse.

But the Graham deal may not be all that much of a savings.

On the surface, trading Graham for center Max Unger and a first-round pick seems to make money sense. Graham was about $10 million against the cap, but Unger is $4.5 and now the Saints have to pay not one but two first-round picks. So the money isn’t enough to make a huge impact.

Maybe Graham had outlived his welcome with the franchise after trying to squeeze every penny out of the team during an ugly contract dispute last year.

Things might have gotten personal even if it should have been all business.

Or likely it is a fact that this club wasn’t good enough to compete for a title without major changes. A team that went 7-9 two of the last three years was not a true contender. It seems the front office finally realized it.

And we have no idea what the fight over owner Tom Benson’s control of the club has to do with any of this.

But the real question is now about Drew Brees’ future with the team.

Rumors are swirling that even the star quarterback and face of the franchise is on the trading block for the right deal. It’s not as if the Saints are calling anybody, but they do seem to be willing to pick up the phone if it rings and at least listen.

If you listen to Brees, you know he wasn’t involved in the talks before Graham was sent packing to the best team in the NFC.

“I am as shocked as anyone,” Brees told the NFL Network. “I loved the guy.”

That sounds like a QB out of the loop.

Clearly Brees’ future in New Orleans is up in the air.

Now 36, Brees has said he wants to play for more than just a few years, but the Saints may not want to pay him the big money he is getting for that long. He did show more than a few kinks in the armor last year.

While upgrading the offensive line helps Brees’ health, taking away his best and only weapon hurts the rest of his game. This a year after trading Darren Sproles to Philadelphia.

The best two players outside of Brees himself have been sent out of town in back-to-back offseasons.

And the QB, well, he is not getting any younger. At his age it is not likely Brees wants to stick around for a rebuilding process.

Maybe he will want to leave town as he chases a second ring.

And you have to wonder if he will be willing to hand the ball off to Mark Ingram, a running back who had his best season last year and the Saints re-signed for four years and $16 million.

It is hard to go against Payton and General Manager Mickey Loomis because they are the ones who built the Saints up to Super Bowl champs in the 2009 season. Without them the city would have no rings.

But they also have to thank Brees. He was the fuel that stoked the championship fire. Without him, the Saints would still be ringless, too.

And what of Benson’s role?

As he fights his own family feud, we don’t know if he is pulling the trigger on these moves or not. No question he gets a lot of goodwill from the city and fans, but he has always been a tough businessman who at one point was ready to move the team to San Antonio.

Getting rid of an icon like Brees would be nothing if Benson thinks it makes good business sense.

Then there is Brees himself. Why in the world would he want to stay and rebuild once again? If it takes three years, he would be 40 by the time that Super Bowl was played. No 40-year-old has won a Super Bowl yet.

Maybe the Saints would be doing him a favor by sending him out of town.

It could be a win-win situation.

One thing is clear: Loomis and Payton are on the clock. It’s no longer about their last moves but their next ones.

A lot of eyes are on what the duo does next. Having pulled it off once in New Orleans, they would be considered miracle workers if they could do it twice.

Then again, if they lose Brees, Saints fans may want to get those paper bags out of storage.

The clock on this team’s title window is ticking much faster today.

l

Jim Gazzolo is managing sports editor. Email him at jgazzolo@americanpress.com

(Associated Press)

Dave Martin