<P> 1983 saw the Saints improve on the previous season once again . They hovered at or above . 500 for most of the season, but lost a golden opportunity to stay one step ahead in the playoff race by giving up 17 points in the 4th quarter of a 31 - 28 loss to the New York Jets on Monday Night Football . Their playoff hopes came down to the final game of the season, when they hosted the Rams . Los Angeles scored two touchdowns on interception returns and another on a punt return, and Mike Lansford kicked a 42 - yard field goal with six seconds remaining to give the Rams the victory and a playoff berth, and end the Saints' season . The Saints finished 8 - 8, tying their previous best season record . </P> <P> Eight weeks after the conclusion of the 1983 season, the Saints traded their number one pick in the 1984 NFL Draft to the New York Jets for quarterback Richard Todd, who had worn out his welcome in the Big Apple by throwing too many interceptions, and was being phased out in favor of rookie Ken O'Brien . During the 1984 season, New Orleans traded for former Heisman Trophy winner and future Hall of Fame running back Earl Campbell, who won the NFL rushing championship in each of his first three seasons with the Oilers, when Bum Phillips coached the club . The Saints won for the first time on Monday Night Football by defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Superdome, but a three - game losing streak late in the season dropped the Saints to 7 - 9 . </P> <P> The biggest news of the 1984 season was that John Mecom, the owner of the team for almost 20 years, was putting them up for sale . Speculation was rife that a new owner might move the Saints out of New Orleans, namely Jacksonville, Florida . But on May 31, 1985, negotiations were finalized to sell the team to Tom Benson, a native New Orleanian who owned numerous car dealerships throughout the New Orleans area . The team's future in New Orleans was safe for the time being . </P> <P> In 1985, the Saints started off 3 - 2, but then lost six games in a row . Bum Phillips resigned twelve games into the season, and his son Wade Phillips, the Saints' defensive coordinator, was named interim coach . The Saints ended the season 5 - 11 . A bright spot of the campaign was the emergence of quarterback and Louisiana native Bobby Hebert, who led the Saints to victories over the Vikings and Rams late in the season . Hebert previously spent three seasons in the United States Football League with the Michigan Panthers and Oakland Invaders, leading the Panthers to the first USFL championship in 1983 . </P>

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