1986 New Orleans Saints season

1986 New Orleans Saints season
1986 New Orleans Saints season
Owner	Tom Benson
General manager	Jim Finks
Head coach	Jim Mora
Home stadium	Louisiana Superdome
Results
Record	7–9
Division place	4th NFC West
Playoffs	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	RB Reuben Mayes ; LB Rickey Jackson ; LB Sam Mills ; K Morten Andersen
	← 1985 ; Saints seasons ; 1987 →;

Last updated September 27, 2025

The 1986 New Orleans Saints season was the team's 20th as a member of the National Football League. They improved upon their previous season's output of 5–11, winning seven games.^[1]

Offseason

Organizational changes

On January 14, owner Tom Benson hired Jim Finks as the franchise's general manager, and turned over the entire football operation to the veteran operative who previously built championship clubs with the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears. Finks was hired two days after the Bears won the NFC championship to clinch a berth in Super Bowl XX at the Louisiana Superdome.

Two days after the Bears team largely constructed by Finks defeated the New England Patriots 46-10, Finks hired Jim Mora as the new head coach. Mora was the most successful coach in the history of the United States Football League, leading the Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars to two USFL championships and a runner-up finish.

NFL draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1986 New Orleans Saints draft
1	6	Jim Dombrowski	Offensive tackle	Virginia
2	31	Dalton Hilliard *	Running back	LSU
3	57	Rueben Mayes *	Running back	Washington State
3	60	Pat Swilling *	Linebacker	Georgia Tech
3	62	Barry Word	Running back	Virginia
4	88	Kelvin Edwards	Wide receiver	Liberty
5	115	Reggie Sutton	Cornerback	Miami (FL)
6	142	Bob Thompson	Wide receiver	Youngstown State
7	173	Gill Fenerty	Running back	Holy Cross
8	200	Filipo Mokofisi	Linebacker	Utah
9	226	Merlon Jones	Linebacker	Florida A&M
10	253	Jon Dumbauld	Defensive end	Kentucky
11	284	Pat Swoopes	Defensive tackle	Mississippi State
12	311	Sebastian Brown	Wide receiver	Bethune-Cookman
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[2]

Personnel

Staff

**1986 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 – Jim Erkenbeck			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

^[3]

Roster

**1986 New Orleans Saints roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 3 Bobby Hebert 18 Dave Wilson Running backs (RB) 37 Mel Gray 40 Dalton Hilliard 23 Buford Jordan 36 Rueben Mayes 30 Wayne Wilson Wide receivers (WR) 83 Kelvin Edwards 88 Eugene Goodlow 80 Herbert Harris 86 Mike Jones 84 Eric Martin Tight ends (TE) 85 Hoby Brenner 82 John Tice		Offensive linemen (OL) 67 Stan Brock T 69 Chuck Commiskey G 70 Bill Contz T 63 Brad Edelman G 77 Daren Gilbert T 61 Joel Hilgenberg G/C 60 Steve Korte C 68 Pat Saindon G Defensive linemen (DL) 96 Sheldon Andrus NT 75 Bruce Clark DE 95 Jon Dumbauld DE 97 Jumpy Geathers DE 73 Frank Warren DE 94 Jim Wilks DE		Linebackers (LB) 50 Jack Del Rio ILB 92 James Haynes OLB 57 Rickey Jackson OLB 53 Vaughan Johnson ILB 55 Joe Kohlbrand OLB 51 Sam Mills ILB 56 Pat Swilling OLB 54 Alvin Toles ILB Defensive backs (DB) 27 Antonio Gibson SS 24 Bobby Johnson SS 39 Brett Maxie FS 42 Dana McLemore CB 25 Johnnie Poe CB 49 Frank Wattelet FS 44 Dave Waymer CB Special teams (ST) 7 Morten Andersen K 10 Brian Hansen P		Reserve 72 Jim Dombrowski T (IR) 99 Tony Elliott NT (IR) 43 Bobby Fowler RB (IR) 46 Hokie Gajan RB (IR) 22 Van Jakes CB (IR) 71 Casey Merrill DE (IR) 29 Reggie Sutton CB (NF-Ill.) 45 John Williams RB (IR) 79 Ralph Williams G (IR) Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 7	Atlanta Falcons	L 10–31	0–1	Louisiana Superdome	67,950	Recap
2	September 14	Green Bay Packers	W 24–10	1–1	Louisiana Superdome	46,383	Recap
3	September 21	at San Francisco 49ers	L 17–26	1–2	Candlestick Park	58,297	Recap
4	September 28	at New York Giants	L 17–20	1–3	Giants Stadium	72,769	Recap
5	October 5	Washington Redskins	L 6–14	1–4	Louisiana Superdome	57,378	Recap
6	October 12	at Indianapolis Colts	W 17–14	2–4	Hoosier Dome	53,512	Recap
7	October 19	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 38–7	3–4	Louisiana Superdome	43,355	Recap
8	October 26	at New York Jets	L 23–28	3–5	Giants Stadium	44,246	Recap
9	November 2	San Francisco 49ers	W 23–10	4–5	Louisiana Superdome	53,234	Recap
10	November 9	Los Angeles Rams	W 6–0	5–5	Louisiana Superdome	62,532	Recap
11	November 16	at St. Louis Cardinals	W 16–7	6–5	Busch Memorial Stadium	32,069	Recap
12	November 23	at Los Angeles Rams	L 13–26	6–6	Anaheim Stadium	58,600	Recap
13	November 30	New England Patriots	L 20–21	6–7	Louisiana Supedome	58,259	Recap
14	December 7	Miami Dolphins	L 27–31	6–8	Louisiana Superdome	64,761	Recap
15	December 14	at Atlanta Falcons	W 14–9	7–8	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	39,994	Recap
16	December 21	at Minnesota Vikings	L 17–33	7–9	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	51,209	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Week 1

Atlanta Falcons (0–0) at New Orleans Saints (0–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	7	7	7	10	31
Saints	0	3	0	7	10

at Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

Date: September 7
Game weather: Indoors (dome)
Game attendance: 67,950
Referee: Tom Dooley
The Football Database

Game information

Falcons

David Archer
13/16, 207 Yds, 2 TD, INT
Cliff Austin
27 Rush, 104 Yds, TD
Charlie Brown
7 Rec, 119 Yds, TD

Saints

Bobby Hebert
13/33, 115 Yds, 2 INT
Dalton Hilliard
15 Rush, 51 Yds, TD
Eugene Goodlow
4 Rec, 58 Yds

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	ATL	NO
1	10:17				Falcons	Brown 17-yard touchdown reception from Archer, Luckhurst kick good	7	0
2	7:43				Falcons	Austin 1-yard touchdown run, Luckhurst kick good	14	0
2	1:01				Saints	47-yard field goal by Andersen	14	3
3	2:21				Falcons	Riggs 1-yard touchdown run, Luckhurst kick good	21	3
4	10:12				Falcons	Anthony Allen 19-yard touchdown reception from Archer, Luckhurst kick good	28	3
4	3:30				Falcons	32-yard field goal by Luckhurst	31	3
4	0:08				Saints	Hilliard 1-yard touchdown run, Andersen kick good	10	31
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							31	10

Week 2

Green Bay Packers (0–1) at New Orleans Saints (0–1)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Packers	0	3	7	0	10
Saints	17	7	0	0	24