2003 New Orleans Saints season

2003 New Orleans Saints season
OwnerTom Benson
General managerMickey Loomis
Head coachJim Haslett
Home stadiumLouisiana Superdome
Results
Record8–8
Division place2nd NFC South
PlayoffsDid not qualify
All-ProsNone
Pro BowlersG LeCharles Bentley
RB Deuce McAllister

The 2003 season was the New Orleans Saints' 37th in the National Football League (NFL), their 28th playing home games at the Louisiana Superdome, and fourth under head coach Jim Haslett. They failed to improve on their 9–7 record from 2002 and finished with a record of 8–8.[1]

This was the season of the River City Relay, a play that has gone down in NFL lore from a week 16 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Saints were 7–7 and needed a victory to keep their postseason hopes alive. The Jaguars held a 20–13 lead with seven seconds left in regulation, and the Saints had possession on their own 25. In a scene evoking memories of The Play, Aaron Brooks passed to Donté Stallworth for 42 yards, Stallworth lateraled to Michael Lewis for 7 yards, Lewis lateraled to Deuce McAllister for 5 yards, and McAllister lateraled to Jerome Pathon for 21 yards and a touchdown. The score was 20–19, leaving only the extra point to force overtime. However, in an unlikely twist, John Carney, who in his career made 98.4% of extra points attempted and had not missed one in a full decade, inexplicably missed the kick wide right, causing the Saints to miss the playoffs for the third consecutive season and 10th time in the past 11.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 2003 NFL draft
2003 New Orleans Saints draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 6 Johnathan Sullivan  Defensive tackle Georgia
2 37 Jon Stinchcomb *  Offensive tackle Georgia
3 86 Cie Grant  Linebacker Ohio State
4 102 Montrae Holland  Guard Florida State
5 155 Melvin Williams  Defensive end Kansas State
6 203 Kareem Kelly  Wide receiver USC
7 231 Talman Gardner  Wide receiver Florida State
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[2]

Personnel

Staff

2003 New Orleans Saints staff

Front office

  • Owner – Tom Benson
  • Executive vice president/general manager – Mickey Loomis
  • Senior football administrator – Russ Ball
  • Director of player personnel – Rick Mueller
  • College scouting coordinator – Rick Thompson

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams – Al Everest

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – Rock Gullickson
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Jerry Palmieri

Roster

2003 New Orleans Saints roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams (ST)

Practice squad

Reserve

Rookies in italics
53 active, 11 reserve, 5 practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

During the 2003 regular season, the Saints’ non-division opponents were primarily from the NFC East and AFC South, based on the NFLʼs schedule rotation. They also played the Seattle Seahawks and Chicago Bears based on the teams' 2002 divisional placement.

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 7 at Seattle Seahawks L 10–27 0–1 Seahawks Stadium 52,250
2 September 14 Houston Texans W 31–10 1–1 Louisiana Superdome 68,390
3 September 21 at Tennessee Titans L 12–27 1–2 The Coliseum 68,809
4 September 28 Indianapolis Colts L 21–55 1–3 Louisiana Superdome 70,020
5 October 5 at Carolina Panthers L 13–19 1–4 Ericsson Stadium 72,496
6 October 12 Chicago Bears W 20–13 2–4 Louisiana Superdome 68,390
7 October 19 at Atlanta Falcons W 45–17 3–4 Georgia Dome 70,837
8 October 26 Carolina Panthers L 20–23 (OT) 3–5 Louisiana Superdome 68,370
9 November 2 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 17–14 4–5 Raymond James Stadium 65,524
10 Bye
11 November 16 Atlanta Falcons W 23–20 (OT) 5–5 Louisiana Superdome 68,432
12 November 23 at Philadelphia Eagles L 20–33 5–6 Lincoln Financial Field 67,802
13 November 30 at Washington Redskins W 24–20 6–6 FedExField 76,821
14 December 7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 7–14 6–7 Louisiana Superdome 68,442
15 December 14 New York Giants W 45–7 7–7 Louisiana Superdome 68,399
16 December 21 at Jacksonville Jaguars L 19–20 7–8 Alltel Stadium 49,207
17 December 28 Dallas Cowboys W 13–7 8–8 Louisiana Superdome 68,451

Standings

NFC South
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
(3) Carolina Panthers 11 5 0 .688 5–1 9–3 325 304 W3
New Orleans Saints 8 8 0 .500 3–3 7–5 340 326 W1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7 9 0 .438 2–4 6–6 301 264 L2
Atlanta Falcons 5 11 0 .313 2–4 4–8 299 422 W2

References

  1. ^ 2003 New Orleans Saints
  2. ^ "2003 New Orleans Saints Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
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