New Orleans Saints

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The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL).

Founded in 1967, the Saints have struggled throughout their history. Their early years were especially bleak; they went more than a decade before they managed to finish a season with a .500 record and two decades before having a winning season. Their greatest years of success were from 1987-1992, when they made the playoffs four times. The team experienced a brief renaissance in 2000, defeating the St. Louis Rams in dramatic fashion for the team's only playoff win.

Due to damage caused by Hurricane Katrina to the New Orleans area, the Saints' 2005 home games were split between the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, and Louisiana State University's Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. All of the team's 2006 regular season home games are scheduled to be played in the Superdome, with the first game at the Superdome on September 25 of that year. It is undetermined where the Saints will play in 2007 and beyond.

Currently, the Saints are one of three teams, along with Jacksonville and Houston never to have played in either a Super Bowl or any other NFL Championship Game. They are the oldest franchise (by nearly 30 years) with that dubious distinction.

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Franchise history

Main article: History of the New Orleans Saints

The NFL awarded the city of New Orleans an NFL franchise on 1 November, 1966. John W. Mecom, Jr. became the majority stockholder, and the team was named the Saints on 9 January 1967, since the franchise had been granted to New Orleans on All Saints' Day. Despite a 94 yard opening kickoff return for a touchdown by John Gilliam, the Saints lost their first game 27-13 to the Los Angeles Rams. Their first season record was 3-11, and they could not manage to even finish as high as second in their division until 1979. That 1979 team and the 1983 team were the only ones to even finish at .500 until 1987.

One of the franchise's shining moments came on 8 November 1970, when Tom Dempsey kicked an NFL record-breaking 63-yard field goal to defeat the Detroit Lions by a score of 19-17 in the final seconds of the game. This record, although equaled 29 years later by Jason Elam of the Denver Broncos, has yet to be broken.

In 1980, the Saints lost their first 14 games, prompting fans to design paper bags to wear over their heads to the team's home games; the bags rendered the club's name as the "'Aints" rather than the "Saints," and this practice then spread rapidly, first to fans of other poorly-performing teams within the NFL, and ultimately to those of other American team sports as well, and has become a firmly-established custom throughout the United States.

Current Saints owner Tom Benson 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 1990, and the club's first division title came in 1991. Although they made the playoffs four times under Mora's tenure, 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 a dismal 3-13 season.

After the end of the 1996 season, legendary 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 disappointment. The Saints went 6-10 in their first two seasons under Ditka (1997 and 1998). During the 1999 NFL Draft, Ditka surprised many by trading all of his picks for that season, as well as the first-round and third-round picks for the following season, to draft star University of Texas running back Ricky Williams in the first round. Unfortunately, the bold move didn't help the Saints, as they went 3-13 in 1999. Ditka, most of his coaching staff, and general manager Bill Kuharich were fired at the end of that season.

Jim Haslett held the post from 2000 to 2005. In his first year, he took the team to the playoffs but lost to the Minnesota Vikings a week after besting the St. Louis Rams for the team's first ever playoff win. Haslett struggled after inheriting the remains of Ditka's team in 2000. General Manager Randy Mueller was fired between the 2001 and 2002 seasons without explanation by Benson, and after winning the 2000 NFL Executive of the Year Award. 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. 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 pull the team together and put on a four-game win streak, 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 in a thrilling overtime game the Saints were eliminated. Nevertheless, the four-game win streak to end the season left many Saints fans optimistic about the team's future prospects. Other Saints fans were disappointed with yet another mediocre year (8-8), leaving many to wonder why in such a competitive league as the NFL the Saints wouldn't fire a coach that had not been to the playoffs in over four seasons. He was fired after the 2005 odyssey in which the Saints finished 3-13, and did not play one regular season game in New Orleans due to Hurricane Katrina. On January 17, 2006, the Saints hired Sean Payton as their new head coach.

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Effect of Hurricane Katrina

After Hurricane Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans in August 2005 and caused extensive damage to the Superdome, the Saints found they would not be able to play any home games there for the entire 2005 NFL season. After practicing for approximately a week in San Jose, California, where they had evacuated in conjunction with a pre-season game against the Oakland Raiders, the team set up temporary headquarters and arranged for practice facilities in San Antonio, Texas, where owner Tom Benson lives and operates several businesses. The league then announced that although the Saints' first home game on September 18 against the New York Giants would be played at Giants Stadium at 7:30 p.m. EDT on September 19, other home games would be split between Tiger Stadium at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (80 miles/130 km from New Orleans), and the Alamodome in San Antonio (540 miles/869 km from New Orleans); offices and practice would remain in San Antonio throughout the season. A site for potential home playoff games was not announced initially, and the team's early-season results made the point moot.

Beyond 2005, the Saints' future is even more uncertain, and they are rumored to be the next franchise to relocate. It is undetermined when the Superdome may be available again, although speculation is that it may be available in Nov. 2006. It is also questionable if the New Orleans region's economy will be able to support the franchise. A decision should be made on the Superdome's fate and repair prognosis by the end of the year following a complete assessment of the structrual soundness of the building. On October 20, 2005, Superdome officials reported that they may be able to have the Superdome ready for at least part of the 2006 season, although no final decision has been made. After inspection of the Superdome is complete, it will be determined when the Superdome can be renovated. In any case, the answers to renovation may take time to sort out as higher priority items such as water, electricity, and the influx of people returning. Time will tell, in the rebuilding project, if New Orleans can continue to economically support the team in the future, as well as any projected stadium reconstruction efforts.

Various media reports in the San Antonio Express-News indicated the owner and government officials in San Antonio were working behind the scenes concerning a possible permanent relocation to San Antonio. San Antonio Mayor Phil Hardberger has pushed a strong verbal campaign to pursue the Saints. Other officials, including Texas Governor Rick Perry, had indicated they would also support a relocation to San Antonio, including using funding to upgrade the Alamodome, or possibly build a new stadium. It is currently rumored that the NFL, and commissioner Paul Tagliabue, are in favor of keeping the franchise in New Orleans, or at least delaying a decision on a potential relocation. Other rumors say that the NFL prefers to move the team to Los Angeles, but only if a permanent relocation is absolutely necessary.

Many fans in Louisiana were angered and felt that Hardberger and Perry were taking advantage of New Orleans' misfortunes to try to steal the Saints. Benson's actions also drew the anger of New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, who called Benson's actions shameful and disrespectful to New Orleans fans who have supported the team for nearly four decades of mostly losing seasons. San Antonio officials, on the other hand, countered that Benson may have no choice--New Orleans may never fully recover as a viable location for an NFL franchise, and they are simply giving the franchise an option to relocate and remain economically viable, in this case to a city in which Benson already lives and has business interests. Benson indicated in his open letter to the Gulf Coast that San Antonio officials are only doing what any city seeking a franchise would do--recruit the franchise--as Mayor Nagin did for the former Charlotte Hornets. With New Orleans currently in flux, it remains to be seen if the city will ever be able to economically support the franchise (though Green Bay, a city not much larger than some metropolitan area suburbs, has supported an NFL franchise through lean times; albeit with a large fan base from and up until 1994 occasional home games being played in Milwaukee, a similar sized city does not exist near enough to New Orleans to draw a fan base from).

On October 21, 2005, Benson issued a statement saying that he has not made any decision about the future of the Saints. [1]. However, the San Antonio Express-News reported that sources close to the Saints' organization said that Benson planned to void his lease agreement with New Orleans by declaring the Louisiana Superdome unusable. [2]

NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue met with Benson and Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco at the Saints' first home game in Baton Rouge on October 30 against the Miami Dolphins. After the meeting, he stopped just short of making a formal commitment to keep the Saints in New Orleans. Said Tagliabue: "The Saints are Louisiana's team and have been since the late '60s when my predecessor Pete Rozelle welcomed them to the league as New Orleans' team and Louisiana's team. Our focus continues to be on having the Saints in Louisiana." He dispelled rumors that have the Saints relocating to Los Angeles. Tagliabue will form an eight-owner advisory committee to help decide the team's future. [3] Benson attempted to leave the game with five minutes left in the fourth quarter. While leaving the stadium, a WWL-TV camera crew attempted to obtain footage of him leaving the stadium, and Benson pushed the camera away. Benson then got into an argument with a fan. Video of the altercation was obtained by WWL-TV. [4] Three days later, Benson issued a statement that he would no longer go to Baton Rouge for Saints home games because he felt he and his family were in danger from abuse at the game. [5]

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2006 Return to New Orleans

The following day, Benson had also agreed with Louisiana state officials to extend his opt out clause with the Superdome and Louisiana because of the disaster until January 2007. Reports speculate this buys Benson time to see how the situation unfolds without having to make a decison now.

In the midst of the Katrina relocation controversy, several groups of investors have approached Benson with offers to buy the team and keep them in Louisiana, the most notable group being one led by FOX Sports analyst and former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw, who is a Louisiana native. [6] However, Benson has expressed that he has no intentions of selling the team and plans to eventually hand down ownership to his granddaughter, Saints owner/executive Rita Benson LeBlanc. Benson spoke to press following an NFL owners' meeting on November 15, at which he reiterated that the team is not for sale, but also stated that other NFL owners, along with Tagliabue, were working with him to keep the team in New Orleans. [7]

Reports indicated Benson continues to lobby Paul Tagliabue to play some of the Saints' 2006 season in San Antonio. On Dec. 5, Tagliabue met with Benson and New Orleans officials to tour the city and assess the viability of playing in New Orleans in 2006. Tagliabue indicated the Saints would possibly play at the Superdome late in the 2006 season, depending on the viability of the Superdome. On January 11, 2006, at a press conference in New Orleans, Tagliabue announced that the Saints will likely play all eight home games at the Superdome. [8] Superdome officials said January 12 that the Dome will be ready by September 1, 2006. [9]

However, Tagliabue said the team's preseason games will likely be played elsewhere in Louisiana. He also said that the Saints and the NFL are committed to New Orleans for the long haul.

The NFL announced on February 5, 2006, that the Superdome would reopen on September 24 when the Saints host the Atlanta Falcons. [10]

Sites for the team's 2006 preseason games were announced on March 23. They are Shreveport, Louisiana, for an August 21 game against the Dallas Cowboys, and Jackson, Mississippi, for an August 26 game against the Indianapolis Colts. [11]

On April 6 the Saints released their 2006 schedule. All home games are scheduled to be played at the Superdome. The home opener against the Atlanta Falcoms was moved from September 24 to September 25 and will be shown on ESPN's Monday Night Football. [12]

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Logo and uniforms

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, while their 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. Only during the 1969 preseason did the team wear black helmets.

The Saints switched to white pants in 1975. One year later, they started to wear black pants with their white jerseys. They reverted back to wearing gold pants with both their black and white jerseys in 1986.

During the 2001 season, they wore their white jerseys during most of their home games. This was primarily a reaction to the previous season in which they had a better record on the road, and thus a better record wearing their white jerseys, than they had at home. During that same year, they primarily wore black pants.

In 2002, the Saints wore black pants with their white jerseys, and gold pants with their black jerseys. But one season later, they again reverted back to wearing gold pants with both their black and white jerseys.

The team introduced a gold alternate jersey during a December 15 2002 game versus the Minnesota Vikings, but have never worn them since then.

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Season-by-season records

Template:Start NFL SBS |- |1967 || 3 || 11 || 0 || 4th Capitol || -- |- |1968 || 4 || 9 || 1 || 3rd Century || -- |- |1969 || 5 || 9 || 0 || 3rd Capitol || -- |- |1970 || 2 || 11 || 1 || 4th NFC West || -- |- |1971 || 4 || 8 || 2 || 4th NFC West || -- |- |1972 || 2 || 11 || 1 || 4th NFC West || -- |- |1973 || 5 || 9 || 0 || 3rd NFC West || -- |- |1974 || 5 || 9 || 0 || 3rd NFC West || -- |- |1975 || 2 || 12 || 0 || 4th NFC West || -- |- |1976 || 4 || 10 || 0 || 3rd NFC West || -- |- |1977 || 3 || 11 || 0 || 4th NFC West || -- |- |1978 || 7 || 9 || 0 || 3rd NFC West || -- |- |1979 || 8 || 8 || 0 || 2nd NFC West || -- |- |1980 || 1 || 15 || 0 || 4th NFC West || -- |- |1981 || 4 || 12 || 0 || 4th NFC West || -- |- |1982 || 4 || 5 || 0 || 9th NFC Conf. || -- |- |1983 || 8 || 8 || 0 || 3rd NFC West || -- |- |1984 || 7 || 9 || 0 || 3rd NFC West || -- |- |1985 || 5 || 11 || 0 || 3rd NFC West || -- |- |1986 || 7 || 9 || 0 || 4th NFC West || -- |- |1987 || 12 || 3 || 0 || 2nd NFC West || Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Vikings) |- |1988 || 10 || 6 || 0 || 3rd NFC West || -- |- |1989 || 9 || 7 || 0 || 3rd NFC West || -- |- |1990 || 8 || 8 || 0 || 2nd NFC West || Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Bears) |- |1991 || 11 || 5 || 0 || 1st NFC West || Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Falcons) |- |1992 || 12 || 4 || 0 || 2nd NFC West || Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Eagles) |- |1993 || 8 || 8 || 0 || 2nd NFC West || -- |- |1994 || 7 || 9 || 0 || 2nd NFC West || -- |- |1995 || 7 || 9 || 0 || 5th NFC West || -- |- |1996 || 3 || 13 || 0 || 5th NFC West || -- |- |1997 || 6 || 10 || 0 || 3rd NFC West || -- |- |1998 || 6 || 10 || 0 || 3rd NFC West || -- |- |1999 || 3 || 13 || 0 || 5th NFC West || -- |- |2000 || 10 || 6 || 0 || 1st NFC West || Won Wild Card Playoffs (Rams)
Lost Divisional Playoffs (Vikings) |- |2001 || 7 || 9 || 0 || 3rd NFC West || -- |- |2002 || 9 || 7 || 0 || 3rd NFC South || -- |- |2003 || 8 || 8 || 0 || 2nd NFC South || -- |- |2004 || 8 || 8 || 0 || 2nd NFC South || -- |- |2005 || 3 || 13 || 0 || 4th NFC South || -- |- !Totals || 238 || 357 || 5 |colspan="2"| (including NFL playoffs) Template:End box

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Players of note

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Current roster

Template:New Orleans Saints roster

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Pro Football Hall of Famers

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Retired numbers

Image:Saintshall.jpg

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New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame

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Not to be forgotten

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Head Coaches

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Current Staff

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External links

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