1990 New Orleans Saints season

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 after getting a win and the Cowboys losing in the final week of the regular season.

1990 New Orleans Saints season
OwnerTom Benson
General managerJim Finks
Head coachJim Mora
Home fieldLouisiana Superdome
Results
Record8–8
Division place2nd NFC West
Playoff finishLost Wild Card Playoffs
(at Bears) 6–16
Pro BowlersLB Pat Swilling
LB Vaughan Johnson
K Morten Anderson

During the off-season, quarterback Bobby Hebert was involved in a contract dispute that ultimately resulted in Hebert sitting out the entire season; while at one point a rumor circulated that Hebert would be traded to the Los Angeles Raiders in exchange for running back Marcus Allen and a 2nd round draft pick. Instead, during the season New Orleans traded a 1st, 2nd and 3rd round draft pick for 1991 in exchange for Dallas Cowboys quarterback Steve Walsh.[1]

The season

The Saints, with a record of eight wins and eight losses, became the second team in NFL history at or below .500 to qualify for postseason play, and the first to do so as a wild card.[2] 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 2004 St. Louis Rams, the 2004 Minnesota Vikings, 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
Main article: 1990 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  

[3]

Personnel

Staff
1990 New Orleans Saints staff
Front office
  • Owner/general partner – Tom Benson
  • President/general manager – Jim Finks
  • Vice president of administration – Jim Miller
  • Director of player personnel – Bill Kuharich

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – Russell Paternostro

[4]

Roster
1990 New Orleans Saints final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists
  • 93 Wayne Martin DE (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 35 Bobby Morse RB/PR (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 38 Calvin Nicholson CB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 73 Frank Warren DE (Suspended)


Practice squad


Rookies in italics
 47 active, 4 inactive, 2 practice squad

[4]

Regular season

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 10 San Francisco 49ers L 12–13 0–1 Louisiana Superdome 68,629
2 September 16 at Minnesota Vikings L 3–32 0–2 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 56,272
3 September 23 Phoenix Cardinals W 28–7 1–2 Louisiana Superdome 61,110
4 Bye
5 October 7 at Atlanta Falcons L 27–28 1–3 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 57,401
6 October 14 Cleveland Browns W 25–20 2–3 Louisiana Superdome 68,608
7 October 21 at Houston Oilers L 10–23 2–4 Houston Astrodome 57,908
8 October 28 Detroit Lions L 10–27 2–5 Louisiana Superdome 64,368
9 November 4 at Cincinnati Bengals W 21–7 3–5 Louisiana Superdome 60,067
10 November 11 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 35–7 4–5 Louisiana Superdome 67,865
11 November 18 at Washington Redskins L 17–31 4–6 RFK Stadium 52,573
12 November 25 Atlanta Falcons W 10–7 5–6 Louisiana Superdome 68,629
13 December 2 at Dallas Cowboys L 13–17 5–7 Texas Stadium 60,087
14 December 9 at Los Angeles Rams W 24–20 6–7 Anaheim Stadium 56,864
15 December 16 Pittsburgh Steelers L 6–9 6–8 Louisiana Superdome 68,582
16 December 23 at San Francisco 49ers W 13–10 7–8 Candlestick Park 60,112
17 December 31 Los Angeles Rams W 20–17 8–8 Louisiana Superdome 68,647
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings
NFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
(1) San Francisco 49ers 14 2 0 .875 4–2 10–2 353 239 W1
(6) 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
Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Attendance
Wildcard January 6, 1991 at Chicago Bears (3) L 6–16 0–1 Soldier Field 60,767

References
  1. Marlborough, Ralph (September 14, 2017). "Bobby Hebert holdout in 1990 altered Saints, NFL history". WWL-TV 4. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  2. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book. Workman Publishing Company. 2001. p. 256. ISBN 0-7611-2480-2.
  3. "1990 New Orleans Saints draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  4. "All-Time Roster". NewOrleansSaints.com. Archived from the original on June 18, 2012. Retrieved February 28, 2011.


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