The NFL is doing everything it can to ensure that the Super Bowl goes off without a hitch. According to ESPN's Tisha Thompson, the league is working with federal law enforcement to increase security ahead of Super Bowl 59. This comes on the heels of the New Year's Day terrorist attack on Bourbon Street that killed 14 people.

The man in charge of leading the federal coordination for the Super Bowl is Eric DeLaune, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans.

“We've increased our security posture significantly so that people can come here, they can see a strong law enforcement presence,” DeLaune said.

The Sugar Bowl, which was scheduled to take place on New Year's Day, ended up being postponed because of the attack. The NFL does not want a repeat with the Super Bowl.

“I'd like to say it doesn't change a lot in our security planning, but it does change things,” Cathy Lanier, the NFL's Chief Security Officer, told ESPN. “Are we doing anything differently? Of course.”

DeLaune has a clear goal for stepping up the presence of law enforcement in New Orleans ahead of the Super Bowl.

“My goal was that you couldn't walk a city block in downtown New Orleans without at least encountering one law enforcement official,” DeLaune said. “I'm not trying to make people afraid. I want people to see that we're prepared.”

He confirmed that there will be plenty of plainclothes officers in the crowds as well.

“You'll see plenty of uniformed people but there are going to be lots of plainclothes people in the crowds too,” DeLaune said. “We want people to know that.”

New Orleans replacing street barriers ahead of Super Bowl 59

The City of New Orleans is reportedly planning on replacing many of its street barriers ahead of the Super Bowl.

“It's my understanding that those bollards have not been in working order for some time and had been planned for replacement,” Lanier said.

DeLaune confirmed that both state and local law enforcement have increased barricade protection in response to the recent attack. The increased protection is in place on Bourbon Street and throughout the French Quarter.

“Barriers may not have been working. There may have been some other issues that played into the impact of this event on Jan. 1,” DeLaune said. “But I can tell you the response is genuine. The response is because they want the city to be safer, they want Bourbon Street to be safer, and they don't want to see an attack like this happen again.”

“I can see where somebody might have said there could have been more done, but I can tell you now that the stuff being done is not because of a Super Bowl. It's not because of Mardi Gras,” DeLaune concluded. “It's because they genuinely are concerned about the safety and security of the citizens they serve, and they're trying to make things better.”

Hopefully the extra security allows Super Bowl 59 to proceed safely and on schedule.