The 2000 season was the New Orleans Saints' 34th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 25th playing home games at the Louisiana Superdome. The Saints were looking to improve on their 3–13 finish from a year earlier under new head coach Jim Haslett who replaced Mike Ditka.NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, , p.129 Not only did the Saints do so, but they finished with a 10–6 record to win the NFC West and advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 1992. They also won their first ever playoff game in franchise history by defeating the defending Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams in the wild-card round. The Saints went no further, though, as they lost to the 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 until 2006.
Offseason Additions Subtractions WR Joe Horn (Chiefs) LB Kevin Mitchell (Redskins) WR Jake Reed (Vikings) WR Eddie Kennison (Bears) CB Kevin Mathis (Cowboys) DE Brady Smith (Falcons) S Darren Perry (Ravens) QB Billy Joe Hobert (Colts) RB Terry Allen (Patriots) QB Danny Wuerffel (Packers) P Toby Gowin (Cowboys) WR Andre Hastings (Buccaneers) QB Jeff Blake (Bengals) CB Ashley Ambrose (Falcons) CB Fred Thomas (Seahawks) RB Lamar Smith (Dolphins) LB Darrin Smith (Seahawks) LB Chris Bordano (Cowboys) CB Steve Israel (Patriots) P Tommy Barnhardt (Redskins) DT Norman Hand (Chargers) CB Tyronne Drakeford (Redskins) S Chris Oldham (Steelers)
NFL draft
Undrafted free agents
+ 2000 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeJamal BrooksLinebackerHampton
Personnel Staff
Roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue 1 at New York Jets L 20–24 0–1 Giants Stadium 2 at Minnesota Vikings W 25–24 1–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 3 at Indianapolis Colts L 0–17 1–2 Ross–Ade Stadium (West Lafayette) 4 Miami Dolphins L 17–22 1–3 Louisiana Superdome
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 3 Detroit Lions L 10–14 0–1 Louisiana Superdome 64,900 2 September 10 at San Diego Chargers W 28–27 1–1 Qualcomm Stadium 51,300 3 September 17 at Seattle 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 at Chicago 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 at Atlanta Falcons W 21–19 4–3 Georgia Dome 56,508 9 October 29 at Arizona 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 at Carolina 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 at St. 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 at San 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 in bold text.
Standings
Playoffs
Schedule Week Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Attendance Wild Card St. Louis Rams (6) W 31–28 1–0 Louisiana Superdome 64,900 Divisional at Minnesota Vikings (2) L 16–34 1–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 63,881
Game summaries NFC Wild Card Playoffs: vs. (6) St. Louis Rams Saints go to the Divisional Round but lost to the Vikings 34-16.
NFC Divisional Playoffs: at (2) Minnesota Vikings
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 stats
Passing 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
Rushing 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 NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, , p. 127
Receiving 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
Defense
Sacks Player Number La'Roi Glover 17 Joe Johnson 12 Darren Howard 11 Keith Mitchell 6.5 Willie Whitehead 5.5
Interceptions 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
Awards and records Jim Haslett, AP Coach of the Year,NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, , p. 201 Jim Haslett, College and Pro Football Newsweekly Coach of the Year, Jim Haslett, Football Digest Coach of the Year, Jim Haslett, Football News Coach of the Year, Jim Haslett, Pro Football Writers Association Coach of the Year, Jim Haslett, Sports Illustrated Coach of the Year NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, , p. 202 Jim Haslett, USA Today NFC Coach of the Year,
Milestones Ricky Williams, 1st 1000 rushing yards season
References
Saints on Pro Football Reference Saints on jt-sw.com