47 years ago today, the first New Orleans Saint was signed
 

The New Orleans Saints had a very good bounce-back season in 2013, winning a road playoff game and re-establishing the Saints franchise as one of the best in the NFL. But it all began exactly 47 years ago today with a kicker, yes a kicker. As seen in the below tweet, the Saints first ever player to join the franchise was a “kicking specialist” who moonlighted as a fullback.


Today in Sports History 1967 ~ Paige Cothren became the first player to sign with the New Orleans #Saints. pic.twitter.com/pap8zu45hL

— Before I Was Famous (@BeforeFamePics) January 27, 2014

Paige Cothren never made the team, he had been out of the league for sometime when he signed with the Saints, but he will forever be the first Saint ever.

The Times-Picayune did a feature on the first Saint in franchise history a few years ago, when asked about being signed by the Saints only to be cut, Cothren said, “If I would have made the team it would have been better.”

Cothren was a very accomplished kicker while at Ole Miss, setting the national collegiate record for most field goals in a game and in a season. “That was before the ‘soccers’ took over kicking,” Cothren said. “I had all the records simply because I was the only regular field-goal kicker.”

He may have never played a single snap for the Saints, but he will forever be the first Saint.

47 years ago today, the first New Orleans Saint was signed

Re: 47 years ago today, the first New Orleans Saint was signed
 

43 years ago yesterday Archie Manning was drafted.
New Orleans Saints Fact of the Day: January 28, 2014

Re: 47 years ago today, the first New Orleans Saint was signed
 

If only he ever had a decent O-line things might have been way different back then!! Talk about getting sacked, taking hard shots and running for his life, he!! Brees has got it made compared to Archie.

Re: 47 years ago today, the first New Orleans Saint was signed
 

That is what I keep hearing and you can take it as you wish but I just do not see it. I see a lot of hypocrisy and misunderstanding when it comes to Archie and when compared to Drew coming from a passer stand point.

Fine, Archie got sacked a lot.

He didn't have the receivers.
He didn't pass as much and when he did he was an interception machine.

Completion % as a Saint
Archie 55.4
Drew 67.3

Interception %
Archie 4.7%
Drew 2.5%

If Archie has an offensive line he would have passed more and thrown more INTs.

Archie compared to Wilson.. Wilson was sacked more this season.
Archie Manning sack 9.3% INT% 4.7
Russell Wilson (2013) sack 9.8% INT 2.2%

If that doesn't clearly show what i am saying maybe this will.

Archie Manning as a Saint vs Oiler

Sack %
Saints 9.3%
Oilers 15.1%

INT%
Saints 4.7%
Oilers 6.6%

Archie got worse after he left the oh so horrible New Orleans Saints to go go the Houston Oilers... the Saints got better.

Minnesota before Manning 8-8, with Manning 3-13, after Manning 7-9
Houston Oilers before Manning 7-9, with Manning 1-8, after Manning 3-13

New Orleans Saints 1980/1981 with Manning 4-23
New Orleans Saints 1982/1983 with Stabler 11-11

I know i am committing a mortal and nonvenial sin but it was what it was.

Re: 47 years ago today, the first New Orleans Saint was signed
 

Do you have the stat for how many coaches Archie played under?

I don't think it's fair to look at the numbers at the end of his career, but, I do agree that Saints fans seem to remember him maybe a little too fondly. I think it's because he had so much potential and it was wasted on the mess that was the Saints franchise.

Re: 47 years ago today, the first New Orleans Saint was signed
 

Completely anecdotal...

Roger Staubauch once said Archie Manning was the best quarterback in the league when he was playing but nobody would ever know because of the team he as on.

Re: 47 years ago today, the first New Orleans Saint was signed
 

they stunk! archie got the shaft ending up in new orleans. if he ended up with a contender he would have made the hall.

the blame i can not put on the coaches as much as on the owner John W. Mecom, Jr. . he loved owning a team and all the playboy perks but never was into getting to the Superbowl.

sum up how good archie was. he is the only player named conference mvp by the player from a losing team.

for us old timers we are so happy that the saints have finally found some one to stand with archie as a god of new orleans football.

i never will never use the hall fame mentality to judge a players worth. way to many good players are not in the hall that were better than some that have made it.

Re: 47 years ago today, the first New Orleans Saint was signed
 

He played for 7 in NO.

I do not throw the W/L record on him. His passing stats are all on him though.

Sam Bradford gets a new coach every 2 years LOL his INT% is 2.2... thats lower than Brees or Manning.


So he went to two more teams and did equally as bad. The same thing could be said for a lot of QBs. There are plenty of QBs in the league that achieved greatness because the surrounding team was good and not the QB.

Joe Namath is a prime example.

Arguably you could put any QB on a good team and see success.

Re: 47 years ago today, the first New Orleans Saint was signed
 

he went to oilers first. for the love of god all there players left town when BUM came to new orleans. he went back to the bottom of the barrel there

when he got traded to minnesota was the best team he could have played for and had a shot. but his knees were shot and the rest of him so banged up he just should have retired.

as for the passing stats the team around him has everything to with it.

i really do not think you have a clue as to how bad the teams were most of the time when archie played

Re: 47 years ago today, the first New Orleans Saint was signed
 

I hunted with Hokie when I was 14.... I am very familiar with the Saints of the early 80s. ;)

If you read my earlier post, I made a point that all the comments about all he needed was an offensive line were not so accurate.