1970-74
The 1970 season saw yet another realignment for the Saints due to the AFL-NFL merger. The Saints were placed in the NFC West, where they would remain through the 2001 NFL season. Their original NFC West competitors—the Atlanta Falcons, the Los Angeles (and later, St. Louis) Rams, and the San Francisco 49ers—would also remain in the division through 2001 (with the Carolina Panthers joining in the 1995 NFL season), leading to the development of long standing rivalries.
The season started off poorly for the Saints. After going 1-5-1 in the first seven games, Fears was fired and replaced by J.D. Roberts on November 3. In Roberts's first game as coach, New Orleans trailed the Detroit Lions 17-16 with time winding down, but Tom Dempsey kicked an NFL-record 63-yard field goal to win the game. Dempsey's achievement is made all the more remarkable by the fact that he was born without toes on his right foot (which he kicked with). This Saints victory, however, would be the last for the season; they lost their next 6 games to finish 2-11-1, the worst record in the young history of the franchise.
In the 1971 NFL Draft, the Saints owned the second overall pick behind the Boston Patriots. Deciding that a franchise quarterback was necessary, they selected Archie Manning from Ole Miss. In the season opener, Manning did not disappoint; he passed for 218 yards and a touchdown and ran in another touchdown on the final play to give the Saints a 24-20 win over the Rams. Four weeks later, Manning engineered a 24-14 upset of the Dallas Cowboys, the same team who would return to Tulane Stadium three months later and win Super Bowl VI over the Miami Dolphins. Throughout the season Manning split the quarterbacking duties with veteran Edd Hargett. Manning ended the season with six passing touchdowns and four rushing touchdowns; he did well enough to become the team's undisputed starter the next season. Despite the promise Manning showed, the Saints's misfortunes continued as they finished 4-8-2.
In 1972 the Saints started 0-5 and finished 2-11-1. During the 1973 preseason, the Saints fired Roberts and hired John North, who led the Saints to consecutive 5-9 seasons in 1973 and 1974.
Read more about this topic: History Of The New Orleans Saints