The NFL ended Williams’ indefinite suspension Thursday and approved the Titans’ contract with Williams. Tennessee also announced in the same release that Williams had been hired as a senior assistant coach for its defense.

The league issued a statement saying that commissioner Roger Goodell cited several reasons for reinstating Williams, including that Williams accepted responsibility for his role in the bounty program, his commitment to never be involved in any pay for performance system, and pledging to teach safe play and respect for the rules.

“The commissioner emphasized that Williams must fully conform to league rules and will be subject to periodic monitoring to confirm his compliance,” the NFL said in its statement.

Williams, suspended indefinitely last March, is the last person involved in the scandal to be reinstated by the league. New Orleans coach Sean Payton had his suspension lifted on Jan. 22.

Saints general manager Mickey Loomis was suspended for eight games and assistant head coach Joe Vitt for six. Four current or former Saints players were also suspended after an investigation found the club had a performance pool offering cash rewards for key plays, including big hits. The player suspensions eventually were overturned.

Williams coached for the Saints between 2009 and 2011 and was hired as defensive coordinator by the St. Louis Rams in January 2012 before being suspended. Williams had been free to look for a new job in the NFL since the playoffs started, and now he is returning to the team where he got his start in the league back in 1990.

The Titans scheduled a news conference for Thursday afternoon with Williams expected to be on hand along with Titans coach Mike Munchak.

“I have known Gregg for over two decades and have seen him work his way up from a quality control coach to a head coach,” Munchak said in a statement. “He will bring a great deal of defensive knowledge and energy to our staff. The decision to bring him here only came after going through a thoughtful and thorough process.”

How well this move works remains to be seen, but Munchak faces a must-win situation going into his third season as head coach.

The Titans missed the playoffs in his first season on a tiebreaker in 2011 before slumping to a 6-10 record in 2012. Fans have not been happy that Munchak has kept Jerry Gray as his coordinator after a season when Tennessee set a franchise record by allowing 471 points, gave up at least 30 points in seven different games and ranked 27th in yards allowed.

Munchak previously made only one move on his defensive staff, firing linebackers coach Frank Bush and moving Chet Parlavecchio from assisting with special teams to linebackers coach.

Williams will be working with Gray, the same man he took with him to Buffalo when he was hired as the Bills head coach in 2001 after four seasons as Tennessee’s defensive coordinator under then-coach Jeff Fisher. Gray also worked with Williams at the Washington Redskins between 2004-07 before Williams worked with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2008 and then with the Saints.

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“I fully expect that we will be back here for Super Bowls,” he said Monday morning. “And I hope we will be back. We want to be back.”

The outage was blamed on an unspecified “abnormality” in the Superdome’s power system.

Goodell said there was another alternative if the blackout had continued. According to Goodell, there was a backup system that was ready to get rebooted when the lights were restored.

“This is clearly something that can be fixed, and it’s clearly something that we can prepare for,” he said. “And we will.”

Larry Roedel, a lawyer for the state board that oversees the Superdome, said Monday that the outage did not appear to be related to work done on the stadium’s electrical system in December. The work, approved by the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District last fall, replaced feeder equipment connecting the stadium to power provider Entergy New Orleans.

Doug Thornton, manager of the Superdome, said that when the power outage hit, meters indicated the stadium was drawing less power than it does during a typical New Orleans Saints game.

Thornton said millions of dollars have been spent upgrading electrical equipment in the building since Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, and none of it failed. He said it was working properly when power was restored.

He also said there is no evidence that the halftime show had anything to do with the outage, which struck early in the third quarter. He said the show used its own dedicated generator and wasn’t using the Superdome’s power supply.

This was New Orleans’ first Super Bowl since 2002, and the city was eager to show off how it has been rebuilt since Hurricane Katrina.

“We knew they have an interest in future Super Bowls, and we look forward to evaluating that,” Goodell said. “Going forward, I don’t think this will have any impact at all on what I think will be remembered for one of the greatest Super Bowl weeks.”

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At his annual state of the NFL news conference Friday, Goodell said he expects an agreement for the tests to be reached in time for the start of the 2013 season.

Goodell noted that the league and union agreed to the testing two years ago in the collective bargaining agreement. He said it is important to have testing to retain the integrity and the brand of the league.

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The league said the decision to reinstate Payton was made after a meeting between the coach and commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday in New Orleans.

“Sean fully complied with all the requirements imposed on him during his suspension. More important, it is clear that Sean understands and accepts his responsibilities as a head coach and the vital role that coaches play in promoting player safety and setting an example for how the game should be played at all levels. We are committed to delivering football that fans love and the safety players deserve. Coach Payton agrees and I look forward to working with him going forward to do that.”

The NFL said Payton is allowed to attend Senior Bowl practices in Mobile, Ala., this week and resume his duties with the team.

“I am thankful today Commissioner Goodell has granted me reinstatement. As I stated back in March, I, along with Mickey Loomis, take full responsibility for all aspects of our football program. I clearly recognize that mistakes were made, which led to league violations,” Payton said in a statement.

“Furthermore, I have assured the Commissioner a more diligent protocol will be followed. Lastly, I feel we have learned from our mistakes and are ready to move forward. I want to thank our owner, Mr. [Tom] Benson, and all of our great fans for the overwhelming support throughout this past year. I am excited to be back as Head Coach of the New Orleans Saints!”

Earlier this month, The Saints signed Payton to a five-year contract extension that runs through the 2017 season.

The deal is expected to pay Payton more than $8 million annually, which should establish him as the NFL’s highest paid coach, a league source told ESPN.

“We are all thankful that Sean Payton has been reinstated. We have a lot of work to do and we are in the middle of it right now,” Benson said in a statement. “He is our head coach and we welcome him back. We look forward to a great 2013 season and making another run at a World Championship for our fans!”

Payton is the only coach in Saints history to win a Super Bowl. But his legacy was tarnished by the NFL’s bounty probe, as Goodell ruled that Payton failed to exert proper institutional control over a cash-for-hits bounty program run by former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams from 2009 to 2011.

Williams was suspended indefinitely for his role in the bounty program. Williams has not been reinstated by the NFL and his status will not be addressed until another team is interested in hiring him, sources told ESPN. It was reported in early January that Williams would not return to the Rams, where he had been hired prior to his suspension.

The commissioner also suspended Loomis for half the season and assistant head coach Joe Vitt for six games.

Loomis and Vitt are in Mobile evaluating players. Loomis said he was caught off guard by the news of Payton’s return. But he said having Payton back sooner than expected will help the Saints.

“Every day makes a difference. We’ve certainly missed Sean in terms of the football team and all the things that go with our business and the game. But look, I miss his friendship. We all miss his friendship. We miss him as a person. I’m excited that he’s going to be back here and fired up that he’s back.”

Vitt said he talked to Payton on Tuesday morning and that he should join the Saints’ contingent in Alabama on Wednesday.

“We just found out on the way to practice,” Vitt said. “Mr. B called Mickey and we’re all excited. Sean went and spent the day in New York (Monday). He just got back in Dallas. I talked to him on the phone about 5 o’clock this morning. He’s packing his bags, so we’ll expect he’ll be here some time” Wednesday.

Vitt agreed with Loomis that the timing of Payton’s return is good for the team.

Payton is “going to hit the ground running with both feet. His jaw is going to be set. He’ll have a note pad full of thoughts and ideas and he’s going to have to get himself caught up with the evaluation process of our team and looking at film, which he’ll do. This is perfect, getting him back now, because he’s going to be here for the readings of our players. He’s going to be here for the readings of these college seniors. We start handing out unrestricted free agent tape on Thursday and Friday of this week.

“This is where you’re building the foundation of your football team, with the evaluation process of these draft-eligible juniors and seniors and the free agents that are out there.”

Payton is 62-34 in regular-season games as Saints coach and 5-3 in the postseason. During the three seasons before his suspension, the Saints won 41 regular-season and playoff games combined, more than any other team in the NFL.

Without Payton on the sideline this season, the Saints missed the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

There remains one outstanding issue for the Saints stemming from the bounty probe: What will become of the Saints’ second pick next spring? As part of the bounty punishment, Goodell fined the Saints $500,000 and took away second-round picks in 2012 and 2013. However, Goodell left open the possibility of restoring the 2013 second-rounder and instead docking the team a later-round pick if he is satisfied with the club’s level of cooperation in the bounty matter.

Payton’s reinstatement is one more step for the Saints to return to normalcy, but for Vitt, it doesn’t bring closure to the bounty scandal.

“It doesn’t for me. You’re going to have to ask Sean that question, Mickey that question, Vilma that question. It certainly doesn’t for me. I can forgive. I’m not going to forget. It is what it is.”

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