2006 New Orleans Saints

Even as we say “Congratulations” to the Chicago Bears, who will represent the National Football Conference at the 2007 Super Bowl, we want to say a big “Thank you” to the New Orleans Saints for the amazing season they had! The turnaround from finishing last year with a 3-13 record to reaching the NFC Conference Championship game this year was an inspiring achievement!

The New Orleans Saints managed only 3 wins in 2005, but many considered that quite an accomplishment under the circumstances. Displaced from the Louisiana Superdome by Hurricane Katrina and the floods of August 2005, the Saints depended on the kindness of strangers to have a 2005 season at all. Ultimately, New Orleans played three 'home' games at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, one at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and four at Louisiana State University's Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge.

Assuming no more such horrific weather, the biggest thing to hit the Saints in 2006 should be Heismann-winning runner/receiver Reggie Bush, snatched from USC as the #2 pick in the NFL draft, along with Alabama's Roman Harper and a lot of other fresh talent. The Saints' coach, Sean Payton, and quarterback Drew Brees are new to New Orleans as well. You'll want tickets to see them and the rest of the Saints as they come marching in to the refurbished Superdome!

Some New Orleans Saints history: 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 coordinator 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. Head coach Jim Haslett held the reins through the year of the hurricane, but was replaced by Sean Payton in 2006.