| 2000 New Orleans Saints season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Tom Benson |
| General manager | Randy Mueller |
| Head coach | Jim Haslett |
| Offensive coordinator | Mike McCarthy |
| Defensive coordinator | Ron Zook |
| Home stadium | Louisiana Superdome |
| Results | |
| Record | 10–6 |
| Division place | 1stNFC West |
| Playoffs | WonWild Card Playoffs (vs.Rams) 31–28 LostDivisional Playoffs (atVikings) 16–34 |
| Pro Bowlers | TWillie Roaf WRJoe Horn DTLa'Roi Glover DEJoe Johnson LBKeith Mitchell LBMark Fields |
The2000 season was theNew Orleans Saints' 34th in theNational Football League (NFL) and their 25th playing home games at theLouisiana Superdome. The Saints were looking to improve on their 3–13 finish from a year earlier under new head coachJim Haslett who replacedMike Ditka.[1] Not only did the Saints do so, but they finished with a 10–6 record to win theNFC West and advanced to the playoffs for the first time since1992. They also won their first ever playoff game in franchise history by defeating thedefending Super Bowl championSt. Louis Rams in the wild-card round. The Saints went no further, though, as they lost tothe Minnesota Vikings in the next round.
This was the only time the Saints made the playoffs under Haslett. For the next four seasons, the Saints fell out of contention. They would not return to the playoffs until2006.
| Additions | Subtractions |
|---|---|
| WRJoe Horn (Chiefs) | LBKevin Mitchell (Redskins) |
| WRJake Reed (Vikings) | WREddie Kennison (Bears) |
| CBKevin Mathis (Cowboys) | DEBrady Smith (Falcons) |
| SDarren Perry (Ravens) | QBBilly Joe Hobert (Colts) |
| RBTerry Allen (Patriots) | QBDanny Wuerffel (Packers) |
| PToby Gowin (Cowboys) | WRAndre Hastings (Buccaneers) |
| QBJeff Blake (Bengals) | CBAshley Ambrose (Falcons) |
| CBFred Thomas (Seahawks) | RBLamar Smith (Dolphins) |
| LBDarrin Smith (Seahawks) | LBChris Bordano (Cowboys) |
| CBSteve Israel (Patriots) | PTommy Barnhardt (Redskins) |
| DTNorman Hand (Chargers) | CBTyronne Drakeford (Redskins) |
| SChris Oldham (Steelers) |
| 2000 New Orleans Saints draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 33 | Darren Howard | Defensive end | Kansas State | |
| 4 | 96 | Terrelle Smith | Fullback | Arizona State | |
| 5 | 131 | Tutan Reyes | Guard | Mississippi | |
| 5 | 158 | Austin Wheatley | Tight end | Iowa | |
| 5 | 166 | Chad Morton | Running back | USC | |
| 6 | 168 | Marc Bulger * | Quarterback | West Virginia | |
| 6 | 195 | Michael Hawthorne | Defensive back | Purdue | |
| 6 | 200 | Sherrod Gideon | Wide receiver | Southern Miss | |
| 7 | 228 | Kevin Houser | Center | Ohio State | |
| Made roster * Made at least onePro Bowl during career | |||||
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Jamal Brooks | Linebacker | Hampton |
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
| Quarterbacks(QB) Running backs(RB)
Wide receivers(WR) Tight ends(TE) | Offensive linemen(OL) | Linebackers(LB) Defensive backs(DB)
Special teams(ST) | Practice squad Reserve
Rookies in italics 53 active, 8 reserve, 5 practice squad |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | July 29 | atNew York Jets | L 20–24 | 0–1 | Giants Stadium |
| 2 | August 5 | atMinnesota Vikings | W 25–24 | 1–1 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome |
| 3 | August 12 | atIndianapolis Colts | L 0–17 | 1–2 | Ross–Ade Stadium(West Lafayette) |
| 4 | August 25 | Miami Dolphins | L 17–22 | 1–3 | Louisiana Superdome |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 3 | Detroit Lions | L 10–14 | 0–1 | Louisiana Superdome | 64,900 | |
| 2 | September 10 | atSan Diego Chargers | W 28–27 | 1–1 | Qualcomm Stadium | 51,300 | |
| 3 | September 17 | atSeattle Seahawks | L 10–20 | 1–2 | Husky Stadium | 59,513 | |
| 4 | September 24 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 7–21 | 1–3 | Louisiana Superdome | 64,900 | |
| 5 | Bye | ||||||
| 6 | October 8 | atChicago Bears | W 31–10 | 2–3 | Soldier Field | 66,944 | |
| 7 | October 15 | Carolina Panthers | W 24–6 | 3–3 | Louisiana Superdome | 50,015 | |
| 8 | October 22 | atAtlanta Falcons | W 21–19 | 4–3 | Georgia Dome | 56,508 | |
| 9 | October 29 | atArizona Cardinals | W 21–10 | 5–3 | Sun Devil Stadium | 35,016 | |
| 10 | November 5 | San Francisco 49ers | W 31–15 | 6–3 | Louisiana Superdome | 64,900 | |
| 11 | November 12 | atCarolina Panthers | W 20–10 | 7–3 | Ericsson Stadium | 72,981 | |
| 12 | November 19 | Oakland Raiders | L 22–31 | 7–4 | Louisiana Superdome | 64,900 | |
| 13 | November 26 | atSt. Louis Rams | W 31–24 | 8–4 | Trans World Dome | 66,064 | |
| 14 | December 3 | Denver Broncos | L 23–38 | 8–5 | Louisiana Superdome | 64,900 | |
| 15 | December 10 | atSan Francisco 49ers | W 31–27 | 9–5 | 3Com Park | 67,892 | |
| 16 | December 17 | Atlanta Falcons | W 23–7 | 10–5 | Louisiana Superdome | 64,900 | |
| 17 | December 24 | St. Louis Rams | L 21–26 | 10–6 | Louisiana Superdome | 64,900 | |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are inbold text. | |||||||
| NFC West | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |
| (3)New Orleans Saints | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 354 | 305 | L1 |
| (6)St. Louis Rams | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 540 | 471 | W1 |
| Carolina Panthers | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 310 | 310 | L1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 388 | 422 | L1 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 252 | 413 | W1 |
| Week | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Card | December 30 | St. Louis Rams (6) | W 31–28 | 1–0 | Louisiana Superdome | 64,900 |
| Divisional | January 6, 2001 | atMinnesota Vikings (2) | L 16–34 | 1–1 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 63,881 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rams | 7 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 28 |
| Saints | 0 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 31 |
atLouisiana Superdome,New Orleans, Louisiana
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Saints go to the Divisional Round but lost to the Vikings 34-16.
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saints | 3 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 16 |
| Vikings | 10 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 34 |
atHubert H. Humphrey Metrodome,Minneapolis, Minnesota
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Vikings go to the NFC Championship game and there were demolished by the New York Giants 41-0. The Saints missed the playoffs 7-9 in 2001.
| Player | Completions | Attempts | Percentage | Yards | TD | Int | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Blake | 184 | 302 | 60.9 | 2,025 | 13 | 9 | 82.7 |
| Aaron Brooks | 113 | 194 | 58.2 | 1,514 | 9 | 6 | 85.7 |
| Player | Attempts | Yards | Avg Yards | Long | Touchdowns |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ricky Williams | 248 | 1000 | 4.0 | 26 | 8 |
| Jeff Blake | 57 | 243 | 4.3 | 20 | 1 |
| Terry Allen | 46 | 179 | 3.9 | 18 | 2 |
| Aaron Brooks | 41 | 170 | 4.1 | 29 | 2 |
| Player | Attempts | Yards | Avg Yards | Long | Touchdowns |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Horn | 94 | 1340 | 14.3 | 52 | 8 |
| Ricky Williams | 44 | 409 | 9.3 | 24 | 1 |
| Willie Jackson | 37 | 523 | 14.1 | 53 | 6 |
| Chad Morton | 30 | 213 | 7.1 | 35 | 0 |
| Keith Poole | 21 | 293 | 14.0 | 49 | 1 |
| Andrew Glover | 21 | 281 | 13.4 | 39 | 4 |
| Player | Number |
|---|---|
| La'Roi Glover | 17 |
| Joe Johnson | 12 |
| Darren Howard | 11 |
| Keith Mitchell | 6.5 |
| Willie Whitehead | 5.5 |
| Player | Number | Yards | Avg Yards | Long | Touchdowns |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sammy Knight | 5 | 68 | 13.6 | 37 | 2 |
| Alex Molden | 3 | 24 | 8.0 | 24 | 0 |
| Darren Perry | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | 3 | 0 |