The New Orleans Saints are an American football team in the NFL and are based in New Orleans, Louisiana where they were organized in 1967. In 2009, the team won Super Bowl XLIV.

1960s: Creation The city of New Orleans established an NFL franchise on November 1, 1966, facilitated by a combination of local activism (most notably by David Dixon and members of the local media, such as New Orleans States-Item sports editor Crozet Duplantier) and political decisions by Senator Russell Long and Congressman Hale Boggs who approved the NFL-AFL merger conditional on giving a franchise to New Orleans.

Six bidders for the franchise included William G. Helis Jr., Herman Lay, John W. Mecom Jr., Louis J. Roussel Jr., Jack Sanders, and Edgar B. Stern Jr.. On December 15, 1966 John W. Mecom Jr. became the majority shareholder and president of the team with a winning bid of $8.5 million. Tom Fears was named head coach.

The team was named "Saints" due to its birthday on the Roman Catholic Church's All Saints Day and New Orleans' largely Catholic demographic. The name was announced on January 9, 1967. The team's original playing ground was Tulane Stadium.

The Saints were placed in the Capitol Division of the NFL's Eastern Conference competing against the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, and Washington Redskins.

Early games The Saints started off well, with a 5–1 preseason record. However, in the first game of the 1967 regular season, they lost to the Los Angeles Rams, 13–27.

The Saints' first win came on November 5 as they defeated the Eagles 31–24. That would be one of their only winning games as they ended the season second-to-last in the league and games behind Washington in the divisional race.

Their next few seasons continued along similar lines. They scored slightly higher in 1968 when they switched to the Century Division competing against the Cleveland Browns, St. Louis Cardinals, and Pittsburgh Steelers. In 1969, they returned to the Capitol Division (featuring the same division opponents as 1967) and went 5–9.

1970–1974

The 1970 season saw yet another realignment for the Saints due to the AFL–NFL merger. The Saints were placed in the NFC West, where they would remain through 2001. Their original NFC West competitors – the Atlanta Falcons, Los Angeles (and later, St. Louis) Rams, and San Francisco 49ers – would also remain in the division through 2001 (with the Carolina Panthers joining in 1995), leading to the development of long-standing rivalries.

The season started off poorly for the Saints. After going 1–5–1 in the first seven games, head coach Fears was fired and replaced by J.D. Roberts on November 3. In Roberts' first game as coach, New Orleans trailed the Detroit Lions 17–16, but Tom Dempsey kicked an NFL-record 63-yard field goal to win the game. The record would stand through 2013, when Matt Prater of the Denver Broncos broke it with a 64-yard field goal. This Saints victory, however, would be the last for the season; they lost their last six games to finish 2–11–1, the worst record of the franchise.

In the 1971 NFL draft, the Saints had the second overall pick behind the Boston Patriots. Deciding that a franchise quarterback was necessary, they selected Archie Manning out of University of Mississippi. In the season opener, Manning passed for 218 yards and a touchdown, and ran in another touchdown on the final play to give the Saints a 24–20 win over the Rams. Four weeks later, Manning's performance helped the team earn a 24–14 upset against the Dallas Cowboys. Throughout the season, Manning split the quarterbacking duties with veteran Edd Hargett. Manning ended the season with six passing touchdowns and four rushing touchdowns; he did well enough to become the team's undisputed starter the next season. Despite the promise Manning showed, the Saints' misfortunes continued. During the 1973 preseason, the Saints fired coach Roberts and hired John North, who led the Saints to consecutive 5–9 seasons in 1973 and 1974.

1975–1979 In 1975, the Saints moved from Tulane Stadium into the Louisiana Superdome and went down 2–12. North was fired after six games, and Ernie Hefferle was named interim head coach for the final eight games of the season.

For the 1976 season, Hank Stram was hired as head coach; he came with a proven track record (three AFL titles, one Super Bowl win) from his years with the Kansas City Chiefs (formerly the Dallas Texans). However, his talents proved ineffective in his first season, as the Saints went 4–10.

Quarterback Manning sat out the entire season after undergoing elbow surgery just after Stram's hiring, forcing the quarterback duties to be split by backup Bobby Scott and Chicago Bears castoff Bobby Douglass. The 1977 season was not much better as the Saints went 3–11, including a 33–14 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (the Buccaneers' first victory in the NFL after 26 consecutive losses).

In 1978, Stram was replaced by Dick Nolan. The season saw an improvement in the Saints' fortunes; Manning had the best season of his career up to that point, passing for 3,416 yards and 17 touchdowns. He was named to the NFC Pro Bowl squad for the first time and was also named the NFC's Most Valuable Player by The Sporting News and UPI. The Saints put together a record of 7–9, their best score at the time. The Saints missed the playoffs by losing to the Atlanta Falcons as well as a last-minute loss to the eventual Super Bowl XIII champion Pittsburgh Steelers.

In 1979, the Saints built on the success of the previous year. After a 0–3 start (including a 40–34 overtime loss to the Falcons on the opening day), the Saints won five of their next six games to take sole possession of the NFC West lead after nine games. The Saints playoff hopes were ended when they lost against the Oakland Raiders (their rivals for the NFC West title) and the San Diego Chargers.

The Saints, did manage to beat the Super Bowl-bound Rams in the final game of the regular season putting them at 8–8, the first non-losing season in team history. It was also the first time that the Saints finished higher than third place in their division.

1980–1985 In 1980, the Saints had high hopes after their two relatively successful seasons. Instead, despite a strong offense, their defense failed. The team started 0–12, and Dick Nolan was fired; he was replaced by Dick Stanfel, who lost two games (including one in San Francisco where the Saints blew a 28-point lead). They managed to win against the New York Jets, who finished with the league's second worst record at 4–12, by a point.

The Saints then lost their last game of the season to the New England Patriots to finish 1–15, the worst mark in team history and (at the time) the worst for a 16-game schedule. A local journalist and radio/TV personality, Buddy Diliberto, wore a paper grocery bag over his head to promote the brown bag special of Sonic, the Saints' sponsor at the time. Many fans took to wearing bags over their heads when attending games. The moniker "Aints" was also born due to the ineptitude of the 1980 Saints.

In 1981, ex-Houston Oilers head coach Bum Phillips was hired as head coach and general manager. The dismal 1980 season meant that the Saints would get the first pick in the 1981 NFL draft. They selected Heisman-winning running back George Rogers out of South Carolina, a move which in hindsight proved to be a huge blunder; the New York Giants, drafting second, selected future Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor from North Carolina. Rogers was the team's workhorse, playing in all but one game and averaging more than 25 carries a game. He ran for a total of 1,674 yards, making him the NFL rushing champion. However, his performances were not enough to make the Saints a winning club. They finished the season 4–12.

In 1982, the Saints signed former Oakland Raiders and Houston Oilers quarterback Ken Stabler and traded Archie Manning to the Oilers. Two games into the season, the Saints were 1–1, but a players' strike led to the cancellation of seven games. When the season resumed, the Saints won two games in a row to take their record to 3–1, but they lost four games in a row before winning their last game, 35–6 over the Falcons. They finished 4–5, but missed out on qualifying for the playoffs (expanded to 16 teams due to the strike) on a tiebreaker.

1983 saw the Saints improve on the previous season once again. Their playoff hopes came down to the final game of the season, when they hosted the Rams. Los Angeles' Mike Lansford kicked a 42-yard field goal with six seconds remaining to give the Rams the victory ending the Saints' season. The Saints finished 8–8, tying their previous best season record.

Eight weeks after the conclusion of the 1983 season, the Saints traded their number one pick in the 1984 NFL draft to the New York Jets for quarterback Richard Todd, who was being phased out in favor of rookie Ken O'Brien. The Saints won for the first time on Monday Night Football by defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Superdome, but a three-game losing streak late in the season dropped the Saints to 7–9.

In 1984 John Mecom sold the team to Tom Benson, a native New Orleanian who owned numerous car dealerships throughout the New Orleans area.

In 1985, the Saints started off 3–2, but then lost six games in a row. Bum Phillips resigned twelve games into the season, and his son Wade Phillips, the Saints' defensive coordinator, was named interim coach. The Saints ended the season 5–11.

Jim Mora era (1986–1996) Before the 1986 season, Saints owner Tom Benson put his stamp on the team by making two important hires: first, he named Jim Finks president and general manager; then, he named Jim Mora head coach. The Saints' offense struggled throughout the year but player Rueben Mayes was named NFC Rookie of the Year.

The 1987 Saints started 1–1; then, another player strike followed. This time, however, replacement players were used until the regular players ended their strike. As a result, the season was only one game shorter than usual. The Saints went 2–1 with replacement players as they were led by their quarterback, New Orleans native John Fourcade.

When the regular players returned, they lost their first game against the San Francisco 49ers. Afterwards, they ran off a nine-game winning streak to close out the season – a first for the team. A loss against San Francisco, however, would keep the Saints from being NFC West Champions. On January 3, 1988; after 20 years, the Saints finally took part in the NFL playoffs and Mora and Finks were named NFL Coach and Executive of the Year, respectively.

The 1988 Saints looked to return to the playoffs. After starting the season with a loss to the 49ers, the Saints bounced back with a seven-game win streak. After the streak, though, the Saints lost five of their next seven games. They won their last game of the season, against Atlanta, but they missed out on the playoffs due to tiebreakers.

The 1989 Saints managed to finish 9–7, but thanks to other strong performances in the NFC, they missed the playoffs by two games.

In 1990, the Saints started off poorly, going 2–5 in their first seven games. However, they turned their season around with close wins in their final two games of the season giving them an 8–8 record.

In 1991, the Saints started with a seven-game win streak, a team-record best start. With the 7–0 start, the Saints opened up a four-game lead over the rest of the division. But then the Saints lost five of their next seven games, giving Atlanta and San Francisco a shot at claiming the division title. However, the Saints regrouped in the final two games of the season, giving the Saints their first-ever division title.

In 1992, the Saints attempted to defend their division title, but the 49ers, swept the season series.

The 1993 season would see the Saints start their decline from regular playoff contender to league losses once again.