(CNN) -- In sweeping discipline that one analyst called "historic," New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton was suspended without pay for the entire 2012 season and former Saints defensive coach Gregg Williams was suspended indefinitely in a series of NFL punishments Wednesday for the team's bounty program targeting opponents. Under the bounties, the team paid bonuses for knocking opposing players out of a game, the NFL said. Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis was suspended without pay for the first eight regular-season games of the 2012 season, the NFL said. Assistant Head Coach Joe Vitt was suspended without pay for the first six regular-season games, the league said.
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NEW: "This will never happen again," the apologetic Saints team says
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NEW: Former defense coach Gregg Williams apologizes "wholeheartedly"
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Bounties were put on QBs Brett Favre, Cam Newton, Aaron Rodgers, Kurt Warner
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Saints head coach must sit out a season; Williams, now at Rams, is suspended indefinitely
Williams "acknowledged that he designed and implemented the (bounty) program with the assistance of certain defensive players" after being told by Payton to make the defense "nasty," the @placeholder found.