New
Orleans Saints NFL Customized Locker Room 12 x 18 Matted Photograph
New
Orleans Saints - Team History
New Orleans Saints, professional football team and one of five teams
in the Western Division of the National Football Conference (NFC)
of the National Football League (NFL). Under the league’s realignment
plan, which will take affect in 2002, the Saints will play in the
South Division of the NFC. The Saints play at the Louisiana Superdome
in New Orleans, Louisiana, and wear uniforms of gold, black, and white.
The team is named after the Dixieland classic and team fight song,
“When the Saints Go Marchin’ In.”
The Saints joined
the NFL as an expansion team in 1967. The new club struggled for
many years, employing six head coaches, posting 12 consecutive losing
records, and averaging only four wins per season from 1967 to 1978.
The team’s leader during much of this time was quarterback
Archie Manning, who won the NFL player of the year award in 1978.
The greatest moment in Saints history came on November 8, 1970,
when New Orleans kicker Tom Dempsey sealed a 19-17 upset of the
Detroit Lions with a 63-yard field goal—the longest in NFL
history.
The Saints began
playing in the Superdome in 1975, and four years later they recorded
their first non-losing mark, finishing with an 8-8 win-loss record
under head coach Dick Nolan. The team’s woes continued during
the 1980s, however, and New Orleans was never able to compile more
than 8 wins in a season.
Under head coach
Jim Mora, the Saints achieved their first winning record and their
first playoff appearance in 1987. A former defensive coodinator
for the New England Patriots, Mora was named NFL coach of the year.
Running back Rueben Mayes, the 1986 rookie of the year, and wide
receiver Eric Martin, a three-time 1,000-yard gainer, anchored the
NFC’s second-best offense.
Mora steered
the Saints to three consecutive trips to the postseason from 1990
to 1992. New Orleans assembled the NFC’s toughest defense
in 1990 and 1991, led by one of the best linebacker units in the
league. In 1992 linebackers Rickey Jackson, Vaughn Johnson, Sam
Mills, and Pat Swilling all played in the Pro Bowl, and the Saints
led the league in quarterback sacks. Despite its tenacious defense,
the team lost in the first round each time it made the playoffs.
At the end of the 1996 season, former Chicago Bears head coach Mike
Ditka replaced Mora. Ditka was fired after the 1999 season.
The New Orleans
Saints have never played in the Super Bowl.
<p>Free agency rules changed for all NFL teams because of the uncapped league year, which officially began early Friday when the veteran free agency period got under way.</p> <p>Because league owners and the NFL Players Association failed to come to terms on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, the old rules didn't apply—but especially so for the final eight teams in the playoffs who faced certain restrictions on who they could sign.</p> <p>As one of the final four teams, the Super Bowl champion Saints were affected more because they, along with the Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings and New York Jets, can't sign an unrestricted free agent unless they lose one first.</p> <p>Then, the player those teams sign as a replacement can only receive a salary comparable to the one the...
METAIRIE, La. - New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis says the club has agreed to re-sign reserve defensive back Leigh Torrence to a one-year contract.
New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis says the club has agreed to re-sign reserve defensive back Leigh Torrence to a one-year contract. Torrence has been with the Saints since being claimed off waivers in November 2008. He played in five games for New Orleans in 2009 before injuring his shoulder and finishing the year on injured reserve.
One month after the New Orleans Saints' first Super Bowl championship, the team and city were holding yet another party. It took 43 years for the Saints to win their first title, and four weeks for NFL Films and Warner Home Video to complete a commemorative video recapping the best season in franchise history.
Free agent safety Darren Sharper says he had minor arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, but is feeling good and planning to play somewhere next season. Sharper attended a premier Monday night of an NFL Films championship video being released this week by Warner Home Video. He arrived using crutches, but described the procedure as a minor cleanup and assured that he's feeling "real...
MINNEAPOLIS - The attorney for two Minnesota Vikings challenging the NFL's anti-doping policy opened their closely watched trial Monday by accusing the league of failing to follow state law when it tested them for drugs two years ago and then decided to suspend them.
New Orleans Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey and former defensive lineman Charles Grant are suing ex-teammate Kevin Houser over investments worth hundreds of thousands of dollars tied to a now-defunct movie studio. Shockey and Grant paid for what they thought would be state movie industry tax credits returning $1.33 for each dollar they invested.
CLEVELAND - The Cleveland Browns have signed linebacker Scott Fujita and offensive lineman Tony Pashos to multi-year contracts as unrestricted free agents.
MINNEAPOLIS - More than a year after two Minnesota Vikings sued the NFL over its anti-doping procedures, the closely watched case heads to trial Monday with sports leagues worried the outcome will hurt their ability to enforce drug policies across the country.
The company that made a 1983 recording of what became one of the New Orleans Saints' most popular cheers has filed a trademark suit against the state and the team. NFL Properties LLC, which deals with National Football League trademarks, is also a defendant in the suit filed Thursday in federal district court in Baton Rouge by Who Dat?
The New Orleans Saints have agreed to one-year free-agent contracts with offensive lineman Nick Leckey and safety Pierson Prioleau. General manager Mickey Loomis announced the deals on Saturday without disclosing financial terms. Both players had signed one-year deals with the Saints last season and played reserve roles on New Orleans' first Super Bowl championship team.
MINNEAPOLIS - Chester Taylor joined one of Minnesota's division rivals Friday, leaving the Vikings to find a replacement for their valuable, versatile backup running back.
NEW ORLEANS - Charles Grant, a starting defensive end for most of the New Orleans Saints' first championship season, will be released by the only club for which he's played in his eight-year career.
How each of the 32 NFL teams are approaching Friday's opening of free agency with no salary cap: AFC BALTIMORE RAVENS Ravens don't intend to be thrifty. In quest to enhance roster, especially at wide receiver, Ravens expect to benefit from cost-cutting measures by other teams. "There will be some real good players that are going to get cut," general manager Ozzie Newsome said.
NEW ORLEANS - The New Orleans Saints' Super Bowl-winning season has led to a trademark dispute involving the team's unofficial 2009 motto and two manufacturers of athletic wear.
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