New Orleans was granted an NFL franchise on 1 November, 1966. John W. Mecom, Jr. became the majority stockholder, and the team was named the Saints on 9 January 1967, since the franchise had been granted to the Saints on All Saints' Day. Despite a 94 yard opening kickoff return for a touchdown by John Gilliam, the Saints lost their first game 27-13 to the Los Angeles Rams. Their first season record was 3-11, and they could not manage to even finish as high as second in their division until 1979.

In 1980, the Saints lost their first 14 games, prompting fans to design paper bags to wear over their heads to the team's home games; the bags rendered the club's name as the "'Aints" rather than the "Saints," and this practice then spread rapidly, first to fans of other poorly-performing teams within the NFL, and ultimately to those of other American team sports as well, and has become a firmly-established custom throughout the United States.

Current Saints owner Tom Benson acquired the franchise in 1985, and hired Jim Finks as general manager and Jim Mora as head coach. That combination provided the Saints with their first-ever winning record and playoff appearance, going 12-3 in the 1987 season, which had one fewer game than normal due to a players' strike. Another playoff berth would follow in 1990, and the club's first division title came in 1991.

Current coach Jim Haslett has held the post since 2000, in which year he took the team to the playoffs but lost to the Minnesota Vikings a week after besting the St. Louis Rams for the team's first ever playoff win. The Saints failed to make the playoffs in 2001 and 2002, although in the latter year they had the distinction of beating the eventual Super Bowl XXXVII winners Tampa Bay in both of their regular season meetings. In 2003 the Saints again missed the playoffs after finishing 8-8. The 2004 season started poorly for the Saints, as they went 2-4 through their first six games and 4-8 through their first twelve games. At that point Haslett's job appeared to be in jeopardy; however, he managed to pull the team together and put on a three-game win streak, leaving the Saints in playoff contention in the final week of the season. In week 17, the Saints defeated division rivals Carolina; however, the Saints needed other results to break their way and when the St. Louis Rams beat the New York Jets in a thrilling overtime game the Saints were eliminated. Nevertheless, the four-game win streak to end the season left many Saints fans optimistic about the team's future prospects.

--Wikipedia