1989 New Orleans Saints season

The 1989 New Orleans Saints season was the franchise's 23rd season in the National Football League, and their fourteenth with home games at the Superdome. They failed to improve upon their 10–6 record from 1988 and instead finished with a 9–7 record, missing the playoffs for the second consecutive season. This was the final season Brad Edelman, James Haynes, Walter Johnson, Mike Jones, Joe Kohlbrand, and Steve Korte would play in the NFL.

1989 New Orleans Saints season
Owner	Tom Benson
General manager	Jim Finks
Head coach	Jim Mora
Home stadium	Louisiana Superdome
Results
Record	9–7
Division place	3rd NFC West
Playoffs	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	RB Dalton Hilliard LB Pat Swilling LB Vaughan Johnson
← 1988 Saints seasons 1990 →

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1989 NFL draft

1989 New Orleans Saints draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	19	Wayne Martin *	Defensive end	Arkansas
2	46	Robert Massey *	Cornerback	North Carolina Central
3	79	Kim Phillips	Defensive back	North Texas
4	106	Michael Mayes	Defensive back	LSU
5	133	Kevin Haverdink	Offensive tackle	Western Michigan
6	159	Floyd Turner	Wide receiver	Northwestern State
7	186	David Griggs	Linebacker	Virginia
8	213	Fred Hadley	Wide receiver	Mississippi State
9	246	Jerry Leggett	Linebacker	Cal State Fullerton
10	273	Joe Henderson	Running back	Iowa State
11	300	Calvin Nicholson	Defensive back	Oregon State
12	327	Mike Cadore	Wide receiver	Eastern Kentucky
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

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Personnel

Staff

1989 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 Head coach – Jim Mora Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks – Carl Smith Running backs – Jim Skipper Wide receivers – Steve Walters Offensive line – Paul Boudreau

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Steve Sidwell Defensive line – John Pease Linebackers – Vic Fangio Defensive backs – Dom Capers Special teams coaches Special Teams/Tight Ends – Joe Marciano Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Russell Paternostro

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Roster

1989 New Orleans Saints roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 11 John Fourcade  3 Bobby Hebert 18 Dave Wilson Running backs (RB) 32 Paul Frazier KR 34 Craig Heyward 21 Dalton Hilliard 23 Buford Jordan FB 35 Bobby Morse Wide receivers (WR) 86 Rod Harris 87 Lonzell Hill 89 Mike Jones 84 Eric Martin 80 Brett Perriman Tight ends (TE) 85 Hoby Brenner 82 John Tice

Offensive linemen (OL) 67 Stan Brock T 79 Glenn Derby T 72 Jim Dombrowski G/T 63 Brad Edelman G 74 Kevin Haverdink T 61 Joel Hilgenberg 75 Doug Marrone G/C 65 Steve Trapilo G 78 Jeff Walker G Defensive linemen (DL) 93 Wayne Martin DE 96 Michael Simmons DE 69 Pat Swoopes NT 73 Frank Warren DE 94 Jim Wilks NT

Linebackers (LB) 52 Brian Forde OLB 57 Rickey Jackson OLB 53 Vaughan Johnson ILB 90 Walter Johnson ILB 55 Joe Kohlbrand OLB 51 Sam Mills ILB 56 Pat Swilling OLB Defensive backs (DB) 28 Gene Atkins 41 Toi Cook CB 27 Antonio Gibson SS 24 Milton Mack CB 40 Robert Massey CB 39 Brett Maxie SS 38 Calvin Nicholson CB 37 Bennie Thompson FS 44 Dave Waymer FS Special teams (ST)  7 Morten Andersen K  6 Tommy Barnhardt P

Practice squad 71 Richard Cooper T 12 Jason Garrett QB  4 Dan Stryzinski P 50 Todd Wheeler C 47 active, 7 inactive, 4 practice squad Reserve 97 Jumpy Geathers DE (IR) 60 Steve Korte C (IR) 36 Rueben Mayes RB (IR) 43 Kim Phillips CB (IR) 83 Greg Scales TE (IR) 54 Alvin Toles LB (PUP) 88 Floyd Turner WR (IR) Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 10	Dallas Cowboys	W 28–0	1–0	Louisiana Superdome	66,977
2	September 17	at Green Bay Packers	L 34–35	1–1	Lambeau Field	55,809
3	September 24	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 10–20	1–2	Tampa Stadium	44,053
4	October 1	Washington Redskins	L 14–16	1–3	Louisiana Superdome	64,358
5	October 8	San Francisco 49ers	L 20–24	1–4	Louisiana Superdome	60,488
6	October 15	New York Jets	W 29–14	2–4	Louisiana Superdome	59,521
7	October 22	at Los Angeles Rams	W 40–21	3–4	Anaheim Stadium	57,567
8	October 29	Atlanta Falcons	W 20–13	4–4	Louisiana Superdome	65,153
9	November 6	at San Francisco 49ers	L 13–31	4–5	Candlestick Park	60,667
10	November 12	at New England Patriots	W 28–24	5–5	Sullivan Stadium	47,680
11	November 19	at Atlanta Falcons	W 26–17	6–5	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	53,173
12	November 26	Los Angeles Rams	L 17–20 (OT)	6–6	Louisiana Superdome	64,274
13	December 3	at Detroit Lions	L 14–21	6–7	Pontiac Silverdome	38,550
14	December 10	at Buffalo Bills	W 22–19	7–7	Rich Stadium	70,037
15	December 18	Philadelphia Eagles	W 30–20	8–7	Louisiana Superdome	59,218
16	December 24	Indianapolis Colts	W 41–6	9–7	Louisiana Superdome	49,009
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	0	0	0	0	0
• Saints	7	14	0	7	28

• Date: September 10
• Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
• Game start: 12:00 p.m.
• Game attendance: 66,977
• Referee: Howard Roe
• TV announcers (CBS): Verne Lundquist and John Madden

Scoring summary

Q1		NO	Dalton Hilliard 4 yard run (Morten Andersen kick)	NO 7–0
Q2		NO	Craig Heyward 1 yard run (Morten Andersen kick)	NO 14–0
Q2		NO	Derrick Shepard 56 yard punt return (Morten Andersen kick)	NO 21–0
Q3		NO	Paul Frazier 1 yard run (Morten Andersen kick)	NO 28–0

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Week 6

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Jets	0	7	0	7	14
• Saints	6	7	7	9	29

• Date: October 15
• Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA
• Game start: 4:00 p.m.
• Game weather: Indoors (dome)
• Referee: Dick Hantak
• TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and Ahmad Rashād

Scoring summary

Q1		NO	Andersen 42 yard field goal	NO 3–0
Q1		NO	Andersen 29 yard field goal	NO 6–0
Q2		NYJ	Hasty 34 yard interception return (Leahy kick)	NYJ 7–6
Q2		NO	Hill 3 yard pass from Hebert (Andersen kick)	NO 13–7
Q3		NO	Martin 4 yard pass from Hebert (Andersen kick)	NO 20–7
Q4		NO	Safety, holding penalty on Schreiber in end zone	NO 22–7
Q4		NO	Martin 53 yard pass from Hebert (Andersen kick)	NO 29–7
Q4		NYJ	McMillan 74 yard fumble return (Leahy kick)	NO 29–14

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Standings

NFC West
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
San Francisco 49ers(1)	14	2	0	.875	5–1	10–2	442	253	W5
Los Angeles Rams(5)	11	5	0	.688	4–2	8–4	426	344	W2
New Orleans Saints	9	7	0	.563	3–3	5–7	386	301	W3
Atlanta Falcons	3	13	0	.188	0–6	1–11	279	437	L7

Awards and records

• Dalton Hilliard, NFL Leader, Touchdowns, 19 TD's ^[5]

Milestones

• Dalton Hilliard, 1st 1,000 yard rushing season (1,262 yards) ^[6]