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New Orleans Saints
Current season
New Orleans Saints logo
New Orleans Saints logo
New Orleans Saints wordmark
New Orleans Saints wordmark
LogoWordmark
Established November 1, 1966; 58 years ago (November 1, 1966)[1]
First season: 1967
Play in Mercedes-Benz Superdome
New Orleans, Louisiana
Headquartered in Metairie, Louisiana
League / conference affiliations
National Football League (1967–present)
Uniforms
Team colorsOld gold, black, white[2][3]
     
Fight song"When The Saints Go Marching In"
MascotGumbo, Sir Saint
Personnel
Owner(s)Gayle Benson[4][5]
General managerMickey Loomis
PresidentDennis Lauscha
Head coachSean Payton
Team history
  • New Orleans Saints (1967–present)
Team nicknames
  • The Black and Gold, the Dome Patrol, the Bless You Boys, the Who Dats
Championships
League championships (1)
Conference championships (1)
Division championships (8)
Playoff appearances (13)
Home fields

Temporary stadiums in 2005 due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina:

New Orleans Saints Headquarters and Practice Facility

The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The team was founded by John W. Mecom Jr., David Dixon, and the city of New Orleans on November 1, 1966.[6][7][8] The Saints began play in Tulane Stadium in 1967 where they remained until the 1974 NFL season, when they moved to the new Louisiana Superdome (now the Mercedes-Benz Superdome).[9][10]

The name "Saints" is an allusion to November 1 being All Saints' Day in the Catholic faith. New Orleans has a large Catholic population, and the spiritual "When the Saints Go Marching In" is strongly associated with New Orleans and is often sung by fans at games. The team's primary colors are old gold and black; their logo is a simplified fleur-de-lis.

For most of their first 20 years, the Saints were barely competitive, only getting to .500 wins twice. In 1987, they finished 12–3 – their first-ever winning season – and qualified for the NFL playoffs for the first time in franchise history, but lost to the Minnesota Vikings 44–10. The next season in 1988 ended with a 10–6 record, but no playoff berth. Following the 2000 regular season, the Saints defeated the defending Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams 31–28 to notch their first-ever playoff win.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and much of the Gulf Coast region. The Superdome was used as an emergency, temporary shelter for displaced residents. The stadium suffered damage from the hurricane (notably from flooding and part of the roof being torn off as well as internal damage from lack of available facilities). The Saints were forced to play their first scheduled home game against the New York Giants at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey (the Giants' home stadium); other home games were rescheduled at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas or Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. During the season, it was rumored that Saints' owner Tom Benson might deem the Superdome unusable and seek to legally void his contract and relocate the team to San Antonio, where he had business interests. Ultimately, however, the Superdome was repaired and renovated in time for the 2006 season at an estimated cost of US$185 million. The New Orleans Saints' first post-Katrina home game was an emotionally charged Monday Night Football game versus their division rival, the Atlanta Falcons. The Saints, under rookie head coach Sean Payton and new quarterback Drew Brees, defeated the Falcons 23–3, and went on to notch the second playoff win in franchise history.

The 2009 season was a historic one for the Saints. Winning a franchise-record 13 games, they qualified for Super Bowl XLIV and defeated the AFC champion Indianapolis Colts 31–17. To date, it is the only Super Bowl championship that they have won, and as it is the only Super Bowl the Saints have appeared in, they join the New York Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the only three NFL teams to win their lone Super Bowl appearance.

In 53 seasons (through 2019), the Saints' record was 384–450–5 (.461) overall, 375–438–5 in the regular season and 9–12 in the playoffs.

History

Main article: History of the New Orleans Saints

Early history

First the brainchild of local sports entrepreneur Dave Dixon, who later built the Louisiana Superdome and founded the USFL, the Saints were actually secretly born in a backroom deal brought about by U.S. Congressman Hale Boggs, U.S. Senator Russell Long, and NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle. The NFL needed congressional approval of the proposed AFL–NFL merger.[11] Dixon and a local civic group had been seeking an NFL franchise for over five years and had hosted record crowds for NFL exhibition games. To seal the merger, Rozelle arrived in New Orleans within a week, and announced on November 1, 1966, that the NFL officially had awarded the city of New Orleans an NFL franchise.[7][8] The team was named for the great jazz song most identified with New Orleans – "When the Saints Go Marching In", and it was no coincidence that the franchise's official birth was announced on November 1, which is the Catholic All Saints' Day. When the deal was reached a week earlier, Dixon strongly suggested to Rozelle that the announcement be delayed until then. Dixon told an interviewer that he even cleared the name with New Orleans' Archbishop Philip M. Hannan: "He thought it would be a good idea. He had an idea the team was going to need all the help it could get."[12]

Boggs' Congressional committee in turn quickly approved the NFL merger. John W. Mecom Jr., a young oilman from Houston, became the team's first majority stockholder. The team's colors, black and gold, symbolized both Mecom's and New Orleans' strong ties to the oil industry. Trumpeter Al Hirt was part owner of the team, and his rendition of "When the Saints Go Marching In" was made the official fight song.[citation needed]

Archie Manning, pictured attempting a pass in 1980, was one of the first players to be inducted into the Saints' Ring of Honor.

The inaugural game in 1967 on September 17 started with a 94-yard opening kickoff return for a touchdown by John Gilliam, but the Saints lost that game 27–13 to the Los Angeles Rams at Tulane Stadium, with over 80,000 in attendance.[13] It was one of the few highlights of a 3–11 season, which set an NFL record for most wins by an expansion team.

For most of their first 20 years, the Saints were the definition of NFL futility. They did not finish as high as second in their division until 1979. The 1979 and 1983 teams were the only ones to even finish at .500 until 1987.

One of the franchise's early bright moments came on November 8, 1970, when Tom Dempsey kicked an NFL record-breaking 63-yard field goal at Tulane Stadium to defeat the Detroit Lions 19–17 in the final seconds of the game; the previous record was seven yards less, set in 1953.[14][15] Dempsey's record was not broken until 2013 by Matt Prater of the Denver Broncos, who kicked one yard farther (at elevation in Colorado).

In 1980, the Saints lost their first 14 games, prompting local sportscaster Bernard "Buddy D" Diliberto to advise Saints supporters to wear paper bags over their heads at the team's home games; many bags rendered the club's name as the "'Aints" rather than the "Saints."[16]

Jim E. Mora era (1986–1996)

Tom Benson, a successful automobile dealership owner and banker, acquired the franchise in 1985, and hired Jim Finks as general manager and Jim Mora as head coach. That combination provided the Saints with their first-ever winning record and playoff appearance, going 12–3 in 1987, which had one fewer game than normal due to a players' strike. Another playoff berth would follow in 1991, and the club's first division title came in 1991. During Mora's tenure, the Saints made the playoffs four times, with teams marked by strong defenses led by the "Dome Patrol" linebacking corps, but they were never able to win a playoff game. Mora coached the Saints until the middle of the 1996 season, when he stepped down halfway through the 3–13 season. His 93 wins were three more than the Saints won in their entire history prior to his arrival, and would remain the most for any Saints coach until 2016.

Mike Ditka era (1997–1999)

After the end of the 1996 season, ironically as Diliberto had suggested before Mora's resignation, former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka was hired to replace Mora. Although this initially generated a lot of excitement among Saints fans, Ditka's tenure ended up being a failure. The Saints went 6–10 in their first two seasons under Ditka (1997 and 1998). During the 1999 NFL Draft, Ditka traded all of his picks for that season, as well as the first-round and third-round picks for the following season, to the Washington Redskins in order to draft University of Texas Heisman Trophy running back Ricky Williams in the first round. Ditka and Williams had a mock wedding picture taken to commemorate the occasion. However, Ditka, most of his coaching staff, and general manager Bill Kuharich were fired at the end of the 1999 season due to the club's 3–13 record.

Jim Haslett era (2000–2005)

Jim Haslett held the post from 2000 to 2005. In his first year, he took the team to the 2000 playoffs and defeated the defending Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams for the team's first ever playoff win. The team lost the following week to the Minnesota Vikings. After winning the 2000 NFL Executive of the Year Award, General Manager Randy Mueller was fired between the 2001 and 2002 seasons without explanation by Benson. The Saints failed to make the playoffs in 2001 and 2002, although in the latter year they had the distinction of beating the eventual Super Bowl XXXVII champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in both of their regular season meetings, only the second team to do so in NFL history.

In 2003, the Saints again missed the playoffs after finishing 8–8. The 2004 season started poorly for the Saints, as they went 2–4 through their first six games and 4–8 through their first twelve games. At that point Haslett's job appeared to be in jeopardy; however, he managed to win the three straight games leading up to the season finale, leaving the Saints in playoff contention in the final week of the season. In week 17, the Saints defeated division rivals Carolina; however, the Saints needed other results to break their way and when the St. Louis Rams beat the New York Jets the Saints were eliminated despite having beaten the Rams, who finished with the same record. The Rams, Saints, and Vikings all were 8–8, with the Rams having a 7–5 conference record, Saints 6–6, and the Vikings 5–7. The Rams received the #1 wild-card due to having the best conference record out of the three, followed by the Vikings due to the 38–31 loss handed to the Saints in Week 6. Haslett was fired after the 2005 season, in which the Saints finished 3–13 and did not play any regular season games in New Orleans due to Hurricane Katrina.

Effect of Hurricane Katrina

Main article: Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans Saints
Tiger Stadium was one of the venues that hosted the Saints in 2005.

Due to the damage Hurricane Katrina caused to the Superdome and the New Orleans area, the Saints' scheduled 2005 home opener against the New York Giants was moved to Giants Stadium. The remainder of their 2005 home games were split between the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, and LSU's Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge.

Sean Payton era (2006–present)

Sean Payton is the current head coach.

On January 17, 2006, the Saints hired Sean Payton as their new head coach.

2006 season

Main article: 2006 New Orleans Saints season

On March 14, 2006, the Saints signed former San Diego Chargers quarterback Drew Brees to a six-year, $60 million deal.[17]

On March 23, the Saints announced that the team's two 2006 preseason games were to be played at Shreveport, Louisiana, and Jackson, Mississippi. After a $185 million renovation of the historic stadium, on April 6 the Saints released their 2006 schedule, with all home games scheduled to be played at the Superdome. On September 19, Saints owner Tom Benson announced that the team had sold out the Louisiana Superdome for the entire season with season tickets alone (68,354 seats), a first in franchise history.[18]

The September 25, home opener, the first home game in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, was won by the Saints 23–3 against the Atlanta Falcons, who were undefeated in the 2006 season at that time. The attendance for the game was a sellout crowd of 70,003. Meanwhile, the broadcast of the game was ESPN's highest-ever rated program to date, with an 11.8 rating, and viewership by 10.85 million homes. It was the most-watched program for the night, broadcast or cable, and was the second-highest rated cable program of all time at the time. Green Day and U2 performed "Wake Me Up When September Ends" and "The Saints Are Coming", respectively, before the game. The game received a 2007 ESPY award for "Best Moment in Sports." The game is remembered by Saints fans for Steve Gleason's blocked punt on the opening series that resulted in a touchdown for New Orleans.

On December 17, the Saints clinched their third division title and their first NFC South title in franchise history. For the first time in Saints' history, they clinched their NFC South title on their home field. Sean Payton became the second consecutive Saints coach to win a division title in his first season. After the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Dallas Cowboys 23–7 on Christmas Day 2006, the Saints clinched a first-round playoff bye for the first time in franchise history.

After the first-round bye, the Saints beat the Philadelphia Eagles 27–24 in the Superdome in the 2006 Divisional Playoffs. No team had ever had such a poor record in the prior year (3–13) and then gone on to a league or conference championship game since the 1999 St. Louis Rams who advanced to win their first Super Bowl after being 4–12 the season before. Since the Saints' only previous playoff win was in the wild card round, this was the farthest the Saints had ever advanced at the time. The victory was only the second playoff win in team history. The season ended on January 21, 2007, when the Saints lost 39–14 to the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship game.

2007 season

Main article: 2007 New Orleans Saints season

The Saints announced that for the second year in a row, the Louisiana Superdome had sold out every ticket for the season.[19] Additionally, all luxury boxes had been sold out for the season.[citation needed] Both of these statistics are particularly surprising given that the city-proper has about 300,000 people or 150,000 fewer people than July 2005 population data (though the metro area still accounts for 1.2 million people).[citation needed]

The first game of the season was against the defending Super Bowl XLI champion Indianapolis Colts. The Saints lost this game, 41–10, and lost their next three games. In one of these three games, against the Tennessee Titans, the Saints lost running back Deuce McAllister for the season with his second career (second time in three seasons) ACL tear. After winning their first game, against the Seattle Seahawks, two weeks later, the team went on a four-game winning streak to bring their record to an even 4–4. After reaching 7–7, the Saints lost their final two games to finish 7–9.

2008 season

Main article: 2008 New Orleans Saints season

Following a disappointing 7–9 record in the 2007 season, the Saints ended the 2008 season 8–8. Failing to qualify for the post season for the second straight year, the Saints found themselves struggling on defense. However, the Saints would match the explosive offense they had in the 2006 season. Drew Brees ended the 2008 season just 16 yards short of beating Dan Marino's single-season record of 5084 total passing yards, and receiver Lance Moore came 72 yards short of his first 1000-yard season.

2009 season: First Super Bowl championship

Main article: 2009 New Orleans Saints season
Quarterback Drew Brees was named MVP in Super Bowl XLIV.

The 2009 season was the team's most successful season, which culminated in the franchise's first league championship win against the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV. After achieving a record of 13–0 with their win over the Atlanta Falcons, it marked the Saints' best start to a season in its franchise history. The result clinched an NFC playoff berth, a bye in the first round of the playoffs. By winning their first 13 games, the Saints also set the record for the longest undefeated season opening (13–0) by an NFC team since the AFL–NFL merger, surpassing the previous record (12–0) held by the 1985 Chicago Bears. However, they would fall victim to the Dallas Cowboys in week 14, going on to end the season with a three-game losing streak. The Saints became the first team to win a Super Bowl after losing its last three regular season games.

Although its opponents would include winners of 9 of the last 15 NFL MVP awards, the team advanced to the 2009 NFC Championship game where they defeated the Minnesota Vikings, led by Brett Favre, 31–28 in overtime (at 9:19 CST), earning their first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. Television ratings for Super Bowl XLIV (44) were the highest for any TV program, sports or otherwise, in history,[20] as their successful bid to win the Super Bowl was seen by many to represent the city's resurgence after the devastating Hurricane Katrina.[citation needed]

2010 season

Main article: 2010 New Orleans Saints season

The Saints 2010 season began in the Superdome as the defending Super Bowl champions defeated the Minnesota Vikings 14–9, in a rematch of the 2009 NFC Championship Game. It was played on Thursday September 9, 2010 and televised on NBC, making it the first time the Saints have opened the NFL's season at home. On Sunday, August 8, 2010, NBC announced the televised opening festivities of the evening would begin with Taylor Swift and Dave Matthews Band. On December 27, 2010, with a 17–14 win against the Atlanta Falcons in Atlanta the Saints clinched a playoff appearance (wild card). This marked the first time a team in the NFC South had made back-to-back playoff appearances since the division was formed in 2002. The Saints would face the Seattle Seahawks for the wild-card opener at Qwest Field. The Seahawks were the first NFL team to capture their division with a sub-.500 regular season record (7–9). Drew Brees completed a postseason-record 39 passes for 404 yards and two touchdowns. Despite throwing 60 passes and hindered by a lack of depth at running back, last year's Super Bowl MVP was not intercepted and rallied the Saints within 34–30 in the fourth quarter. In the end, his efforts were negated by a defense that could not get enough stops and a late touchdown run by Marshawn Lynch breaking over a half-dozen tackles with 3:22 left which helped the Seahawks defeat the Saints 41–36.

2011 season

Main article: 2011 New Orleans Saints season

The Saints began their season with a loss against the Green Bay Packers, but the team rebounded for the next four weeks to bring their record to 4–1. A loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers brought the record to 4–2, but the team bounced back with a 62–7 blowout win against the struggling Indianapolis Colts. A surprise loss to the St. Louis Rams resulted in the record dropping to 5–3. In the next seven weeks the Saints beat talented teams such as the eventual Super Bowl XLVI champion New York Giants, Detroit Lions, and Atlanta Falcons, bringing their season record to 12–3. To cap off the season, quarterback Drew Brees broke the single season passing record held for over 25 years, on the way to a Saints division winning game. The Saints won the NFC South title on December 26 and ended the 2011 season as the third seed in the NFC. They finished with a 13–3 record, beating Carolina 45–17 and also giving running back Darren Sproles the record for most all-purpose yards in a single season. The team broke numerous records that year including most yards in a season, completion percentage, yards passing, completions and more. The New Orleans Saints beat the Detroit Lions in the 2011 NFC wild-card playoff game 45–28. New Orleans also tied the NFL's postseason mark for team first downs in a game (34), and broke the record for total yards with 626, eclipsing the yardage record set 49 years ago. The Saints lost Saturday, January 14, 2012, in the Divisional round in the playoffs against the San Francisco 49ers in Candlestick Park. A game that was considered an instant classic by many as the game saw numerous lead changes in the final four minutes of play.

2012 season: Payton suspended; punishment for Bountygate

Main article: 2012 New Orleans Saints season

After an off-season dominated by news of the bounty scandal and the year-long suspension of head coach Sean Payton, the Saints sought to refocus on football and produce yet another winning year. Instead, the team, led by offensive line coach Aaron Kromer for its first six games, started the season with four straight losses and a last place spot in the NFC South. The team finally broke through with a win in Week 5, against the San Diego Chargers, a game that also saw quarterback Drew Brees break Johnny Unitas's longstanding record for consecutive games with a touchdown pass. After their scheduled bye, the Saints went on to win 4 of their next 5 games, to bring their record to an even 5–5. Joe Vitt returned after his six-game suspension to serve as interim head coach for the rest of the season. The team failed to hold its momentum, however, and lost the next three games, including a loss at Atlanta that also marked the end of Brees' record touchdown streak after 54 games, and a 52–27 blowout loss to the Giants that dropped the Saints to 5–8. Despite winning 2 of their last 3 games, and Brees again leading the league with 5,177 passing yards (his third time to surpass 5,000 yards, as he remained the only quarterback to break that barrier more than once), the team finished tied for last in the NFC South, at 7–9. The Saints defense allowed 7,042 yards, setting an NFL record.[21]

2013 season

Main article: 2013 New Orleans Saints season

The Saints finished their 2013 preseason 3–1, and won their first five regular season games against the Atlanta Falcons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins and Chicago Bears. The Saints under Sean Peyton had been winless in Chicago's Soldier Field and had not won in the Windy City since 2000. The Saints fared well against Chicago, Arizona and Miami, winning 26–18, 31–7 and 38–17 respectively, but needed a 4th down shutdown and a last-minute field goal to escape Atlanta and Tampa Bay. The Saints went on a 5–0 win streak, but were stopped short by the New England Patriots in Week 6, losing 30–27, with a touchdown pass by Tom Brady in the last 5 seconds of the game. New Orleans would go undefeated at home for the second straight season with Sean Payton as the head coach, but finish just 3–5 on the road. Key losses included a 7–34 blowout against the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football in Seattle which cost them homefield advantage throughout the playoffs, a 16–27 upset against the St. Louis Rams in St. Louis which led to the Saints needing to win their next game against Carolina to control their own playoff destiny, and a heartbreaking 13–17 defeat to their division rival the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte who went on to win the NFC South. The Saints finished the season with an 11–5 record and earned a wild card berth as the sixth seed in the NFC. On January 4, 2014, the Saints recorded their first road playoff win in franchise history over the Philadelphia Eagles 26–24. On January 11, the Saints lost to the first seed, the Seattle Seahawks, once again in Seattle 15–23. The weather conditions were very poor, which gave the offense much difficulty. Despite the conditions, the defense of the Saints played well, holding Seattle to just 23 over the 34 points allowed against Seattle during the regular season.

2014 season

Main article: 2014 New Orleans Saints season

The Saints finished the season 7–9, second in their division behind the 7–8–1 Carolina Panthers. They missed out on the playoffs after being defeated 14–30 by their divisional rival, the Atlanta Falcons, in the second-to-last week of the season. This season was notorious in Saints history for having the 31st worst ranked defense in the league, which is one of the main reasons for the Saints poor 2014 campaign. The only two great performances by the defense out of the entire season came from a 44–23 home win against the Green Bay Packers and a 31–15 victory against the Chicago Bears in Chicago.

2015 season

Main article: 2015 New Orleans Saints season

The Saints finished with a 7–9 record for the second consecutive season. They were third in the NFC South after the 15–1 NFC champions Carolina Panthers and the 8–8 Atlanta Falcons. Their defense was historically bad. They allowed the most passing touchdowns in a season in NFL history as they allowed 45, effectively making them the worst passing defense in NFL history. They also set the NFL record in opposing passer rating (116.2), while finishing last in points allowed (29.8) and yards allowed per play (6.6).[22] Atrocious play by defensive captain Brandon Browner, who set the NFL record for most penalties with 23, did not help the struggling Saints defense. Defensive coordinator Rob Ryan was fired near the half-way point in the season and was replaced by senior defensive assistant Dennis Allen.[23] The Saints had strong play from their 2015 draft class. The Saints first pick Andrus Peat started at right tackle and left guard at certain points in the season, and other first-round pick Stephone Anthony finished his rookie season with 112 tackles, one sack, one interception, and two forced fumbles. He had two scores, both coming against the Carolina Panthers and led all rookies in tackles. Second-round pick Hau'oli Kikaha had 4 sacks. Canadian football star Delvin Breaux, who was signed in the off-season, led the Saints struggling secondary with 3 interceptions and 19 pass deflections. Drew Brees also tied the NFL record for touchdown passes in a game with 7, coming against the New York Giants.[24]

On March 15, 2018, the Saints' owner Tom Benson died from flu at the age of 90 after he was hospitalized on February 16, 2018.[25] Benson's wife Gayle Benson succeeded him as the owner of the Saints and the NBA's New Orleans Pelicans.

Logos and uniforms

The fleur-de-lis is the symbol of the Saints.

Black, along with old gold and white, has always been one of the team colors, but it was not the first choice of original majority owner John W. Mecom Jr. His preference was for Mecom blue, a medium shade which was used by all of his other investments. The NFL office, however, informed him that his proposed combination too closely resembled that worn by the San Diego Chargers. Although the Chargers were members of the AFL, the older league did not want to offend its soon-to-be partner so soon after the merger. Mecom settled on black as the primary color as a nod to his financial involvement in the petroleum industry. "Black gold" is a term synonymous with oil.[26] Although the Pittsburgh Steelers—who played a few home games in New Orleans during their early years to avoid conflict with the Pittsburgh Panthers football team—have long used black and gold as their colors, their shade of gold more closely resembles yellow, making the Saints black and gold compatible with the rest of the NFL.

Except for minor modifications, the Saints' logo and uniforms have basically remained the same since the club debuted in 1967. The team's logo is a fleur-de-lis (a symbol of the City of New Orleans and of France's Royal Family, which included the House of Bourbon), while its uniform design consists of gold helmets, gold pants, and either black or white jerseys. Minor changes to the uniform stripes and trim have been made throughout the years. The team wore black helmets during the 1969 preseason, but NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle barred the Saints from using the helmets during the regular season, since Mecom did not notify the league office of the change. Black helmets have never been introduced since, not even as an alternate helmet prior to 2013, when the NFL began to require teams to use only one helmet shell per season.

The Saints predominantly wore white at home when the club played at Tulane Stadium from 1967 through 1974 (except in 1969 and 1970), forcing opponents to suffer in their darker jerseys in the subtropical climate of New Orleans. When the surface at Tulane Stadium switched from natural grass to PolyTurf in 1971, field temperatures became hotter still. In Archie Manning's first game, in the 1971 season opener against the Los Angeles Rams, temperatures on the field reached as high as 130 °F (54 °C). The heavily favored Rams wilted in the stifling heat, and the Saints claimed their first-ever victory over their NFC West rivals, 24–20, on Manning's one-yard quarterback sneak on the last play of the game.

The Saints switched to white pants in 1975, coinciding with the team's move from Tulane Stadium to the Superdome, and have worn white at home numerous times since then. One year later, they started to wear black pants with their white jerseys, a move influenced by coach Hank Stram, who introduced red pants to the Kansas City Chiefs' uniforms in 1968. In an October 3, 1976 home game against the Houston Oilers, Hank Stram used the Saints' road uniforms, the white jerseys and black pants. The Saints lost that game 31–26. During the 1981–82 seasons (Bum Phillips' first two seasons as coach), the team wore white jerseys with black pants at home, but reverted to the black jerseys and white pants for 1983. They reverted to wearing gold pants with both their black and white jerseys in 1986 under new coach Jim E. Mora. From 1986 through 1995, the sleeves of the jerseys and sides of the pants featured a logo with a fleur-de-lis inside an outline of the state of Louisiana (with the location of New Orleans marked with a star in the state outline). The logo replaced the striping pattern that had been on the uniforms since the team's inception; save for color variations, the striping pattern was similar to that used by the Washington Redskins (until 1979), Green Bay Packers (until 1997), and Cleveland Browns (until 2014), which is likely why the change was made. That logo was removed in 1996 and replaced with a fleur-de-lis on both the sleeves and sides of the pants.

From 1996 through 1998, the Saints returned to gold numbers on both the white and black jerseys, but complaints about the numbers on the white jerseys being too difficult to read forced the numbers on the white jerseys to be changed to black in 1999. The Saints wore black pants with a wide gold stripe with their white jerseys in 1999, but following a 3–13 season and the dismissal of coach Mike Ditka, the black pants were mothballed by new coach Jim Haslett.

2000s

In 2000, the Saints won their first playoff game as they hosted the St. Louis Rams, and after having a better road record than home record, they wore their white jerseys, and won 31–28 over the defending champion Rams. The defining play of the game came with the Saints clinging to a three-point lead with minutes to play. The Saints punted to the Rams' Az-Zahir Hakim (who would play one season for the Saints in 2005), who fumbled the punt deep in Rams' territory. Brian Milne recovered for the Saints, who then ran out the clock to preserve the victory.

In 2001, they wore their white jerseys in the first six home games. During that same year, they primarily wore black pants with both their white and black jerseys. They became the first NFL team to wear all-black uniforms in a week 5 road game against the Carolina Panthers, and again in weeks 16 and 17 in home games against the Washington Redskins and San Francisco 49ers; the Saints were outscored 78–10 in the final two contests to end a 7–9 campaign.

In 2002, the Saints wore black pants with their white jerseys (except for the final road game, a 20–13 loss in Cincinnati when they went back to the gold pants), and gold pants with their black jerseys, a gold alternate jersey, and a 1967-style throwback uniform, complete with an accurate 1967-era helmet which featured a larger fleur-de-lis, a darker shade of gold and grey facemasks. But one season later, they stopped using the alternates and again reverted to wearing gold pants with both their black and white jerseys.

The team introduced a gold alternate jersey (worn with the black pants) during a December 15, 2002 game versus the Minnesota Vikings, a 32–31 loss, but have never worn them since then. Because of the metallic gold's bright color, the gold jerseys were considered the "light" jersey in the game, so the Vikings wore their purple home jerseys as the "dark" colored team. One team must wear "dark" and one team must wear "light", this was done because of black & white t.v. broadcasts so viewers could tell the teams apart. The only exception being if both teams are wearing throwback uniforms, such as Thanksgiving Classic games. From 2003 through 2007, the New England Patriots had a "light" jersey (their alternate, a bright metallic silver) that is not white in which the other team would wear their colored, or "dark" jerseys against them since the third jersey rule was implemented in the NFL in 2002.

The Saints also introduced a 1967-style throwback uniform in a 23–20 win on December 1, 2002, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This uniform was not worn again until a 40–33 win against the Houston Texans on September 25, 2011, and also on November 6, 2011, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a 27–16 Saints win. However, the 2011 throwbacks use the current helmet, meaning the shades of gold on the helmet and jersey do not match.

In 2006, to honor their return to Louisiana, the Saints wore a patch on their uniforms with an outline of the State of Louisiana with a fleur-de-lis superimposed, similar to the logo from the 1980s.

The Saints originally planned to wear white jerseys at home for the 2006 season, but during the season, the players voted to wear the black jerseys at home after the second game. Since the team had informed the NFL office that they planned to wear white jerseys at home, each of the Saints' remaining home opponents would have to agree to New Orleans' request. The Atlanta Falcons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cincinnati Bengals did not agree to the switch, forcing the Saints to wear white jerseys for those games.

Starting in week 13 of the 2006 season, the Saints wore black pants with the black jerseys against the San Francisco 49ers (restoring them after a four-season absence), and in a Week 16 game in The Meadowlands against the New York Giants (a 30–7 Saints win), the Saints wore the black pants with their road white jerseys. The Saints later stuck with the black pants in their 2006 playoff run.

Since 2008, the Saints have worn white jerseys at home for preseason games and early regular season home games.

In 2009, the Saints wore the black pants only once, beating St. Louis 28–23. They wore the white jerseys/gold pants combination during the Super Bowl XLIV victory over the Indianapolis Colts. In 2012, the Saints wore black pants 12 times and wore gold pants 4 times. In 2013, gold pants were used only 7 times (including playoffs).

Prior to the 2016 season, the NFL introduced the Color Rush program, and the Saints' version is a mixture of different uniform designs from earlier eras. White jersey tops featured old gold numbers with black trim along with gold and black sleeve stripes (a nod to the team's late 1960s uniforms). Complementing the uniforms were white pants (inspired from the 1975–85 look) and all-white socks. The Saints first wore the uniform during Week 11 of that season against the Carolina Panthers on the road, and was worn on the road two more times thereafter. Its first home appearance came in Week 11 of the 2018 season against the Philadelphia Eagles; the Saints were forced to wear the white uniforms at home after head coach Sean Payton lost a bet with Eagles coach Doug Pederson during a charity golf event in the offseason.

In 2019, a variation of the all-white Color Rush look was unveiled during the Week 6 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Saints wore their current white uniforms, but paired them with white pants minus any striping (an inverse of their black pants).

Stadium

The Superdome has been the home of the Saints since 1975.

The Mercedes-Benz Superdome is the Saints' home stadium. It has a listed seating capacity of 76,468 (expanded) or 73,208 (not expanded). The Saints own a perfect record there against the Houston Texans (2–0) and Jacksonville Jaguars (3–0), but a winless one against the Baltimore Ravens (0–2).

Rivals

Divisional rivals

Atlanta Falcons

Main article: Falcons–Saints rivalry

The Saints' oldest rival are the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons lead the rivalry series 52–48. The two clubs joined the NFL within a year of each other as expansion teams and have played each other twice a season since the Saints joined the league in 1967.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Main article: Buccaneers–Saints rivalry

The Saints have a developing rivalry with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who have been part of the NFC South with the Saints since 2002.

The teams actually played each other quite often as non-division rivals. Between 1977 and 2001, there were only five years in which the teams did not play. This includes 12 years in a row from 1981 to 1992 – all as a result of the scheduling formulas in place prior to 2002 (this remains a record for most consecutive years in which two teams not from the same division met each other).

The Saints won 13 of 20 games as non-division opponents. Since becoming division rivals, the Saints have the edge in the series, winning 16 games to the Bucs' 10.

One notable pre-division game is a 1977 matchup that resulted in Tampa Bay's first win in franchise history coming against New Orleans after previously starting out 0–26 overall.

Carolina Panthers

The Saints and the Carolina Panthers have been minor rivals since Carolina joined the league as an expansion franchise in 1995. The teams have been divisional rivals since then, originally in the NFC West and then in the NFC South since 2002. This series has been extremely close. As of November 24, 2019, the series are tied.

Carolina defeated New Orleans on the road every year from 2002 to 2008, a streak of seven seasons. Notable games include Carolina's 19–7 home victory in 1996 that sparked Saints head coach Jim Mora's infamous "Diddley Poo" rant and resignation from the team, Carolina's 10–6 win in the 2002 season finale at the Superdome to knock the Saints out of the playoffs, and the emotional 2005 season opener at Carolina where the Saints won 23–20 in the face of Hurricane Katrina and an eventual 3–13 season.

In their last game in the 2014 NFL season, a fight between players broke out in the end zone and spilled out into the tunnel entrance after a Cam Newton touchdown, with Panther's tight end Brandon Williams getting ejected and both teams receiving offsetting penalties. The Panthers won the contest 41–10, with early turnovers by the Saints being a factor in the blowout.[27]

On January 7, 2018, the two teams met in the NFL playoffs for the first time in the Wild Card round. It was the first ever playoff game between NFC South teams since the division's formation in 2002. The Saints beat the Panthers 31–26, thus eliminating Carolina. The rivalry has been heated since then.

Super Bowl appearance

Season Super Bowl Coach Location Stadium Opponent Result Record
2009 XLIV Sean Payton Miami Gardens, Florida Sun Life Stadium Indianapolis Colts W 31–17 13–3
Total Super Bowls won: 1

Statistics

Season-by-season records

Main article: List of New Orleans Saints seasons

Record vs. opponents

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties

Team W L T Percent Last result Last date Last locale Postseason
Jacksonville Jaguars 5 2 0 .714 W 13–6 October 13, 2019 Jacksonville, Florida
Buffalo Bills 8 4 0 .667 W 47–10 November 12, 2017 Orchard Park, New York
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 35 21 0 .625 W 34–17 November 17, 2019 Tampa, Florida
Baltimore / Indianapolis Colts 8 5 0 .615 W 34–7 December 16, 2019 New Orleans, Louisiana 1–0 postseason
Houston Texans 3 2 0 .600 W 30–28 September 9, 2019 New Orleans, Louisiana
Seattle Seahawks 8 6 0 .571 W 33–27 September 22, 2019 Seattle, Washington 0–2 postseason
Pittsburgh Steelers 9 7 0 .563 W 31–28 December 23, 2018 New Orleans, Louisiana
Chicago Bears 16 13 0 .552 W 36–25 October 20, 2019 Chicago, Illinois 0–2 postseason
Detroit Lions 13 12 1 .519 W 52–38 October 15, 2017 New Orleans, Louisiana 1–0 postseason
St. Louis / Phoenix / Arizona Cardinals 16 15 0 .516 W 31–9 October 27, 2019 New Orleans, Louisiana 1–0 postseason
Carolina Panthers 26 25 0 .510 W 42–10 December 29, 2019 Charlotte, North Carolina 1–0 postseason
Oakland / Los Angeles / Las Vegas Raiders 6 6 1 .500 L 34–35 September 11, 2016 New Orleans, Louisiana
Miami Dolphins 6 6 0 .500 W 20–0 October 1, 2017 London, United Kingdom
New York Jets 7 7 0 .500 W 31–19 December 17, 2017 New Orleans, Louisiana
Cincinnati Bengals 7 7 0 .500 W 51–14 November 11, 2018 Cincinnati, Ohio
Atlanta Falcons 49 52 0 .485 W 26–18 November 28, 2019 Atlanta, Georgia 0–1 postseason
New York Giants 14 16 0 .467 W 33–18 September 30, 2018 East Rutherford, New Jersey
Kansas City Chiefs 5 6 0 .455 L 21–27 October 23, 2016 Kansas City, Missouri
St. Louis / Los Angeles Rams 34 44 0 .442 L 9–27 September 15, 2019 Los Angeles, California 1–1 postseason
Dallas Cowboys 13 17 0 .433 W 12–10 September 29, 2019 New Orleans, Louisiana
Houston Oilers / Tennessee Titans 6 8 1 .433 W 38–28 December 22, 2019 Nashville, Tennessee
Philadelphia Eagles 12 16 0 .429 W 20–14 January 13, 2019 New Orleans, Louisiana 3–1 postseason
San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers 5 7 0 .417 W 35–34 October 2, 2016 San Diego, California
Washington Redskins 10 17 0 .370 W 43–19 October 8, 2018 New Orleans, Louisiana
Green Bay Packers 9 16 0 .360 W 26–17 October 22, 2017 Green Bay, Wisconsin
San Francisco 49ers 26 48 2 .355 L 46–48 December 8, 2019 New Orleans, Louisiana 0–1 postseason
Minnesota Vikings 11 20 0 .355 L 26–20 (OT) January 5, 2020 New Orleans, Louisiana 1–4 postseason
New England Patriots 4 10 0 .308 L 20–36 September 17, 2017 New Orleans, Louisiana
Baltimore Ravens 2 5 0 .286 W 24–23 October 21, 2018 Baltimore, Maryland
Cleveland Browns 5 13 0 .278 W 21–18 September 16, 2018 New Orleans, Louisiana
Denver Broncos 2 9 0 .182 L 23–25 November 13, 2016 New Orleans, Louisiana
Total 356 437 5 .449
Total including playoffs 362 451 5 .446

Single-game records

Single-season records

Career records

Notable players

See also: List of New Orleans Saints players

Pro Football Hall of Famers

New Orleans Saints in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Players
No. Player Position Tenure Inducted Notes
31 Jim Taylor FB 1967 1976 Inducted mostly for career with Green Bay Packers
81 Doug Atkins DE 1967–1969 1982 Inducted mostly for career with Chicago Bears
35 Earl Campbell RB 1984–1985 1991 Inducted mostly for career with Houston Oilers
57 Rickey Jackson LB 1981–1993 2010
77 Willie Roaf OT 1993–2001 2012
16 Ken Stabler QB 1982–1984 2016 Inducted mostly for career with Oakland Raiders
7 Morten Andersen K 1982–1994 2017
Coaches and executives
Name Positions Tenure Inducted Notes
Tom Fears Coach 1967–1970 1970 Inducted for playing career
Mike Ditka Coach 1997–1999 1988 Inducted for playing career[30]
Jim Finks General manager 1986–1993 1995
Hank Stram Coach 1976–1977 2003 Inducted mostly for coaching career with Kansas City Chiefs (previously Dallas Texans)
Dick Stanfel Coach 1980 2016 Inducted for playing career

Until the selection of Rickey Jackson in 2010, there had been no players in the Hall of Fame who earned their credentials primarily as Saints; the others were chosen for their work with previous teams. Jim Finks’ tenure as Saints general manager was a significant factor in his selection. When offensive tackle Willie Roaf was selected in 2012, he became the second Saint to earn his Hall of Fame credentials mostly while in New Orleans. Roaf was a member of the NFL's All-Decade team of the '90s.[31] Morten Andersen was selected in 2017, becoming the third former player inducted primarily for their accomplishments in New Orleans. Andersen was only the second full-time placekicker inducted into the Hall of Fame.[32]

Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame

Main article: Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame

Pro Bowl players

The following Saints players have been named to at least one Pro Bowl:

Super Bowl MVPs

Super Bowl MVP winners
Super Bowl Player Position
XLIV Drew Brees QB

Retired numbers

New Orleans Saints retired numbers
No. Player Position Tenure Retired
31 Jim Taylor FB 1967
81 Doug Atkins DE 1967–1969 December 19, 1969

[33][34]

Ring of Honor

On October 9, 2013, the Saints announced the creation of a Ring of Honor to commemorate former players, administrators and individuals with significant contributions to the franchise.[35] Their names are displayed along the Mercedes-Benz Superdome's Terrace Level fascia.[35] The first three honorees were Archie Manning, Rickey Jackson and Willie Roaf and were officially inducted during halftime of the Saints' game against the Dallas Cowboys on November 10, 2013.[36]

New Orleans Saints Ring of Honor
No. Name Position Tenure Inducted
8 Archie Manning QB 1971–1982 2013[36]
57 Rickey Jackson LB 1981–1993 2013[36]
77 Willie Roaf OT 1993–2001 2013[36]
7 Morten Andersen K 1982–1994 2015[37]
— Tom Benson Team Owner 1985–2018 2019
91 Will Smith DE 2004–2013 2019

45th Anniversary Team

To commemorate the club's 45th anniversary, the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame selected its All-45th Anniversary Team. The Hall of Fame updates its all-time team every five years, and this latest squad of head coach and players features four standouts from the club's roster at the time of selection: QB Drew Brees, G Jahri Evans, and DE Will Smith as well as head coach Sean Payton.

The players are chosen in a vote by the Hall of Fame media selection committee, which includes local and regional media members who cover the Saints now or did so in the past. The All-45th Anniversary Team is as follows, with an asterisk (*) designating those players who have already been inducted into the Hall of Fame:

Offense

Specialists

Defense

Coach

* Unanimous selection

New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame

Elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame
Inducted No. Name Position Tenure
1988 8 Archie Manning QB 1971–1982
46 Danny Abramowicz WR 1967–1973
1989 37 Tommy Myers S 1972–1981
19 Tom Dempsey K 1969–1970
1990 17 Billy Kilmer QB 1967–1970
1991 74 Derland Moore NT 1973–1985
34 Tony Galbreath RB 1976–1980
1992 38 George Rogers RB 1981–1984
50 Jake Kupp G 1967–1975
62 John Hill C 1975–1984
1993 58 Joe Federspiel LB 1972–1980
1994 — Jim Finks GM 1986–1993
85 Henry Childs TE 1974–1980
1995 82 Bob Pollard DE 1971–1977
81 Doug Atkins DE 1967–1969
1996 23 Dave Whitsell CB 1967–1969
44 Dave Waymer DB 1980–1989
1997 57 Rickey Jackson LB 1981–1993
67 Stan Brock T 1980–1992
1998 21 Dalton Hilliard RB 1986–1993
51 Sam Mills LB 1986–1994
1999 3 Bobby Hebert QB 1985–1992
84 Eric Martin WR 1985–1993
2000 53 Vaughan Johnson LB 1986–1993
56 Pat Swilling LB 1986–1992
2001 85 Hoby Brenner TE 1981–1993
94 Jim Wilks DE 1981–1993
2002 — Jim Mora Coach 1986–1996
73 Frank Warren DE 1981–1994
2003 93 Wayne Martin DE 1989–1999
72 Jim Dombrowski G/T 1986–1996
2004 36 Rueben Mayes RB 1986–1991
— Steve Sidwell Assistant coach 1986–1994
2005–2006 1 61 Joel Hilgenberg C 1984–1993
2007 94 Joe Johnson DE 1994–2001
2008 77 Willie Roaf OT 1993–2001
2009 7 Morten Andersen[38] K 1982–1994
2010 87 Joe Horn WR 2000–2006
2011 29 Sammy Knight DB 1997–2002
2012 26 Deuce McAllister RB 2001–2008
— Tom Benson Team owner 1985–2018
2013 97 La'Roi Glover DT 1997–2001
2014 2 Aaron Brooks QB 2000–2005
3 John Carney K 2001–2006
2009–2010
2015 84 Michael Lewis WR 2001–2006
33 Tyrone Hughes DB 1993–1996
2016 91 Will Smith[39] DE 2004–2013
2017 51 Jonathan Vilma[40] LB 2008–2013
77 Carl Nicks[40] G 2008–2011
2018 16 Lance Moore[41] WR 2005–2013
23 Pierre Thomas[41] RB 2007–2014
2019 25 Reggie Bush RB 2006–2010
12 Marques Colston WR 2006–2015

1 2005 induction ceremonies postponed to October 27, 2006, due to Hurricane Katrina

Staff

Coaches

See also: List of New Orleans Saints head coaches

Current staff

New Orleans Saints staff
Front office
  • Owner – Gayle Benson
  • President – Dennis Lauscha
  • Executive vice president/general manager – Mickey Loomis
  • VP/assistant general manager – college personnel – Jeff Ireland
  • Asst. general manager & vice president of football operations – Khai Harley
  • Director of operations – Derek Stamnos
  • Director of pro personnel – Michael Parenton
  • Director of football administration – Scott Kuhn
  • Director of analytics – Zach Stuart
  • Senior personnel advisor – Randy Mueller
  • Personnel advisor – Dave Ziegler
Head coach
  • Interim head coach/special teams coordinator – Darren Rizzi
Offensive coaches
  
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
  • Assistant special teams – Phil Galiano
  • Assistant to the head coach – Mike Martinez
Strength and conditioning
  • Director of sports science – Matt Rhea
  • Strength and conditioning coach – Matt Clapp
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Charles Byrd
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Rob Wenning

→ Coaching staff
→ Front office
→ More NFL staffs

Joe Gemelli Fleur-De-Lis Award

The Joe Gemelli Fleur-De-Lis Award is given yearly to a person who has contributed to the betterment of the New Orleans Saints organization.[42] The award is named for Joe Gemelli, a New Orleans clothing store owner and an active supporter of sports in the city, who was known as the team's biggest fan.[43]

  • 1989: Al Hirt
  • 1990: Joe Gemelli
  • 1991: Dave Dixon
  • 1992: Charlie Kertz
  • 1993: Wayne Mack
  • 1994: Erby Aucoin
  • 1995: Aaron Broussard
  • 1996: Marie Knutson
  • 1997: Angela Hill
  • 1998: Joe Impastato
  • 1999: Frank Wilson
  • 2000: Bob Remy
  • 2001: Peter "Champ" Clark
  • 2002: Dean Kleinschmidt
  • 2003: Jim Fast
  • 2004: Bob Roesler
  • 2005–06: Bernard "Buddy" Diliberto (2005 induction ceremonies postponed to October 27, 2006, due to Hurricane Katrina)
  • 2007: New Orleans Saints fans[42]
  • 2008: Barra Birrcher[42]
  • 2009: Jerry Romig[38]
  • 2010: Dan "Chief" Simmons and Glennon "Silky" Powell[44]
  • 2011: Bruce Miller
  • 2012: Jim Henderson[45]
  • 2013: Peter Finney
  • 2014: Al Nastasi and Tony Piazza[46]
  • 2015: Doug Thornton[47]
  • 2016: Hokie Gajan[48]
  • 2017: Jay Romig[49]
  • 2018: Michael C. Hebert[41]

Current roster

New Orleans Saints roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Practice squad

Reserve


As of November 2, 2024. Rookies in italics.

53 active, 13 reserve, 13 practice squad (+1 exempt)

Cheerleaders

Main article: Saintsations
Saintsations performing at halftime

The Saintsations are the cheerleading squad for the Saints. A cheerleading squad has existed since the franchise's founding but the current name was only adopted in 1987.

Radio and television

Map of radio affiliates.

The Saints' flagship station is WWL (870 AM/105.3 FM), one of the oldest radio stations in the city of New Orleans and one of the nation's most powerful as a clear-channel station with 50,000 watts of power.[50] Former Saints guard Zach Strief is the play-by-play announcer, with former Saints running back Deuce McAllister as color commentator. Strief succeeded longtime play-by-play announcer Jim Henderson in 2018, and McAllister succeeded another former Saints running back, Hokie Gajan, in the role after Gajan's death on April 11, 2016, from liposarcoma.[51] Henderson was the play-by-play announcer for Saints radio broadcasts continuously from 1993 to 2017, and previously held the position from 1986–89 after serving as a color commentator from 1981–85, and again in 1992, when Dave Garrett was play-by-play announcer. Previous color commentators include former Saints players Archie Manning (QB, 1971–82) and Stan Brock (OT, 1980–91).

Most preseason games are televised by WVUE (Channel 8), a station which until its outright 2017 sale to Raycom Media (and subsequent sale in 2019 to Gray Television) was owned by a consortium led by Saints owner Tom Benson since mid-2008 (that consortium continues to hold a minority stake in the station). As the Fox affiliate for New Orleans, it carries the majority of Saints games; WVUE also carries carry a heavy complement of coach and player shows. Tim Brando and Jon Stinchcomb call the preseason games for the Saints.

Saints preseason games were previously produced by Cox Sports Television. Beginning in the 2015 season, owing to Raycom's management of the station on behalf of Tom Benson's ownership group, production of preseason telecasts were taken over by Raycom Sports under a new multi-year deal, and syndicated to Raycom stations and others around the team's footprint.[52] Regular season games are also aired on WWL-TV, the local CBS station whenever they host an AFC opponent (and games vs. NFC opponents cross-flexed from Fox to CBS) and NBC affiliate WDSU via Sunday Night Football, with the latter also syndicating Monday Night Football games for local airing from sister operation ESPN.

See also

Notes

References

  1. ^ "Key Moments in Saints History". NewOrleansSaints.com. NFL Enterprises, LLC. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  2. ^ "Staff Directory" (PDF). 2018 New Orleans Saints Media Guide. NFL Enterprises, LLC. July 25, 2018. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  3. ^ "New Orleans Saints Team Capsule" (PDF). 2018 Official National Football League Record and Fact Book. NFL Enterprises, LLC. August 9, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 11, 2018. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  4. ^ "A message from Owner Gayle Benson to Saints fans". NewOrleansSaints.com. NFL Enterprises, LLC. March 16, 2018. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  5. ^ "Gayle Benson: I will own, operate Saints for the rest of my life". NFL.com. NFL Enterprises, LLC. April 12, 2018. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  6. ^ "Franchise nicknames". Pro Football Hall of Fame. January 1, 2005. Retrieved November 13, 2016. The name Saints was the popular choice in a fan contest staged by the New Orleans States-Item. However, with or without the contest, the New Orleans team would most likely have been called the Saints. The franchise was awarded on All Saints Day, November 1, 1966. New Orleans was famous worldwide as the city of jazz and the famous marching song, 'When the Saints Go Marching In.'
  7. ^ a b "New Orleans wins berth in grid loop". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. November 1, 1966. p. 17.
  8. ^ a b "New Orleans lands franchise in NFL". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. November 2, 1966. p. 1, part 2.
  9. ^ "Governor Jindal & Saints Announce New Superdome Name to be "Mercedes-Benz Superdome"". NewOrleansSaints.com (Press release). NFL Enterprises, LLC. October 4, 2011. Archived from the original on June 30, 2019. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  10. ^ Woodyard, Chris (October 4, 2011). "Mercedes-Benz buys naming rights to New Orleans' Superdome". USA Today. Gannett Company. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  11. ^ Sandomir, Richard (January 27, 2010). "Congress's Team: Deal for Merger Included Saints". The New York Times. Retrieved February 7, 2010.
  12. ^ Mule, Marty (February 8, 2010). "Dave Dixon, driving force behind Superdome, dies". Times-Picayune. Retrieved September 22, 2010.
  13. ^ "Rams get scare but top Saints". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. September 18, 1967. p. 2, part 2.
  14. ^ "Dempsey's 63 yard FG jolts Lions". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. November 9, 1970. p. 1, part 2.
  15. ^ "Colts jolt Bears, 13-9, get record 56-yard field goal". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. September 28, 1953. p. 2, part 2.
  16. ^ Bishop, Greg (February 4, 2010). "Beneath Brown Bags, Saints Had Loyal Fans". The New York Times. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  17. ^ Clayton, John (March 14, 2006). "Brees agrees to six-year deal with Saints". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  18. ^ Carpenter, Les (September 24, 2006). "The Saints Bring Hope to the Faithful". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  19. ^ "saintsdoggle: UPDATE: Saints sell out suites for 2007 season; Season ticket wait list 25,000 deep; San Antonio finally giving up?". Saintsdoggle.blogspot.com. March 15, 2007. Retrieved February 7, 2010.
  20. ^ "Most Viewed Telecast". Nielson. February 7, 2011. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
  21. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on March 14, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  22. ^ "Saints defense held itself back in 2015". theadvocate.com. January 20, 2016. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  23. ^ "Saints Brandon Browner sets NFL penalty record". Nola.com. December 21, 2015. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
  24. ^ Orr, Connor (November 1, 2015). "Drew Brees ties single-game record with 7 TD passes". NFL.com. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  25. ^ "New Orleans Saints, Pelicans owner Tom Benson passes away at age 90". NewOrleansSaints.com. NFL Enterprises, LLC. March 15, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  26. ^ Langenhennig, Susan (November 30, 2009). "Power colors: Black and gold are tops on the red carpet – and this season – on synthetic turf". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  27. ^ Hanzus, Dan (December 8, 2014). "Panthers, Saints involved in wild fracas at Superdome". NFL.com. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  28. ^ https://www.nola.com/saints/2018/12/alvin-kamara-ties-saints-record-for-most-touchdowns-in-a-single-season.html
  29. ^ https://www.al.com/sports/2018/12/mark-ingram-becomes-new-orleans-saints-career-leader-in-rushing-touchdowns.html
  30. ^ "Pro Football Hall of Fame page for Mike Ditka". Profootballhof.com. October 18, 1939. Retrieved February 7, 2010.
  31. ^ "Hall of Famers » WILLIE ROAF". Profootballhof.com. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  32. ^ [Duncan, Jeff (August 6, 2017), "A great night for the Great Dane: Morten Andersen becomes Saints' third Hall of Famer", Nola.com.
  33. ^ "New Orleans Saints Team Facts". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  34. ^ "NFL Retired Player Numbers". NFL.com. NFL Enterprises LLC. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  35. ^ a b "New Orleans Saints announce formation of Ring of Honor". NewOrleansSaints.com. NFL Enterprises, LLC. October 9, 2013. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  36. ^ a b c d Triplett, Mike (November 10, 2013). "Saints unveil Ring of Honor tonight". Retrieved November 11, 2013.
  37. ^ Triplett, Mike (August 3, 2015). "Saints add K Morten Andersen to exclusive Ring of Honor". ESPN. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  38. ^ a b Brian Allee-Walsh, "Ex-Saints coach Jim Mora says Morten Andersen a shoo-in for Canton, Ohio", Times-Picayune, November 6, 2009.
  39. ^ Holder, Larry (April 10, 2016). "Will Smith unanimously named to Saints Hall of Fame in March". nola.com. The Times-Picayune. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  40. ^ a b Erickson, Joel A. (May 23, 2017). "Jonathan Vilma and Carl Nicks bring Super Bowl legacies to Saints Hall of Fame". New Orleans Advocate. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
  41. ^ a b c "Moore, Thomas and Hebert set to be honored by Saints Hall of Fame in September". NewOrleansSaints.com. NFL Enterprises, LLC. June 14, 2018. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  42. ^ a b c "Complete list of Saints Hall of Fame members". NewOrleansSaints.com. NFL Enterprises, LLC. May 20, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  43. ^ Joe Gemelli, Allstate Sugar Bowl Hall of Fame. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  44. ^ James Varney, "New Orleans Saints longtime equipment managers receive Gemelli Award", Times-Picayune, May 25, 2010.
  45. ^ "McAllister, Benson, Henderson to be honored by Saints Hall of Fame" Archived May 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, WWL-TV, May 18, 2012.
  46. ^ "Nastasi, Piazza to Share Saints Hall of Fame's Joe Gemelli Fleur de Lis Award" Archived May 21, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, SportsNola.com, May 20, 2014.
  47. ^ "Tyrone Hughes, Michael Lewis elected to the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame". NewOrleansSaints.com. NFL Enterprises, LLC. May 19, 2015. Archived from the original on May 21, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2019. SMG executive VP Doug Thornton will receive the Joe Gemelli Fleur de Lis award for his contributions to the Saints and the entire region.
  48. ^ "Hokie Gajan to be honored with Joe Gemelli Fleur de Lis award". NewOrleansSaints.com. NFL Enterprises, LLC. April 12, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  49. ^ Erickson, Joel A. (May 23, 2017). "Jay Romig carries on family tradition by earning Joe Gemelli "Fleur-de-Lis" Award". New Orleans Advocate. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
  50. ^ "New Orleans Saints Radio Network Affiliates". NewOrleansSaints.com. NFL Enterprises, LLC. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  51. ^ Triplett, Mike (April 12, 2016). "Hokie Gajan, ex-Saints fullback, radio voice, dies at 56 of cancer". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  52. ^ "New Orleans Saints, Raycom Media announce partnership". NewOrleansSaints.com. NFL Enterprises, LLC. December 24, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
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