The Sean Payton era (2006–current) New Orleans Saints

sean payton current head coach.

on january 17, 2006, saints hired sean payton new head coach.

2006 season

on march 23, saints announced team s 2 2006 preseason games played @ shreveport, louisiana, , jackson, mississippi. after $185 million renovation of historic stadium, on april 6 saints released 2006 schedule, home games scheduled played @ superdome. on september 19, saints owner tom benson announced team had sold out louisiana superdome entire season season tickets alone (68,354 seats), first in franchise history.

the september 25, 2006 home opener, first home game in new orleans after hurricane katrina, won saints 23–3 against atlanta falcons, undefeated in 2006 season @ time. attendance game sellout crowd of 70,003. meanwhile, broadcast of game espn s highest-ever rated program date, 11.8 rating, , viewership 10,850,000 homes. most-watched program night, broadcast or cable, , second-highest rated cable program of time @ time. green day , u2 performed wake me when september ends , saints coming , respectively, before game. game received 2007 espy award best moment in sports. game remembered saints fans steve gleason s blocked punt on opening series resulted in touchdown new orleans.

on december 17, 2006, saints clinched third division title , first nfc south title in franchise history. first time in saints history, clinched nfc south title on home field. sean payton became second consecutive saints coach win division title in first season. after philadelphia eagles beat dallas cowboys 23–7 on christmas day 2006, saints clinched first-round playoff bye first time in franchise history.

after first-round bye, saints beat philadelphia eagles 27–24 in superdome in 2006 divisional playoffs. no team had ever had such poor record in prior year (3–13) , gone on league or conference championship game since 1999 st. louis rams advanced win first super bowl after being 4–12 season before. since saints previous playoff win in wild card round, farthest saints had ever advanced @ time. victory second playoff win in team history. season ended on january 21, 2007, when saints lost 39–14 chicago bears in nfc championship game.

2007 season

the saints announced second year in row, louisiana superdome had sold out every ticket season. additionally, luxury boxes had been sold out season. both of these statistics particularly surprising given city-proper has 300,000 people or 150,000 fewer people july 2005 population data (though metro area still accounts 1.2 million people).

the first game of season against defending super bowl xli champion indianapolis colts. saints lost game, 41–10, , lost next 3 games. in 1 of these 3 games, against tennessee titans, saints lost running deuce mcallister season second career (second time in 3 seasons) acl tear. after winning first game, against seattle seahawks, 2 weeks later, team went on four-game winning streak bring record 4–4. after reaching 7–7, saints lost final 2 games finish 7–9.

2008 season

following disappointing 7–9 record in 2007 season, saints ended 2008 season 8–8. failing qualify post season second straight year, saints found struggling on defense. however, saints match explosive offense had in 2006 season. drew brees ended 2008 season 16 yards short of beating dan marino s single-season record of 5084 total passing yards, , receiver lance moore came 72 yards short of first 1000-yard season.

2009 season: first super bowl championship

qb drew brees named mvp in super bowl xliv.

the 2009 season team s successful season, culminated in franchise s first league championship win against indianapolis colts in super bowl xliv. after achieving record of 13–0 win on atlanta falcons, marked saints best start season in franchise history. result clinched nfc playoff berth, bye in first round of playoffs. winning first 13 games, saints set record longest undefeated season opening (13–0) nfc team since afl–nfl merger, surpassing previous record (12–0) held 1985 chicago bears. however, fall victim dallas cowboys in week 14, going on end season three-game losing streak. saints became first team win super bowl after losing last 3 regular season games.

although opponents include winners of 9 of last 15 nfl mvp awards, team advanced 2009 nfc championship game defeated minnesota vikings, led brett favre, 31–28 in overtime (at 9:19 cst), earning first super bowl appearance in franchise history. television ratings super bowl xliv (44) highest tv program, sports or otherwise, in history, successful bid win super bowl seen many represent city s resurgence after devastating hurricane katrina.

2010 season

the saints 2010 season began in superdome defending super bowl champions defeated minnesota vikings 14–9, in rematch of 2009 nfc championship game. played on thursday september 9, 2010 , televised on nbc, making first time saints have opened nfl s season @ home. on sunday, august 8, 2010, nbc announced televised opening festivities of evening begin taylor swift , dave matthews band. on december 27, 2010, 17–14 win against atlanta falcons in atlanta saints clinched playoff appearance (wild card). marked first time team in nfc south had made back-to-back playoff appearances since division formed in 2002. saints face seattle seahawks wild-card opener @ qwest field. seahawks first nfl team capture division sub-.500 regular season record (7–9). drew brees completed postseason-record 39 passes 404 yards , 2 touchdowns. despite throwing 60 passes , hindered lack of depth @ running back, last year s super bowl mvp not intercepted , rallied saints within 34–30 in fourth quarter. in end, efforts negated defense not enough stops , late touchdown run marshawn lynch breaking on half-dozen tackles 3:22 left helped seahawks defeat saints 41–36.

2011 season

the saints began season loss against green bay packers, team rebounded next 4 weeks bring record 4–1. loss tampa bay buccaneers brought record 4–2, team bounced 62–7 blowout win against struggling indianapolis colts. surprise loss st. louis rams resulted in record dropping 5–3. in next 7 weeks saints beat talented teams such eventual super bowl xlvi champion new york giants, detroit lions, , atlanta falcons, bringing season record 12–3. cap off season, quarterback drew brees broke single season passing record held on 25 years, on way saints division winning game. saints won nfc south title on december 26 , ended 2011 season 3rd seed in nfc. finished 13–3 record, beating carolina 45–17 , giving running darren sproles record all-purpose yards in single season. team broke numerous records year including yards in season, completion percentage, yards passing, completions , more. new orleans saints beat detroit lions in 2011 nfc wild-card playoff game 45–28. new orleans tied nfl s postseason mark team first downs in game (34), , broke record total yards 626, eclipsing yardage record set 49 years ago. saints lost saturday, january 14, 2012 in divisional round in playoffs against san francisco 49ers in candlestick park. game considered instant classic many game saw numerous lead changes in final 4 minutes of play.

2012 season: payton suspended; punishment bountygate

after offseason dominated news of so-called bounty scandal , year-long suspension of head coach sean payton, saints sought refocus on football , produce yet winning year. instead, team, led offensive line coach aaron kromer first 6 games, started season 4 straight losses , last place spot in nfc south. team broke through win in week 5, against san diego chargers, game saw quarterback drew brees break johnny unitas s longstanding record consecutive games touchdown pass. after scheduled bye, saints went on win 4 of next 5 games, bring record 5–5. joe vitt returned after six-game suspension serve interim head coach rest of season. team failed hold momentum, however, , lost next 3 games, including loss @ atlanta marked end of brees record touchdown streak after 54 games, , 52–27 blowout loss giants dropped saints 5–8. despite winning 2 of last 3 games, , brees again leading league 5,177 passing yards (his third time surpass 5,000 yards, remained quarterback break barrier more once), team finished tied last in nfc south, @ 7–9. saints defense allowed 7,042 yards, setting nfl record.

2013 season

the saints finished 2013 preseason 3–1, , won first 5 regular season games against atlanta falcons, tampa bay buccaneers, arizona cardinals, miami dolphins , chicago bears. saints under sean peyton had been winless in chicago s soldier field , had not won in windy city since 2000. saints fared against chicago, arizona , miami, winning 26–18, 31–7 , 38–17 respectively, needed 4th down shutdown , last minute field goal escape atlanta , tampa bay. saints went on 5–0 win streak, stopped short new england patriots in week 6, losing 30–27, touchdown pass tom brady in last 5 seconds of game. new orleans go undefeated @ home second straight season sean payton head coach, finish 3–5 on road. key losses included 7–34 blowout against seattle seahawks on monday night football in seattle cost them homefield advantage throughout playoffs, 16–27 upset against st. louis rams in st. louis led saints needing win next game against carolina control own playoff destiny, , heartbreaking 13–17 defeat division rival carolina panthers in charlotte went on win nfc south. saints finished season 11–5 record , earned wild card berth 6th seed in nfc. on january 4, 2014, saints recorded first road playoff win in franchise history on philadelphia eagles 26–24. on january 11, saints lost number 1 seed seattle seahawks once again in seattle 15–23. weather conditions poor, gave offense difficulty. despite conditions, defense of saints played well, holding seattle 23 on 34 points allowed against seattle during regular season.

2014 season

the saints finished season 7–9, second in division behind 7–8–1 carolina panthers. missed out on playoffs after being defeated 14–30 divisional rival, atlanta falcons, in second-to-last week of season. season notorious in saints history having 31st worst ranked defense in league, 1 of main reasons saints poor 2014 campaign. 2 great performances defense out of entire season came 44–23 home win against green bay packers , 31–15 victory against chicago bears in chicago.

2015 season

the saints finished 7-9 record second consecutive season. third in nfc south after 15-1 nfc champions carolina panthers , 8-8 atlanta falcons. defense historically bad. allowed passing touchdowns in season in nfl history allowed 45, making them worst passing defense in nfl history. set nfl record in opposing passer rating (116.2), while finishing last in points allowed (29.8) , yards allowed per play (6.6). atrocious play defensive captain brandon browner, set nfl record penalties 23, didn t struggling saints defense. defensive coordinator rob ryan fired near half-way point in season , replaced senior defensive assistant dennis allen. saints had strong play 2015 draft class. saints first pick andrus peat started @ right tackle , left guard @ points in season, , other first-round pick stephone anthony finished rookie season 112 tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception, , 2 forced fumbles. had 2 scores, both coming against carolina panthers , led rookies in tackles. second-round pick hau oli kikaha had 4 sacks. canadian football star delvin breaux, signed in offseason, led saints struggling secondary 3 interceptions , 19 pass deflections. drew brees tied nfl record touchdown passes in game 7, coming against new york giants.

2009–2011 bounty scandal

after lengthy investigation conducted national football league s security department, league alleged on march 2, 2012, 22 27 defensive players on new orleans saints maintained pay performance program included bounty payments administered defensive coordinator gregg williams during 2009, 2010 , 2011 seasons. nfl commissioner roger goodell stated, payments here particularly troubling because involved not payments performance, injuring opposing players. report found head coach sean payton aware of allegations failed stop program. league said mickey loomis, saints general manager, directed end program owner tom benson, didn t. memo released nfl teams found payton , loomis guilty of conduct detrimental league.

on march 3, 2012, benson addressed bounty payments controversy on saints website, stating, have been made aware of nfl s findings relative bounty rule , how relates our club. have offered , nfl has received our full cooperation in investigation. while findings may troubling, forward putting behind , winning more championships in future our fans.

on march 21, 2012, commissioner goodell announced that, result of bounty scandal , nfl s investigation, sean payton has been suspended 1 year, gregg williams indefinitely, , mickey loomis first 8 regular season games. team fined $500,000 , docked second round draft picks in 2012 , 2013. saints assistant coach joe vitt suspended 6 games , fined $100,000. payton s suspension started on april 1, 2012, , suspensions without pay. goodell meet williams again after 2012 season determine coach s status.

on may 2, 2012, announced 4 players played team between 2009 , 2011 receive suspensions alleged participation in bountygate : saints linebacker jonathan vilma (16 games), saints defensive lineman smith (4 games), former saints/retired linebacker scott fujita (3 games), , former saints/current packers defensive lineman anthony hargrove (8 games).

most of players targets of questionable hits saints, including favre , warner, claimed bounties merely part of game. however, several former players interviewed sports illustrated said while payments hits , sacks indeed considered part of game, bounties intentionally injuring opponents violated unwritten code.

however, on july 26, 2012, jonathan vilma , 7 witnesses saints testified in front of federal judge in new orleans nfl commissioner roger goodell got facts wrong in bounty scandal. sworn in under oath in front of judge risk of perjury , jail time if lying, , categorically denied there bounty , vilma said in text message espn s ed werder. 7 people testified, 2 sworn affidavits (one drew brees) saying same thing. ask , espn report facts. no more bias or b.s. or hearsay. gave facts can report if choose.

tulane university sports law program director gabe feldman (who attended hearing in court) said, judge, questions, indicated thinks goodell overstepped authority, , case going if executed power fairly... nfl s retort due deference, don t second guess (commissioner roger goodell). judges have limited jurisdiction on arbitration issues.

saints all-pro quarterback drew brees made controversial tweet on june 20, 2012, stating, if nfl fans told there weapons of mass destruction enough times, d believe it. happens when don t find any???? brees issued statement clarify, wmd comment has nothing politics or our brave military. merely analogy show how media influences public perception. went on say, apologize if wmd comment offended anyone. our military. there no 1 respect more our service men , women.