| By Drew Broach | Deputy metro editor
COACH CAROUSEL: Two days after quitting the New Orleans Saints, Sean Payton says he's already fielded two indirect queries from other NFL teams about being their head coach. For their part, the Saints, looking for a head coach for the first time in 16 years, have asked to interview the Detroit Lions defensive coordinator and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator, both of whom know the Saints well. Did you know that the United States Football League is making a comeback, and that the New Orleans Breakers will again be a part of it? The Breakers announced their head coach Thursday.
TICKET TO RIDE: Some Mardi Gras season krewes were already making their float riders get vaccinated against the coronavirus or test negative for it. Now all krewes must do so, as must dance troupes, marching bands and other parade elements, City Hall's health director said Thursday. The announcement made for the strongest statement yet of how Mayor LaToya Cantrell administration's plans to administer the most public aspect of Carnival for the first time since in two years.
DO-OVER: A federal judge on Thursday rejected a plan to lease millions of acres in the Gulf of Mexico for offshore oil drilling, saying the Biden administration did not adequately take into account the lease sale's effect on planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, violating a bedrock environmental law.
Thanks for starting your Friday with us. There's more news all day on NOLA.com. D.B. | 
