The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. 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. 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. But the acquisition was far from smooth. The New Orleans Saints are making a concerted push to sign Jadeveon Clowney, a move that suggests they know Drew Brees is up against the clock. Please help by moving some material from it into the body of the article. 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 team broke numerous records that year including most yards in a season, completion percentage, yards passing, completions and more. [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. A cheerleading squad has existed since the franchise's founding, but the current name was only adopted in 1987. … I want to assure you that the New Orleans Saints are in good hands and my vision for strong, long lasting ownership and continuity are in place and already at work.”. The Seahawks were the first NFL team to capture their division with a sub-.500 regular season record (7–9). It doesn't matter. Green Day and U2 performed "Wake Me Up When September Ends" and "The Saints Are Coming", respectively, before the game. The NFL office, however, informed him that his proposed combination too closely resembled that worn by the San Diego Chargers. Drew Brees also tied the NFL record for touchdown passes in a game with 7, coming against the New York Giants.[24]. 2. 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. Sean Payton became the second consecutive Saints coach to win a division title in his first season. Green Bay Packers Vs. New Orleans Saints: Who Has The Edge? The Mercedes-Benz Superdome is the Saints' home stadium. 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 All-45th Anniversary Team is as follows, with an asterisk (*) designating those players who have already been inducted into the Hall of Fame: 1 2005 induction ceremonies postponed to October 27, 2006, due to Hurricane Katrina, → Coaching staff 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 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. VC Fund Led By Saints And Pelicans Owner Gayle Benson Raises $50 Million, Planning To Invest In Gulf South, New Orleans Saints Passing Superdome Sponsorship Search to Oak View Group Global Partnerships, The Good, Bad And Ugly From The Green Bay Packers’ Win Over The New Orleans Saints, The Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District picked a contractor for the first phase of a $450 million upgrade planned for the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. 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. 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. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. 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. The team lost the following week to the Minnesota Vikings. Compares the number of wins per player payroll relative to the rest of the NFL. 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's colors, black and gold, symbolized both Mecom's and New Orleans' strong ties to the oil industry. [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. For the first time in Saints' history, they clinched their NFC South title on their home field. The Saints would face the Seattle Seahawks for the wild-card opener at Qwest Field. The Saints went 6–10 in their first two seasons under Ditka (1997 and 1998). 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. 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). The Saints defense allowed 7,042 yards, setting an NFL record.[21]. 3 NFC) host the Minnesota Vikings (10-6, No. It is also an allusion to the team's foundation date, November 1, being All Saints' Day in the Catholic faith as New Orleans has a large Catholic population. Since becoming division rivals, the Saints have the edge in the series, winning 16 games to the Bucs' 10. The team was founded by John W. Mecom Jr., David Dixon, and the city of New Orleans on November 1, 1966. Winning a franchise-record 13 games, they qualified for Super Bowl XLIV and defeated the AFC champion Indianapolis Colts 31–17. The Saints later stuck with the black pants in their 2006 playoff run. The Saints won 13 of 20 games as non-division opponents. 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. Second-round pick Hau'oli Kikaha had 4 sacks. A score of 120 means that the team had 20% more victories per-dollar of payroll compared with the league average. 8. 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 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. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Saints won the NFC South title on December 26 and ended the 2011 season as the third seed in the NFC. 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. He had two scores, both coming against the Carolina Panthers and led all rookies in tackles. 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 Saints' oldest rival are the Atlanta Falcons. 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. The Saints have had one of the better off-seasons in the NFL, and because of those moves, they're not committed to any particular position for the draft—although a linebacker would help. The overall project is expected to take four years and includes replacing pedestrian ramps with escalators, improved lounges, and new field-level suites. All Rights Reserved. The Saints and the Carolina Panthers have been minor rivals since Carolina joined the league as an expansion franchise in 1995. Please try to keep recent events in historical perspective and add more content related to non-recent events. After the first-round bye, the Saints beat the Philadelphia Eagles 27–24 in the Superdome in the 2006 Divisional Playoffs. That logo was removed in 1996 and replaced with a fleur-de-lis on both the sleeves and sides of the pants. The next season in 1988 ended with a 10–6 record, but no playoff berth. Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdowns in the Green Bay Packers' 37-30 win over the New Orleans Saints Sunday. 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. Not surprisingly, Drew Brees did the inevitable Thursday. 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. Thus, it appears Saints quarterback Drew Brees and Mercedes-Benz will end their stays in New Orleans simultaneously. 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. The 2020 NFL Playoffs continue Sunday afternoon when the New Orleans Saints (13-3, No. 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. 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. Portion of franchise's value attributable to revenue shared among all teams. [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.