1990 New Orleans Saints season

The 1990 New Orleans Saints season was the franchise’s 24th season in the National Football League, the 15th to host games at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and the fifth under head coach Jim Mora. The team looked to improve on its 9–7 record from 1989 and make the playoffs for the second time in franchise history. The Saints did not improve on their 9–7 record, as they finished the season 8–8. However, the Saints would unexpectedly make the postseason as the final seed in the NFC.

1990 New Orleans Saints season
OwnerTom Benson
Head coachJim Mora
General managerJim Finks
Home fieldLouisiana Superdome
Results
Record8–8
Division place2nd NFC West
Playoff finishLost Wild Card Playoffs (at Bears) 6–16
Pro BowlersLB Pat Swilling
LB Vaughan Johnson
K Morten Anderson

The season

The Saints, with a record of eight wins and eight losses, became the second team in NFL history at or below .500 to qualify for postseason play, and the first to do so as a wild card.[1] Since no non-playoff team in the NFC had a record at or above .500, the Saints were awarded the final Wild Card seed. In the 1990 postseason, the Saints would lose to the Chicago Bears 16–6.

Others to finish 8–8 and make the playoffs were the 1985 Cleveland Browns, the 1991 New York Jets, the 1999 Detroit Lions, the 2008 San Diego Chargers and the 2011 Denver Broncos. However, the 2010 Seahawks would break this record, as they finished the 2010 season at 7–9 and clinched their division, becoming the first team in NFL history to win their division despite having a losing record, and this would be repeated by the 2014 Carolina Panthers. Coincidentally, the Saints during that 2010 season met Seattle in that season’s NFC Wild Card game, in which they were upset 41–36.

Offseason

NFL Draft
Main article: 1990 NFL Draft
1990 New Orleans Saints draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 14 Renaldo Turnbull *  Defensive end West Virginia
2 44 Vince Buck  Defensive back Central State (OH)
3 71 Joel Smeenge  Defensive end Western Michigan
4 98 DeMond Winston  Linebacker Vanderbilt
5 125 Charles Arbuckle  Tight end UCLA
6 156 Mike Buck  Quarterback Maine
6 158 James Williams  Linebacker Mississippi State
7 183 Scott Hough  Guard Maine
8 207 Gerry Gdowski  Quarterback Nebraska
8 210 Derrick Carr  Defensive end Bowling Green
9 233 Broderick Graves  Running back Winston-Salem State
9 236 Lonnie Brockman  Linebacker West Virginia
10 260 Gary Cooper  Wide receiver Clemson
10 267 Ernest Spears  Defensive back USC
11 287 Webbie Burnett  Defensive tackle Western Kentucky
12 320 Chris Port  Guard Duke
      Made roster  

[2]

Personnel

Staff
1990 New Orleans Saints staff
Front office
  • Owner/General Partner – Tom Benson
  • President/General Manager – Jim Finks
  • Vice President of Administration – Jim Miller
  • Director of Player Personnel – Bill Kuharich

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and Conditioning – Russell Paternostro

[3]

Roster
1990 New Orleans Saints final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists



Practice squad



Rookies in italics

[3]

Regular season

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 10, 1990 San Francisco 49ers L 12–13
68,629
2 September 16, 1990 at Minnesota Vikings L 3–32
56,272
3 September 23, 1990 Phoenix Cardinals W 28–7
61,110
4 Bye
5 October 7, 1990 at Atlanta Falcons L 27–28
57,401
6 October 14, 1990 Cleveland Browns W 25–20
68,608
7 October 21, 1990 at Houston Oilers L 10–23
57,908
8 October 28, 1990 Detroit Lions L 10–27
64,368
9 November 4, 1990 at Cincinnati Bengals W 21–7
60,067
10 November 11, 1990 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 35–7
67,865
11 November 18, 1990 at Washington Redskins L 17–31
52,573
12 November 25, 1990 Atlanta Falcons W 10–7
68,629
13 December 2, 1990 at Dallas Cowboys L 13–17
60,087
14 December 9, 1990 at Los Angeles Rams W 24–20
56,864
15 December 16, 1990 Pittsburgh Steelers L 6–9
68,582
16 December 23, 1990 at San Francisco 49ers W 13–10
60,112
17 December 31, 1990 Los Angeles Rams W 20–17
68,647

Standings
NFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
(1) San Francisco 49ers 14 2 0 .875 4–2 10–2 353 239 W1
(6) New Orleans Saints 8 8 0 .500 4–2 6–6 274 275 W2
Los Angeles Rams 5 11 0 .313 2–4 3–9 345 412 L4
Atlanta Falcons 5 11 0 .313 2–4 3–9 348 365 W2

Playoffs
Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
Wildcard January 6, 1991 at Chicago Bears (3) L 6–16
60,767

References
  1. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book. Workman Publishing Company. p. 256. ISBN 0-7611-2480-2.
  2. "1990 New Orleans Saints draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  3. "All-Time Roster". NewOrleansSaints.com. Archived from the original on 2012-06-18. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
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