1999 New Orleans Saints season

Offseason

NFL draft

With the only pick in the draft the New Orleans Saints selected running back Ricky Williams out of the University of Texas with the fifth overall pick. The Saints traded all of their draft picks in the 1999 draft in order to move up so they could draft Williams, as well as a first round pick in the 2000 NFL draft that eventually was used by the Washington Redskins to draft LaVar Arrington.

Personnel

Staff

• Owner – Tom Benson

• President/general manager/chief operating officer – Bill Kuharich

• Vice president of football operations/assistant general manager – Charles Bailey

• Director of college scouting – Bruce Lemmerman

• Head coach – Mike Ditka

• Assistant head coach/linebackers – Rick Venturi

• Offensive coordinator – Danny Abramowicz

• Quarterbacks – Tom Clements

• Running backs – Lary Kuharich

• Wide receivers – Harold Jackson

• Tight ends/offensive line assistant – Dan Neal

• Offensive line – Bill Meyers

• Offensive assistant – Judd Garrett

• Offensive assistant/tight ends – Rodney Holman

• Defensive coordinator – Zaven Yaralian

• Defensive line – Walt Corey

• Defensive backs – Carlos Mainord

• Defensive assistant/pass rush – Rickey Jackson

• Defensive assistant/linebackers – Ned James

• Special teams – Bobby April

• Strength and conditioning – Mike Woicik

• Assistant strength and conditioning – Markus Paul

Roster

• Jake Delhomme

• Billy Joe Hobert

• Billy Joe Tolliver

• Danny Wuerffel

• Aaron Craver FB

• Troy Davis KR

• Wilmont Perry

• Dino Philyaw KR

• Marvin Powell FB

• Lamar Smith

• Ricky Williams

• Lawrence Dawsey

• P. J. Franklin

• Andre Hastings

• Eddie Kennison PR

• Keith Poole

• Cam Cleeland

• Josh Wilcox

• Tom Ackerman C/G

• Jerry Fontenot C

• Mike Halapin G

• Robert Hunt G

• Chris Naeole G

• Willie Roaf T

• Daryl Terrell T

• Kyle Turley T

• La'Roi Glover DT

• Uhuru Hamiter DE/DT

• Wayne Martin DE/DT

• Robert Newkirk DT

• Austin Robbins DT

• Brady Smith DE

• Willie Whitehead DE/DT

• Troy Wilson DE

• Chris Bordano MLB

• Phil Clarke MLB

• Mark Fields OLB

• Keith Mitchell OLB

• Kevin Mitchell MLB

• Joe Tuipala OLB

• Ashley Ambrose CB

• Je'Rod Cherry SS

• Willie Clay FS

• Tyronne Drakeford CB

• Corey Harris CB

• Rob Kelly FS

• Sammy Knight SS

• Alex Molden CB

• Fred Weary CB

• Robert Williams CB

• Tommy Barnhardt P

• Doug Brien K

• Kendall Gammon C

• Ink Aleaga LB (IR) [[File:Injury icon.svg|7px]]

• Brett Bech WR (IR) [[File:Injury icon.svg|7px]]

• Justin Burroughs C (IR) [[File:Injury icon.svg|7px]]

• John Farquhar TE (IR) [[File:Injury icon.svg|7px]]

• Chris Hewitt S (IR) [[File:Injury icon.svg|7px]]

• Joe Johnson DE (IR) [[File:Injury icon.svg|7px]]

• Bryan LaBelle T (IR) [[File:Injury icon.svg|7px]]

• Marc Lillibridge LB (IR) [[File:Injury icon.svg|7px]]

• Scott Slutzker TE (IR) [[File:Injury icon.svg|7px]]

• Vinson Smith LB (IR) [[File:Injury icon.svg|7px]]

• Donnie Spragan LB (IR) [[File:Injury icon.svg|7px]]

• Jared Tomich DE (IR) [[File:Injury icon.svg|7px]]

• Wally Williams G (IR) [[File:Injury icon.svg|7px]]

• Cuncho Brown TE

• Tom Schau T

• L.C. Stevens WR

Regular season

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Carolina Panthers

First quarter

• NO – Tyronne Drakeford 14-yard fumble return (Doug Brien kick), 14:48. Saints 7–0. Second quarter
• NO – Doug Brien 46-yard field goal, 12:52. ''Saints 10–0. '''Drive: 7 plays, 34 yards, 2:59.'''''
• CAR – Wesley Walls 5-yard pass from Steve Beuerlein (John Kasay kick), 9:22. ''Saints 10–7. '''Drive: 6 plays, 69 yards, 3:30.'''''
• CAR – John Kasay 52-yard field goal, 1:39. ''Tied 10–10. '''Drive: 5 plays, 13 yards, 0:35.''''' Third quarter
• NO – Doug Brien 21-yard field goal, 6:14. ''Saints 13–10. '''Drive: 6 plays, 17 yards, 2:13.'''''
• NO – Keith Poole 67-yard pass from Billy Joe Hobert (pass failed), 5:03. ''Saints 19–10. '''Drive: 2 plays, 68 yards, 0:49.''''' Fourth quarter
• No scoring plays Top passers
• CAR – Steve Beuerlein – 16/32, 207 yards, TD, INT
• NO – Billy Joe Hobert – 11/22, 132 yards, TD Top rushers
• CAR – Tim Biakabutuka – 8 rushes, 45 yards
• NO – Lamar Smith – 13 rushes, 66 yards Top receivers
• CAR – Muhsin Muhammad – 4 receptions, 64 yards
• NO – Keith Poole – 3 receptions, 89 yards, TD With the win, the Saints started 1–0 for the second season in a row. However, this would be New Orleans' last win for two months.

Week 2: at San Francisco 49ers

First quarter

• SF – Terrell Owens 5-yard pass from Steve Young (Wade Richey kick), 6:08. ''49ers 7–0. '''Drive: 6 plays, 39 yards, 2:54.''''' Second quarter
• NO – Eddie Kennison 2-yard pass from Billy Joe Hobert (Doug Brien kick), 13:29. ''Tied 7–7. '''Drive: 15 plays, 67 yards, 7:39.'''''
• NO – Keith Poole 58-yard pass from Billy Joe Hobert (Doug Brien kick), 9:54. ''Saints 14–7. '''Drive: 3 plays, 61 yards, 0:57.'''''
• SF – Tommy Vardell 1-yard run (Wade Richey kick), 5:59. ''Tied 14–14. '''Drive: 7 plays, 71 yards, 3:55.''''' Third quarter
• NO – Lawrence Dawsey 12-yard pass from Billy Joe Hobert (Doug Brien kick), 9:46. ''Saints 21–14. '''Drive: 11 plays, 79 yards, 5:14.''''' Fourth quarter
• SF – Terell Owens 4-yard pass from Steve Young (Wade Richey kick), 2:03. ''Tied 21–21. '''Drive: 11 plays, 62 yards, 4:50.'''''
• SF – Lance Schulters 64-yard interception return (Wade Richey kick), 1:31. 49ers 28–21. Top passers
• NO – Billy Joe Hobert – 20/37, 223 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
• SF – Steve Young – 23/35, 258 yards, 2 TD, INT Top rushers
• NO – Ricky Williams – 22 rushes, 80 yards
• SF – Charlie Garner – 12 rushes, 72 yards Top receivers
• NO – Keith Poole – 2 receptions, 69 yards, TD
• SF – Charlie Garner – 5 receptions, 88 yards

Week 4: at Chicago Bears

First quarter

• No scoring plays Second quarter
• NO – Billy Joe Hobert 2-yard run (Doug Brien kick), 4:32. ''Saints 7–0. '''Drive: 12 plays, 62 yards, 5:25.''''' Third quarter
• NO – Doug Brien 30-yard field goal, 3:23. ''Saints 10–0. '''Drive: 5 plays, 27 yards, 2:18.''''' Fourth quarter
• CHI – Curtis Conway 22-yard pass from Shane Matthews (Jeff Jaeger kick), 1:48. ''Saints 10–7. '''Drive: 10 plays, 79 yards, 2:47.'''''
• CHI – Curtis Conway 6-yard pass from Shane Matthews (Jeff Jaeger kick), 0:07. ''Bears 14–10. '''Drive: 6 plays, 67 yards, 1:01.''''' Top passers
• NO – Billy Joe Tolliver – 7/15, 102 yards
• CHI – Shane Matthews – 25/39, 224 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT Top rushers
• NO – Ricky Williams – 21 rushes, 84 yards
• CHI – Curtis Enis – 23 rushes, 83 yards Top receivers
• NO – Eddie Kennison – 4 receptions, 55 yards
• CHI – Curtis Conway – 8 receptions, 103 yards, 2 TD The Saints had a 10–0 lead with just under 2 minutes left to play, but saw the lead quickly fade away. The Bears scored their first points of the game with 1:48 left in the 4th on a 22-yard pass from Shane Matthews to wide receiver Curtis Conway. Chicago would recover the onside kick and go down the field in 61 seconds to win 14–10 after scoring the game-winning touchdown with just 6 seconds left to play.

Week 5: vs. Atlanta Falcons

First quarter

• ATL – Terance Mathis 22-yard pass from Tony Graziani (Morten Andersen kick), 8:17. ''Falcons 7–0. '''Drive: 11 plays, 76 yards, 6:43.''''' Second quarter
• NO – Doug Brien 42-yard field goal, 13:12. ''Falcons 7–3. '''Drive: 4 plays, -4 yards, 1:38.'''''
• NO – Eddie Kennison 90-yard pass from Billy Joe Hobert (Doug Brien kick), 9:47. ''Saints 10–7. '''Drive: 1 play, 90 yards, 0:13.'''''
• NO – Brett Bech 23-yard pass from Billy Joe Tolliver (Doug Brien kick), 0:46. ''Saints 17–7. '''Drive: 9 plays, 81 yards, 1:02.''''' Third quarter
• ATL – Bob Christian 1-yard run (Morten Andersen kick), 10:59. ''Saints 17–14. '''Drive: 5 plays, 72 yards, 2:18.''''' Fourth quarter
• ATL – Morten Andersen 36-yard field goal, 14:17. ''Tied 17–17. '''Drive: 9 plays, 13 yards, 3:32.'''''
• ATL – Morten Andersen 44-yard field goal, 8:29. ''Falcons 20–17. '''Drive: 8 plays, 22 yards, 4:05.''''' Top passers
• ATL – Tony Graziani – 11/20, 162 yards, TD
• NO – Billy Joe Tolliver – 13/26, 185 yards, TD, 2 INT Top rushers
• ATL – Ken Oxendine – 20 rushes, 57 yards
• NO – Ricky Williams – 19 rushes, 53 yards Top receivers
• ATL – Terance Mathis – 5 receptions, 67 yards, TD
• NO – Eddie Kennison – 4 receptions, 138 yards, TD

Week 6: vs. Tennessee Titans

Week 7: at New York Giants

With their 5th straight loss, the Saints fell to 1-5. This would be the last time the Saints started with a 1-5 record until 2025.

Week 8: vs. Cleveland Browns

First quarter

• NO – Keith Poole 5-yard pass from Billy Joe Hobert (Doug Brien kick), 3:59. ''Saints 7–0. '''Drive: 4 plays, 15 yards, 2:08.''''' Second quarter
• CLE – Marc Edwards 27-yard pass from Tim Couch (Phil Dawson kick), 7:37. ''Tied 7–7. '''Drive: 1 play, 22 yards, 0:06.'''''
• NO – Doug Brien 49-yard field goal, 0:08. ''Saints 10–7. '''Drive: 9 plays, 42 yards, 0:58.''''' Third quarter
• CLE – Kevin Johnson 24-yard pass from Tim Couch (Phil Dawson kick), 8:53. ''Browns 14–10. '''Drive: 2 plays, 22 yards, 0:44.'''''
• NO – Doug Brien 22-yard field goal, 1:15. ''Browns 14–13. '''Drive: 13 plays, 56 yards, 7:38.''''' Fourth quarter
• NO – Doug Brien 46-yard field goal, 0:21. ''Saints 16–14. '''Drive: 8 plays, 35 yards, 3:20.'''''
• CLE – Kevin Johnson 56-yard pass from Tim Couch (Phil Dawson kick), 0:00. ''Browns 21–16. '''Drive: 3 plays, 75 yards, 0:21.''''' Top passers
• CLE – Tim Couch – 11/19, 193 yards, 3 TD
• NO – Billy Joe Tolliver – 9/20, 92 yards, INT Top rushers
• CLE – Karim Abdul-Jabbar – 13 rushes, 39 yards
• NO – Ricky Williams – 40 rushes, 179 yards Top receivers
• CLE – Kevin Johnson – 4 receptions, 96 yards, 2 TD
• NO – Aaron Craver – 2 receptions, 32 yards For week 8, the 1–5 Saints hosted the 0–7 Browns, who were playing in their first season since 1995 following a relocation controversy that saw the franchise officially being deactivated for three seasons.

The Saints would take a 16–14 lead with 0:21 left in the game. On the final play of the game, Cleveland quarterback Tim Couch heaved a Hail Mary pass into the end zone that was tipped by several New Orleans defenders before being caught by Browns wide receiver Kevin Johnson as the clock struck 0:00, giving Cleveland its first win since December 17, 1995.

The Saints' offense finished the game with 351 yards of total offense and controlled the ball for 40:50, while the Brown's offense only had 243 total yards and a possession time of 19:10. However, New Orleans committed five turnovers, two of which gave Cleveland a short field that resulted in touchdowns for the Browns.

With the loss, the Saints fell to 1–7 and their losing streak was extended to six games. Additionally, the Saints became the first team to lose to the expansion Browns and lost to the last winless team in the NFL, having lost to the 0–7 Carolina Panthers during week 9 of the previous season. This also marked the second time an expansion franchise got its first win over New Orleans, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who started 0–26, got its first win as a franchise by defeating the Saints 33–14 during the 1977 season.

Week 9: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 10: vs. San Francisco 49ers

With the win, the Saints improved to 2–7 and snapped a seven game losing streak that lasted for just over two months.

Week 11: at Jacksonville Jaguars

Week 12: at St. Louis Rams

Week 13: at Atlanta Falcons

With the loss, the Saints were swept by the Falcons and were subsequently eliminated from playoff contention at 2-10.

Week 14: vs. St. Louis Rams

Week 15: at Baltimore Ravens

Week 16: vs. Dallas Cowboys

Week 17: at Carolina Panthers

Standings

Statistics

Passing

Rushing

Receiving

Kick Returns

Punt Returns

Punting

Kicking

Interceptions

Sacks

References

• Saints on Pro Football Reference
• Saints on jt-sw.com

References

1. "Last Winless NFL Team(s) in Each Season".