| 1990 New Orleans Saints season | |
|---|---|
| Head Coach | Jim Mora |
| General Manager | Jim Finks |
| Home Field | Louisiana Superdome |
| Results | |
| Record | 8–8 |
| Place | 2nd NFC West |
| Playoff Finish | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Bears) 6–16 |
| Timeline | |
| Previous season | Next season |
| 1989 | 1991 |
The 1990 New Orleans Saints season was the franchise’s 24th season in the National Football League, the 15th to host games at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and the fifth under head coach Jim Mora. The team looked to improve on its 9–7 record from 1989 and make the playoffs for the second time in franchise history. The Saints did not improve on their 9–7 record, as they finished the season 8–8. However, the Saints would unexpectedly make the postseason as the final seed in the NFC.
The season[]
The Saints, with a record of eight wins and eight losses, became the fifth team in NFL history at or below .500 to qualify for postseason play.[1] Since no non-playoff team in the NFC had a record at or above .500, the Saints were awarded the final Wild Card seed. In the 1990 postseason, the Saints would lose to the Chicago Bears 16–6.
Others to finish 8–8 and make the playoffs were the 1985 Cleveland Browns, the 1991 New York Jets, the 1999 Detroit Lions, the 2008 San Diego Chargers and the 2011 Denver Broncos. However, the 2010 Seahawks would break this record, as they finished the 2010 season at 7–9 and clinched their division, becoming the first team in NFL history to win their division despite having a losing record, and this would be repeated by the 2014 Carolina Panthers. Coincidentally, the Saints during that 2010 season met Seattle in that season’s NFC Wild Card game, in which they were upset 41–36.
Offseason[]
NFL Draft[]
| 1990 New Orleans Saints draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 | Renaldo Turnbull * | Defensive end | West Virginia | |
| 2 | 44 | Vince Buck | Defensive back | Central State (OH) | |
| 3 | 71 | Joel Smeenge | Defensive end | Western Michigan | |
| 4 | 98 | DeMond Winston | Linebacker | Vanderbilt | |
| 5 | 125 | Charles Arbuckle | Tight end | UCLA | |
| 6 | 156 | Mike Buck | Quarterback | Maine | |
| 6 | 158 | James Williams | Linebacker | Mississippi State | |
| 7 | 183 | Scott Hough | Guard | Maine | |
| 8 | 207 | Gerry Gdowski | Quarterback | Nebraska | |
| 8 | 210 | Derrick Carr | Defensive end | Bowling Green | |
| 9 | 233 | Broderick Graves | Running back | Winston-Salem State | |
| 9 | 236 | Lonnie Brockman | Linebacker | West Virginia | |
| 10 | 260 | Gary Cooper | Wide receiver | Clemson | |
| 10 | 267 | Ernest Spears | Defensive back | USC | |
| 11 | 287 | Webbie Burnett | Defensive tackle | Western Kentucky | |
| 12 | 320 | Chris Port | Guard | Duke | |
| Made roster | |||||
Personnel[]
Staff[]
| 1990 New Orleans Saints staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
| |||||
Roster[]
| 1990 New Orleans Saints roster | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
|
Reserve lists
| ||||||
Regular season[]
Schedule[]
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 10, 1990 | San Francisco 49ers | L 12–13 | |
| 2 | September 16, 1990 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 3–32 | |
| 3 | September 23, 1990 | Phoenix Cardinals | W 28–7 | |
| 4 | Bye | |||
| 5 | October 7, 1990 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 27–28 | |
| 6 | October 14, 1990 | Cleveland Browns | W 25–20 | |
| 7 | October 21, 1990 | at Houston Oilers | L 10–23 | |
| 8 | October 28, 1990 | Detroit Lions | L 10–27 | |
| 9 | November 4, 1990 | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 21–7 | |
| 10 | November 11, 1990 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 35–7 | |
| 11 | November 18, 1990 | at Washington Redskins | L 17–31 | |
| 12 | November 25, 1990 | Atlanta Falcons | W 10–7 | |
| 13 | December 2, 1990 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 13–17 | |
| 14 | December 9, 1990 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 24–20 | |
| 15 | December 16, 1990 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 6–9 | |
| 16 | December 23, 1990 | at San Francisco 49ers | W 13–10 | |
| 17 | December 31, 1990 | Los Angeles Rams | W 20–17 | |
Standings[]
| NFC West | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| San Francisco 49ers | 14 | 2 | 0 | .875 | 4–2 | 10–2 | 353 | 239 | W1 |
| New Orleans Saints | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 4–2 | 6–6 | 274 | 275 | W2 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 2–4 | 3–9 | 345 | 412 | L4 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 2–4 | 3–9 | 348 | 365 | W2 |
Playoffs[]
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wildcard | January 6, 1991 | at Chicago Bears (3) | L 6–16 |
References[]
- ↑ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book. Workman Publishing Company. p. 256. ISBN 0-7611-2480-2.
- ↑ "1990 New Orleans Saints draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/nor/1990_draft.htm. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "All-Time Roster". NewOrleansSaints.com. http://www.neworleanssaints.com/team/history/all-time-roster.html. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
- ↑ (PDF) 2010 NFL Record and Fact Book. National Football League. p. 380. http://www.nfl.info/download/2010%20NFL%20Record%20and%20Fact%20Book.pdf. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
External links[]
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