(Reuters) - The New Orleans Saints are set to hand suspended head coach Sean Payton a five-year contract extension, the NFL reported on its website on Friday.

Payton is currently serving a season-long suspension for his role in the team's bounty program, which gave players cash rewards for knocking opponents out of games from 2009-2011.

New Orleans struggled without Payton at the helm this season and at 7-8 they will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

Despite the struggles, the Saints made a great decision of bringing back Drew Brees. Though they didn't have a real head coach in charge, Brees still found a way to make the offense function week in and week out. 

(Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter Rutherford)