1984 New Orleans Saints season

1984 New Orleans Saints season
1984 New Orleans Saints season
Owner	John Mecom, Jr.
Head coach	Bum Phillips
General manager	Bum Phillips
Home field	Louisiana Superdome
Results
Record	7–9
Division place	3rd NFC West
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	DE Bruce Clark; LB Rickey Jackson; P Brian Hansen
	← 1983; Saints seasons; 1985 →;

The Saints playing against the Chicago Bears during a 1984 away game at Soldier Field.

The 1984 New Orleans Saints season was the team's 18th as a member of the National Football League. They were unable to improve on their previous season's output of 8–8, winning only seven games.^[1] The team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the eighteenth consecutive season. The Saints started out winning three of their first five games. However, the Saints would struggle as newly acquired quarterback Richard Todd threw 19 interceptions to just 11 touchdowns as the Saints again finished the season with a losing record at 7-9.

Todd was acquired from the New York Jets for a first-round draft choice, and he beat out the aging Ken Stabler for the starting job at training camp, the Saints' last at Vero Beach, Florida. Stabler, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016, retired midway through the season.

Late in the season, owner John Mecom Jr., who purchased the Saints as an expansion franchise for $8.5 million in late 1966, announced he would sell the team, with an asking price of $70 million. Fears abounded across Louisiana the team would be moved to Jacksonville if Mecom could not find a local buyer. Eventually, the team was sold in early 1985 to New Orleans native and car magnate Tom Benson, with Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards brokering the deal.

Offseason[]

NFL draft[]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1984 New Orleans Saints draft
2	42	Jumpy Geathers	Defensive end	Wichita State
3	68	Terry Hoage	Defensive back	Georgia
3	69	Tyrone Anthony	Running back	North Carolina
4	97	Joel Hilgenberg *	Center	Iowa
5	123	Jitter Fields	Defensive back	Texas
6	156	Don Thorp	Defensive tackle	Illinois
8	210	Clemon Terrell	Running back	Southern Miss
9	237	Brian Hansen *	Punter	Sioux Falls
10	264	Paul Gray	Linebacker	Western Kentucky
11	291	Michel Bourgeau	Defensive end	Boise State
12	324	Byron Nelson	Offensive tackle	Arizona
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[2]

Personnel[]

Staff[]

**1984 New Orleans Saints staff**

	Front office Owner – John Mecom, Jr. President – Eddie Jones Director of Football Operations – Pat Peppler Head coaches Head Coach/General Manager – Bum Phillips Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – King Hill Offensive Backfield – John Levra Receivers – Lamar McHan Offensive Line – Carl Mauck Quality Control – Joe Spencer			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Wade Phillips Defensive Line – Willie Zapalac Linebackers – John Paul Young Defensive Backfield – Lance Van Zandt Special teams coaches Special Teams – Harold Richardson Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Russell Paternostro

Roster[]

**1984 New Orleans Saints roster**

	Quarterbacks 19 Guido Merkens 16 Ken Stabler 11 Richard Todd 18 Dave Wilson Running backs 22 Tyrone Anthony 35 Earl Campbell 46 Hokie Gajan 38 George Rogers 30 Wayne Wilson Wide receivers 83 Kenny Duckett 88 Eugene Goodlow 86 Jeff Groth 80 Lindsay Scott 89 Tyrone Young Tight ends 85 Hoby Brenner 87 Larry Hardy 82 John Tice		Offensive linemen 67 Stan Brock T 78 Kelvin Clark T 63 Brad Edelman G 61 Joel Hilgenberg C 62 John Hill C 60 Steve Korte G 64 Dave Lafary T 68 Louis Oubre G 72 Chris Ward T Defensive linemen 75 Bruce Clark DE 99 Tony Elliott NT 97 Jumpy Geathers DE 98 Reggie Lewis DE 74 Derland Moore NT 73 Frank Warren DE 94 Jim Wilks NT		Linebackers 57 Rickey Jackson OLB 52 Jim Kovach ILB 51 Whitney Paul OLB 53 Scott Pelluer 58 Glen Redd OLB 56 Dennis Winston ILB Defensive backs 26 20 Russell Gary SS 24 Terry Hoage FS 25 Johnnie Poe CB 49 Frank Wattelet FS 44 Dave Waymer CB Special teams 7 Morten Andersen K 10 Brian Hansen P		Reserve lists {{{reserve_lists}}} Practice squad {{{practice_squad}}} Rookies in italics

Regular season[]

Transactions[]

October 10, 1984: The New Orleans Saints in exchange for their top choice in the 1985 NFL Draft to the Houston Oilers in exchange for running back Earl Campbell.^[3]

Schedule[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 2, 1984	Atlanta Falcons	L 36–28	66,652
2	September 9, 1984	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 17–13	54,686
3	September 16, 1984	at San Francisco 49ers	L 30–20	57,611
4	September 23, 1984	St. Louis Cardinals	W 34–24	58,723
5	September 30, 1984	at Houston Oilers	W 27–10	43,108
6	October 7, 1984	at Chicago Bears	L 20–7	53,752
7	October 14, 1984	Los Angeles Rams	L 28–10	63,161
8	October 21, 1984	at Dallas Cowboys	L 30–27	50,966
9	October 28, 1984	at Cleveland Browns	W 16–14	52,489
10	November 4, 1984	Green Bay Packers	L 23–13	57,426
11	November 11, 1984	at Atlanta Falcons	W 17–13	40,590
12	November 19, 1984	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 27–24	66,005
13	November 25, 1984	San Francisco 49ers	L 35–3	65,177
14	December 2, 1984	at Los Angeles Rams	L 34–21	49,348
15	December 9, 1984	Cincinnati Bengals	L 24–21	40,855
16	December 15, 1984	at New York Giants	W 10–3	63,739

Season summary[]

Week 1[]

^[4]

Week 2[]

^[5]

Week 3[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Saints	0	10	10	0	20
• 49ers	7	10	0	13	30

Date: September 16
Location: Candlestick Park
Referee: Tom Dooley
TV announcers (CBS): Tom Brookshier and Wayne Walker

^[6]

Week 4[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cardinals	0	7	7	10	24
• Saints	10	3	7	14	34

Date: September 23
Location: Louisiana Superdome
Game weather: Indoors (dome)
Referee: Jim Tunney
TV announcers (CBS): Verne Lundquist and Terry Bradshaw

^[7]

Week 5[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Saints	14	3	0	10	27
Oilers	0	0	3	7	10

Date: September 30
Location: Astrodome
Game weather: Indoors (dome)
Referee: Bob Frederic

^[8]

Week 6[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Saints	0	7	0	0	7
• Bears	6	7	0	7	20

Date: October 7
Location: Soldier Field
Game start: 12:00 pm CDT
Referee: Bob McElwee
TV announcers (CBS): Tim Ryan and Johnny Morris

^[9]

Week 7[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Rams	0	21	7	0	28
Saints	3	0	0	7	10

Date: October 14
Location: Louisiana Superdome
Game weather: Indoors (dome)
Referee: Chuck Heberling
TV announcers (CBS): Dick Stockton and Hank Stram

^[10]

Week 8[]

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Saints	0	17	10	0	0	27
• Cowboys	3	3	0	21	3	30

Date: October 21
Location: Texas Stadium
Game start: 8:45 pm CST
Referee: Pat Haggerty
TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford, Don Meredith and O. J. Simpson

^[11]

Week 9[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Saints	0	10	0	6	16
Browns	0	7	7	0	14

Date: October 28
Location: Cleveland Municipal Stadium
Referee: Jerry Seeman

^[12]

Week 10[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Packers	0	10	10	3	23
Saints	7	3	0	3	13

Date: November 4
Location: Louisiana Superdome
Game start: 12:00 pm CST
Game weather: Indoors (dome)
Referee: Jim Tunney

^[13]

Week 11[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Saints	10	0	0	7	17
Falcons	0	10	3	0	13

Date: November 11
Location: Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium
Referee: Dick Jorgensen

^[14]

Week 12[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	0	14	0	10	24
• Saints	3	10	0	14	27

Date: November 19
Location: Louisiana Superdome
Game start: 8:00 pm CST
Game weather: Indoors (dome)
Referee: Fred Silva
TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford, Don Meredith and O. J. Simpson

^[15]

Week 13[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• 49ers	0	7	14	14	35
Saints	0	3	0	0	3

Date: November 25
Location: Louisiana Superdome
Game weather: Indoors (dome)
Referee: Jerry Markbreit

^[16]

Week 14[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Saints	0	7	0	14	21
• Rams	14	10	3	7	34

Date: December 2
Location: Anaheim Stadium
Referee: Tom Dooley

^[17]

Week 15[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Bengals	0	3	14	7	24
Saints	0	7	7	7	21

Date: December 9
Location: Louisiana Superdome
Game weather: Indoors (dome)
Referee: Gene Barth

^[18]

Week 16[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Saints	7	0	0	3	10
Giants	0	3	0	0	3

Date: December 15
Location: Giants Stadium
Game start: 12:30 pm EST
Referee: Fred Wyant
TV announcers (CBS): Frank Glieber and Dick Vermeil

^[19]

Standings[]

NFC West
view talk	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
San Francisco 49ers⁽¹⁾	15	1	0	.938	6–0	12–0	475	227	W9
Los Angeles Rams⁽⁴⁾	10	6	0	.625	3–3	7–5	346	316	L1
New Orleans Saints	7	9	0	.438	1–5	4–8	298	361	W1
Atlanta Falcons	4	12	0	.250	2–4	3–9	281	382	W1

References[]

^ 1984 New Orleans Saints
^ "1984 New Orleans Saints draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
^ "Oilers Exchange Campbell For Saints' No. 1 Draft Pick". Washington Post. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
^ The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.
^ The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.
^ The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.
^ The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.
^ The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.
^ The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.
^ The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.
^ The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.
^ The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.
^ The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.
^ The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.
^ The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.
^ The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.
^ The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.
^ The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.
^ The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.

[1] 1984 New Orleans Saints

[2] "1984 New Orleans Saints draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 10, 2014.

[3] "Oilers Exchange Campbell For Saints' No. 1 Draft Pick". Washington Post. Retrieved 2021-02-22.

[4] The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.

[5] The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.

[6] The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.

[7] The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.

[8] The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.

[9] The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.

[10] The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.

[11] The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.

[12] The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.

[13] The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.

[14] The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.

[15] The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.

[16] The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.

[17] The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.

[18] The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.

[19] The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.

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v t New Orleans Saints
Founded in 1967 Based in New Orleans, Louisiana Headquartered in Metairie, Louisiana
Franchise	Franchise Seasons History Players Coaches Expansion draft First-round draft picks Starting quarterbacks Broadcasters
Stadiums	Tulane Stadium Caesars Superdome Temporary home venues in 2005 due to Hurricane Katrina: Alamodome Giants Stadium Tiger Stadium
Culture	Gumbo Sir Saint Saintsations Who Dat? Tom Benson Effect of Hurricane Katrina Buddy D "When the Saints Go Marching In" Home Team Number One A Saintly Switch
Lore	"Aints" (1–15) Dempsey's 63-yard field goal Dome Patrol Ricky Williams trade River City Relay Beast Quake Bountygate Minneapolis Miracle NOLA No-Call
Rivalries	Atlanta Falcons Minnesota Vikings Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Wild card berths (5)	1987 1990 1992 2010 2013
Division championships (9)	1991 2000 2006 2009 2011 2017 2018 2019 2020
Conference championships (1)	2009
League championships (1)	2009 (XLIV)
Retired numbers	31 81
Ring of Honor	Andersen Benson Jackson Manning Mills Roaf Smith
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: South Division

v t New Orleans Saints seasons
1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Bold indicates Super Bowl victory