New Orleans Saints

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. Since 1975, the team plays its home games at Mercedes-Benz Superdome[6][7] (formerly the Louisiana Superdome) after utilizing Tulane Stadium during its first eight seasons. Founded by John W. Mecom Jr., David Dixon, and the city of New Orleans on November 1, 1966,[8][9][10] the Saints joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1967. They are named after the jazz music heritage of New Orleans and the spiritual hymn "When the Saints Go Marching In".

New Orleans Saints
Current season
Established November 1, 1966 (November 1, 1966)[1]
First season: 1967
Play in Mercedes-Benz Superdome
New Orleans, Louisiana
Headquartered in Metairie, Louisiana
New Orleans Saints logo
New Orleans Saints wordmark
LogoWordmark
League/conference affiliations

National Football League (1967–present)

Current uniform
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]
PresidentDennis Lauscha
Head coachSean Payton
General managerMickey Loomis
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 (9)
Playoff appearances (14)
Home fields

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

New Orleans Saints Headquarters and Practice Facility

The Saints were among the NFL's least successful franchises in their first several decades, where they went 20 consecutive seasons without a winning record or qualifying for the playoffs. They earned their first winning record and postseason berth in 1987, while their first playoff win would not occur until 2000, their 34th season. The team's fortunes improved amid the 21st century, which saw them become more consistent postseason contenders. Their greatest success was during the 2009 season when they won the franchise's first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XLIV, also their championship debut. The Saints are one of two NFL franchises to win their sole Super Bowl appearance, along with the New York Jets, and the most recent to do so.

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 Ryan Wilson. 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.[9][10] The team was named for "When the Saints Go Marching In", the classic jazz standard associated with New Orleans. When the deal was reached a week earlier, Dixon strongly suggested to Rozelle that the announcement be delayed until November 1, to coincide with All Saints' Day. Dixon even cleared the name with New Orleans' Archbishop Philip M. Hannan, "thought it would be a good idea," according to Dixon. "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.

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, finishing third or fourth 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 during the 1990 season, 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.

2006 season

Main article: 2006 New Orleans Saints season

On January 17, 2006, the Saints hired Sean Payton as their new head coach and, on March 14, 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, finishing the regular season with a record of 10–6.

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. 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).

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, advancing to 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.

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 in the Divisional round in the playoffs against the San Francisco 49ers in Candlestick Park, a game considered an instant classic by many due to the 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 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 bye week, 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 third 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 and 2014, the Saints wore black pants 12 times and wore gold pants 4 times. In 2013, gold pants were used only 7 times (including playoffs). After 2015, a season in which the gold pants were donned 10 times, the Saints only wore them sporadically in the regular season, though they were still used regularly in the preseason.

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). During the regular season, New Orleans went undefeated (8–0) while wearing either all-white uniform. As a result, they opted to wear the new all-white look at home during the Wild Card Round against the Minnesota Vikings. However, the Saints' luck finally ran out, losing in overtime 26–20.

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

Atlanta Falcons
Main article: Falcons–Saints rivalry

The Saints' oldest rival are the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons lead the rivalry series 53–51. 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.

On January 17, 2021 the two teams faced off in the playoffs for the first time in their rivalry history with Tampa Bay winning 30–20.

Carolina Panthers

The Saints and the Carolina Panthers have been division rivals since Carolina joined the league as an expansion franchise in 1995, first in the NFC West and then in the NFC South since 2002. An extremely close series, the Saints hold the head-to-head advantage 27–25, including a Wild Card victory in 2017.

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.

Super Bowl appearance
Season Super Bowl Head Coach Location Stadium Opponent Result Record
2009XLIVSean PaytonMiami Gardens, FloridaSun Life StadiumIndianapolis ColtsW 31–1713–3
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

TeamWLTPercentLast resultLast dateLast localePostseason
Jacksonville Jaguars520.714W 13–6October 13, 2019Jacksonville, Florida
Buffalo Bills840.667W 47–10November 12, 2017Orchard Park, New York
Tampa Bay Buccaneers37220.627L 20–30January 17, 2021New Orleans, Louisiana0–1 postseason
Baltimore / Indianapolis Colts850.615W 34–7December 16, 2019New Orleans, Louisiana1–0 postseason
Houston Texans320.600W 30–28September 9, 2019New Orleans, Louisiana
Chicago Bears18130.581W 21–9January 10, 2021New Orleans, Louisiana1–2 postseason
Seattle Seahawks860.571W 33–27September 22, 2019Seattle, Washington0–2 postseason
Pittsburgh Steelers970.563W 31–28December 23, 2018New Orleans, Louisiana
Detroit Lions14121.537W 35–29October 4, 2020Detroit, Michigan1–0 postseason
Carolina Panthers28250.528W 33–7January 3, 2021Charlotte, North Carolina1–0 postseason
St. Louis / Phoenix / Arizona Cardinals16150.516W 31–9October 27, 2019New Orleans, Louisiana1–0 postseason
Miami Dolphins660.500W 20–0October 1, 2017London, United Kingdom
New York Jets770.500W 31–19December 17, 2017New Orleans, Louisiana
Cincinnati Bengals770.500W 51–14November 11, 2018Cincinnati, Ohio
Atlanta Falcons51530.490W 21–16December 6, 2020Atlanta, Georgia0–1 postseason
New York Giants14160.467W 33–18September 30, 2018East Rutherford, New Jersey
Oakland / Los Angeles / Las Vegas Raiders671.464L 24–34September 21, 2020Las Vegas, Nevada
San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers670.462W 30–27 (OT)October 12, 2020New Orleans, Louisiana
St. Louis / Los Angeles Rams34440.442L 9–27September 15, 2019Los Angeles, California1–1 postseason
Dallas Cowboys13170.433W 12–10September 29, 2019New Orleans, Louisiana
Houston Oilers / Tennessee Titans681.433W 38–28December 22, 2019Nashville, Tennessee
Kansas City Chiefs570.417L 29–32December 20, 2020New Orleans, Louisiana
Philadelphia Eagles12170.414L 21–24December 13, 2020Philadelphia, Pennsylvania3–1 postseason
Minnesota Vikings12200.375W 52–33December 25, 2020New Orleans, Louisiana1–4 postseason
Washington Football Team10170.370W 43–19October 8, 2018New Orleans, Louisiana
San Francisco 49ers27482.364W 27–13November 15, 2020New Orleans, Louisiana0–1 postseason
Green Bay Packers9170.346L 30–37September 27, 2020New Orleans, Louisiana
New England Patriots4100.308L 20–36September 17, 2017New Orleans, Louisiana
Baltimore Ravens250.286W 24–23October 21, 2018Baltimore, Maryland
Cleveland Browns5130.278W 21–18September 16, 2018New Orleans, Louisiana
Denver Broncos390.250W 31–3November 29, 2020Denver, Colorado
Total3564395.448
Total including playoffs3624545.444

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
31Jim TaylorFB19671976Inducted mostly for career with Green Bay Packers
81Doug AtkinsDE1967–19691982Inducted mostly for career with Chicago Bears
35Earl CampbellRB1984–19851991Inducted mostly for career with Houston Oilers
57Rickey JacksonLB1981–19932010
77Willie RoafOT1993–20012012
16Ken StablerQB1982–19842016Inducted mostly for career with Oakland Raiders
7Morten AndersenK1982–19942017
Coaches and executives
Name Positions Tenure Inducted Notes
Tom FearsCoach1967–19701970Inducted for playing career
Mike DitkaCoach1997–19991988Inducted for playing career[30]
Jim FinksGeneral manager1986–19931995
Hank StramCoach1976–19772003Inducted mostly for coaching career with Kansas City Chiefs (previously Dallas Texans)
Dick StanfelCoach19802016Inducted 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 (the other was Jan Stenerud in 1991).[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:

Two Saints head coaches have participated in the Pro Bowl, Tom Fears in 1970 (1969 season) and Sean Payton in 2007 (2006 season) and 2018 (2017 season).

Super Bowl MVPs
Super Bowl MVP winners
Super Bowl Player Position
XLIVDrew BreesQB

Retired numbers
New Orleans Saints retired numbers
No. Player Position Tenure Retired
31Jim TaylorFB1967
81Doug AtkinsDE1967–1969December 21, 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]

Elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
New Orleans Saints Ring of Honor
No. Name Position Tenure Inducted
8Archie ManningQB1971–19822013[36]
57Rickey JacksonLB1981–19932013[36]
77Willie RoafOT1993–20012013[36]
7Morten AndersenK1982–19942015[37]
—Tom BensonTeam Owner1985–20182019
91Will SmithDE2004–20132019

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. Bold indicates those elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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
19888Archie ManningQB1971–1982
46Danny AbramowiczWR1967–1973
198937Tommy MyersS1972–1981
19Tom DempseyK1969–1970
199017Billy KilmerQB1967–1970
199174Derland MooreNT1973–1985
34Tony GalbreathRB1976–1980
199238George RogersRB1981–1984
50Jake KuppG1967–1975
62John HillC1975–1984
199358Joe FederspielLB1972–1980
1994—Jim FinksGM1986–1993
85Henry ChildsTE1974–1980
199582Bob PollardDE1971–1977
81Doug AtkinsDE1967–1969
199623Dave WhitsellCB1967–1969
44Dave WaymerDB1980–1989
199757Rickey JacksonLB1981–1993
67Stan BrockT1980–1992
199821Dalton HilliardRB1986–1993
51Sam MillsLB1986–1994
19993Bobby HebertQB1985–1992
84Eric MartinWR1985–1993
200053Vaughan JohnsonLB1986–1993
56Pat SwillingLB1986–1992
200185Hoby BrennerTE1981–1993
94Jim WilksDE1981–1993
2002—Jim MoraCoach1986–1996
73Frank WarrenDE1981–1994
200393Wayne MartinDE1989–1999
72Jim DombrowskiG/T1986–1996
200436Rueben MayesRB1986–1991
—Steve SidwellAssistant coach1986–1994
2005–2006 161Joel HilgenbergC1984–1993
200794Joe JohnsonDE1994–2001
200877Willie RoafOT1993–2001
20097Morten Andersen[38]K1982–1994
201087Joe HornWR2000–2006
201129Sammy KnightDB1997–2002
201226Deuce McAllisterRB2001–2008
—Tom BensonTeam owner1985–2018
201397La'Roi GloverDT1997–2001
20142Aaron BrooksQB2000–2005
3John CarneyK2001–2006
2009–2010
201584Michael LewisWR2001–2006
33Tyrone HughesDB1993–1996
201691Will Smith[39]DE2004–2013
201751Jonathan Vilma[40]LB2008–2013
77Carl Nicks[40]G2008–2011
201816Lance Moore[41]WR2005–2013
23Pierre Thomas[41]RB2007–2014
201925Reggie BushRB2006–2010
12Marques ColstonWR2006–2015
202073Jahri EvansG2006–2015
41Roman HarperSS2006–2013

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
  • Senior Vice President/Chief Operating Officer – Ben Hales
  • Asst. General Manager/College Scouting Director – Jeff Ireland
  • Vice President of Football Administration – Khai Harley
  • Director of Operations – James Nagaoka
  • Director of Pro Scouting – Vacant
Head Coaches
Offensive Coaches
  • Offensive Coordinator – Pete Carmichael
  • Quarterbacks – Vacant
  • Running Backs – Joel Thomas
  • Wide Receivers – Ronald Curry
  • Tight Ends - Vacant
  • Offensive Line – Dan Roushar
  • Assistant Offensive Line – Brendan Nugent
  • Senior Offensive Assistant – Curtis Johnson
  • Offensive Assistant – Declan Doyle
  • Assistant to the Head Coach/Offensive Assistant – Kevin Petry
  • Offensive Assistant – DJ Williams
  
Defensive Coaches
Special Teams Coaches
Strength and Conditioning
  • Head Strength and Conditioning – Dan Dalrymple
  • Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Charles Byrd
  • Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Rob Wenning

→ Coaching staff
→ Management
→ More NFL staffs

AFC East
BUF
MIA
NE
NYJ
North
BAL
CIN
CLE
PIT
South
HOU
IND
JAX
TEN
West
DEN
KC
LV
LAC
NFC East
DAL
NYG
PHI
WAS
North
CHI
DET
GB
MIN
South
ATL
CAR
NO
TB
West
ARI
LAR
SF
SEA

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]

Current roster
New Orleans Saints roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists

Unrestricted FAs

Restricted FAs

Rookies in italics

Roster updated January 22, 2021

43 active, 15 inactive, 20 free agent(s)

→ AFC rosters → NFC rosters

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
See also: New Orleans Saints Radio Network
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.[51] 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.[52] 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 Jim Taylor (RB, 1967), Steve Stonebreaker (LB, 1967-68), Danny Abramowicz (WR, 1967-73), 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, now led by Gayle Benson, 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 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.[53] 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

References
  1. "Key Moments in Saints History". NewOrleansSaints.com. NFL Enterprises, LLC. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  2. "Staff Directory" (PDF). 2020 New Orleans Saints Media Guide. NFL Enterprises, LLC. July 30, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  3. "New Orleans Saints Team Capsule". 2020 Official National Football League Record and Fact Book. NFL Enterprises, LLC. July 17, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  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. "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.
  7. Woodyard, Chris (October 4, 2011). "Mercedes-Benz buys naming rights to New Orleans' Superdome". USA Today. Gannett Company. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  8. "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.'
  9. "New Orleans wins berth in grid loop". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. November 1, 1966. p. 17.
  10. "New Orleans lands franchise in NFL". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. November 2, 1966. p. 1, part 2.
  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.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. "New Orleans Saints announce formation of Ring of Honor". NewOrleansSaints.com. NFL Enterprises, LLC. October 9, 2013. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  36. 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. 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. 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. "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. "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. "Jahri Evans, Roman Harper and Marco Garcia set to be honored by Saints Hall of Fame". NewOrleansSaints.com. NFL Enterprises, LLC. June 23, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  51. "New Orleans Saints Radio Network Affiliates". NewOrleansSaints.com. NFL Enterprises, LLC. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  52. Triplett, Mike (April 12, 2016). "Hokie Gajan, ex-Saints fullback, radio voice, dies at 56 of cancer". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  53. "New Orleans Saints, Raycom Media announce partnership". NewOrleansSaints.com. NFL Enterprises, LLC. December 24, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
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