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83-783: Camelback Ranch replaced Holman Stadium in Vero Beach, Florida , as the Dodgers' spring training home, and Tucson Electric Park in Tucson, Arizona , as the White Sox spring training home. The park is also home to the Arizona Complex League Dodgers , who moved to Camelback Ranch with the Major League team in 2009. The Arizona Complex League White Sox play there as of 2014, after the White Sox rejoined

166-873: A 13–3 record and won the NFC South. The Saints lost 26–20 in overtime to the Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card Round. In the 2020 season, the Saints won the NFC South with a 12–4 record. In the Wild Card Round, they defeated the Chicago Bears 21–9. In the Divisional Round, they fell to their NFC South rivals, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 30–20. The loss was Drew Brees's final game. Following Drew Brees's retirement,

249-486: 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

332-476: A 2–7 start. 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

415-628: A 7–5 conference record, Saints 6–6, and the Vikings 5–7. The Rams received the number 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 . Due to

498-513: A 7–9 record for the third consecutive season, their offense finished first in the NFL in yards per game (426.0), second in points per game (29.3), and third in yards per play (6.2). Brees led the NFL in passing yards with 5,208. However the defense yet again struggled mightily, as they were allowed the 2nd most points per game (28.4) and 6th most yards per game (375.4) while being tied for 2nd worst in yards per play allowed (6.0). Despite an 0–2 start to

581-516: 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 1,000-yard season. The 2009 season

664-656: 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,

747-521: A new franchise spring training record. Prior to the 2018 Spring Training season, two separate roof panels were installed on the 1st base side to cover fans from the sun. Holman Stadium (Vero Beach) Holman Stadium is a baseball stadium in Vero Beach, Florida , built in 1953 from an abandoned naval base, to accommodate spring training for the Brooklyn Dodgers as part of a complex now called Historic Dodgertown . In addition to

830-430: 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. After the end of the 1996 season, ironically as Diliberto had suggested before Mora's resignation, former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka

913-527: 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

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996-467: A six-year, $ 60 million deal. 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

1079-507: The 2009 season , when they won Super Bowl XLIV over the favored Indianapolis Colts , the team's first and only Super Bowl appearance so far. The Saints, along with the New York Jets , are one of two NFL franchises to win their sole Super Bowl appearance. Local sports entrepreneur Dave 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

1162-1105: The Chunichi Dragons , the Osaka Buffaloes (Japan), the Samsung Lions , the LG Twins , the SK Wyverns , the Sinon Bulls Taiwanese team, the Nigeria national baseball team , and the Moscow Red Devils . Outside of sports, on March 31, 1961 at 7:30 p.m., famed evangelist Dr. Billy Graham held a Good Friday service at Holman Stadium during his Florida Crusades. The Baltimore Orioles were recruited to move up to Vero Beach in 2010, from their spring home in Fort Lauderdale , but after failing to reach an agreement,

1245-713: The Green Bay Packers and a 31–15 victory against the Chicago Bears in Chicago. 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

1328-463: 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

1411-578: The National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) South Division . Since 1975, the team plays its home games at Caesars Superdome after using 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, the Saints joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1967. The Saints were among

1494-992: The New Orleans Saints , the Green Bay Packers , the Cleveland Browns , the Buffalo Bills , the New England Patriots , the Kansas City Chiefs , the Philadelphia Eagles , and the college teams of the Miami Hurricanes , the Ohio State Buckeyes and the University of South Florida Bulls . Holman Stadium has also played host to some international teams such as the Yomiuri Giants ,

1577-577: 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

1660-533: 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. Following

1743-499: 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

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1826-425: 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

1909-416: 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

1992-552: The Arizona rookie circuit. The stadium name is derived from the longstanding name of the property it is built on. Roger Bossard , White Sox head groundskeeper, designed and put in all of the fields for the Dodgers and the White Sox. During the park's first year, Dodger fans noted and expressed their dismay at the absence of the Dodger Dog at the ballpark concession stands. The following season, Dodger Dogs began to be sold at

2075-585: 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 . The Saints finished with

2158-587: 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 . Although the Pittsburgh Steelers —who played a few home games in New Orleans during their early years to avoid conflict with

2241-690: The City of Vero Beach rescinded its offer. The city is exploring other options outside of Major League Baseball spring training. Reports surfaced in 2009 that the Major League Baseball Players Association was considering Holman Stadium as an alternate training site for players who entered the spring as unsigned free agents . However, the MLBPA decided not to go forward with the plan. As of 2024, nearby Dodgertown Elementary School has not changed its name. The United Football League expressed an early interest in using

2324-699: The Dodgers' spring games, it was the home of the Vero Beach Devil Rays , previously the Vero Beach Dodgers, of the Florida State League , through the 2008 season. The official seating capacity is 6,500. The then-Brooklyn Dodgers were one of the first major league baseball teams to conduct spring training in Florida, establishing their operations in this quiet beachside town in 1948. Previously an abandoned Naval base,

2407-710: The Historic Dodgertown facility as a training and practice grounds, but no agreement to do so was ever reached. During the final ( 2012 ) season, each team utilized a training site in or near its home market. Dodgertown became the Vero Beach Sports Village in 2010. It is now used for sports tournaments including baseball and football tournaments, concerts and other special events. In 2013, former Dodger owner Peter O'Malley and current Dodger ownership, headed by President Stan Kasten, reached agreement to re-brand Vero Beach Sports Village under

2490-514: 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 , the team's 34th season. The team's fortunes improved in the 21st century, especially during the late 2000s and 2010s, which saw them become more consistent postseason contenders. Their greatest success to date came in

2573-540: The NFL-AFL merger, NFL Commissioner Pete 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 expansion franchise. 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

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2656-592: 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

2739-402: The Saints had a revolving door at quarterback in the 2021 season with Trevor Siemian, Jameis Winston, Taysom Hill, and Ian Book starting over the course of the year. In the 2021 season, the Saints finished 9–8 and missed the postseason. On January 25, 2022, Sean Payton announced to the team that he was stepping away as head coach after 15 seasons with the team. During his tenure as head coach,

2822-499: 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

2905-462: 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." 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

2988-449: The Saints went 152–89 in the regular season and 9–8 in the postseason. The team promoted defensive coordinator, Dennis Allen to head coach on February 8, 2022. On November 14, 2022, after a 3–7 start, disappointed Saints fans started a petition on change.org, asking to relieve Dennis Allen of his duties. The Saints finished the 2022 season with a 7–10 mark and missed the postseason. Allen would maintain his head coaching position into

3071-452: 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

3154-547: The San Francisco 49ers in Candlestick Park that featured the Saints losing two leads in the last four minutes of regulation. 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

3237-530: 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. The Saints finished the season 7–9, second in their division behind the 7–8–1 Carolina Panthers. They missed out on

3320-499: 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

3403-579: 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

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3486-432: The announcement be delayed until November 1, to coincide with All Saints' Day . Dixon cleared the name with New Orleans' Archbishop Philip M. Hannan , who "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." U.S. House Majority Whip from Louisiana Hale Boggs attached the merger to a bill approving an exemption from antitrust sanctions allowing for

3569-560: The ballpark. Camelback Ranch opened on March 1, 2009 for the spring training home opener between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago White Sox . The Dodgers took a 2–0 lead into the top of the ninth until the White Sox came back to defeat them 3–2. (Attendance: 11,280) In 2015, the Dodgers drew 147,066 fans to their 15 spring training games at Camelback Ranch (an average of just over 9,804 per game), setting

3652-419: 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

3735-413: 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

3818-528: The change. Black helmets were not introduced until 2022, after the NFL repealed its "one-helmet rule" previously enforced in 2013. 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

3901-501: The complex was transformed for the Dodgers. Historic Dodgertown and Holman Stadium served as their spring home for more than 60 years. In recent decades, Arizona has established itself alongside Florida as the second major center for spring baseball, and the Dodgers were the last Western team in Major League Baseball to still conduct their spring training in Florida, having retained their spring training home even after

3984-660: 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 . 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

4067-551: 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. 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

4150-523: The field. These may have been the inspiration for the dugouts in Johnny Hart 's B.C. comic strip . "This place is so different from any other park", states George Betscha, a batboy at Dodgertown from 2005–2008. "There is so much history here and you can feel it when you walk around." In addition to baseball, the Holman Stadium complex and conference center has hosted training sessions by

4233-447: 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 held the post from 2000 to 2005. In his first year, he took the team to the 2000 playoffs with a 10–6 mark and defeated the defending Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams for

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4316-462: 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 second highest for any TV program, sports or otherwise, in history, as their successful bid to win the Super Bowl

4399-422: The league with 20 interceptions. The offense continued to be excellent, finishing second in yards per game (391.2) and fourth in points per game (28.0). In the wild card round, the Saints defeated the Carolina Panthers in the wild-card round, 31–26. However, in the divisional round, the Saints lost 29–24 to the Minnesota Vikings after the Vikings completed the Minneapolis Miracle . The Minneapolis Miracle

4482-433: The merger and the team. 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. Tom Fears was named as the team's first head coach. The inaugural game on September 17, 1967 , started with Saints receiver John Gilliam returning

4565-435: The name Historic Dodgertown. Historic Dodgertown now holds year round youth sports tournaments in baseball, soccer, lacrosse, and Minor League Baseball's Umpire Training Academy . New Orleans Saints 2005 due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina : 2021 due to the effect of Hurricane Ida : The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans . The Saints compete in

4648-411: The offers were too lucrative to overcome the burden of having to reimburse Vero Beach for purchasing the complex. With the Camelback Ranch opening in Glendale in 2009, the Dodgers joined the Chicago White Sox to share the new facility. The Dodgers' last spring training game in Vero Beach was on March 17, 2008. Holman is unique for its open-air dugouts that are literally dug out along the sides of

4731-448: The only ones to finish at .500. 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 . Dempsey's record was not broken until 2013 by Matt Prater of the Denver Broncos , who kicked one yard farther. In 1980 ,

4814-465: 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. 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

4897-408: The opening kickoff 94-yards for a touchdown, in a losing effort, 27–13, to the Los Angeles Rams at Tulane Stadium, with over 80,000 in attendance. 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 finished third or fourth in their division until 1979 . Until 1987, the 1979 and 1983 teams were

4980-409: The owner of the Saints and the NBA's New Orleans Pelicans . In the 2018 season, the Saints finished with a 13–3 record and won the NFC South. The Saints defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 20–14 in the Divisional Round. The Saints fell to the Los Angeles Rams 26–23 in overtime in the NFC Championship in a game that had a controversial ending to regulation. In the 2019 season, the Saints finished with

5063-405: 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

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5146-405: 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

5229-431: 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

5312-423: The season and was replaced by senior defensive assistant Dennis Allen . 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

5395-489: 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

5478-478: 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

5561-515: The season, the Saints proceeded to win their next 8 games en route to an 11–5 finish, winning their first NFC South title since 2011. The Saints' turnaround was largely attributable to their draft , where they drafted cornerback Marshon Lattimore , offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk , safety Marcus Williams , and running back Alvin Kamara . It is widely considered one of the best draft classes in NFL history. The defense drastically improved, as they allowed just 20.4 points per game while finishing third in

5644-402: 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

5727-430: 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

5810-405: 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

5893-423: The start of the 2023 season. During the 2023 season, The Saints brought in a new quarterback in Derek Carr hoping that he would solidify the position. Dennis Allen and the Saints had one of the easiest schedules in the league, but finished with a 9–8 record missing the playoffs after a 3rd straight season. Dennis Allen was fired on November 4, 2024, following a 23–22 loss to division rivals Carolina Panthers and

5976-474: 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

6059-613: The team had sold out the Louisiana Superdome for the entire season with season tickets alone (68,354 seats), a first in franchise history. 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,

6142-414: The team moved to Los Angeles in 1958. In 2001, the Dodgers seriously considered moving their spring training operations to Arizona, but the city of Vero Beach persuaded them to stay by purchasing the Historic Dodgertown complex from the team and leasing it back for a nominal $ 1 per year. In 2006, the Dodgers again received offers from several Arizona cities, attempting to persuade them to move. Ultimately,

6225-620: 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

6308-538: 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

6391-414: 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

6474-469: 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). 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

6557-431: Was a stunning finish in which Vikings quarterback Case Keenum completed a pass towards the sideline to Stefon Diggs , then Marcus Williams missed a tackle and Diggs was able to run to the end zone for a 61-yard touchdown with no time left on the clock. 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. Benson's wife Gayle Benson succeeded him as

6640-492: 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

6723-581: Was only the second playoff win in team history. The season ended on January 21, 2007, when the Saints lost a 39–14 blowout to the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship game . The Saints announced that for the second year in a row, the Louisiana Superdome had sold out every ticket for the season. 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

6806-451: Was seen by many to represent the city's resurgence after the devastating Hurricane Katrina. 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

6889-560: 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 and a bye in the first round of the playoffs. By winning their first 13 games,

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