There isn’t a better NFL rivalry than the New Orleans Saints’ SEC-style feud with the Atlanta Falcons, which stretches back generations and has survived the passage of time (and a league realignment or two). Everyone knows it — it’s why the Saints are opening their 2022 season on the road against Atlanta.

Sure there may be other NFL rivalries with a higher profile on the national stage, but come on; the Chicago Bears haven’t been competitive with the Green Bay Packers in decades, with just two regular season sweeps in my lifetime (2007 and 2005, dating back to 1992, if you’re curious). At least the Baltimore Ravens have recently narrowed the gap with the Pittsburgh Steelers by winning their last four battles in a row, but Pittsburgh is winning the war with a dominant 32-24 overall record. The point is that a strong rivalry should actually be competitive and fun to watch, with real history baked into it.

Compare that to the Saints and Falcons, who have each taken their lumps and enjoyed their highlights over the years, though the Saints haven’t come close to embarrassing their fans the way Atlanta did in blowing a 28-3 lead in Super Bowl LI. Now, New Orleans is in position to tie everything up with a 2022 season sweep; the Falcons have barely held on to their all-time series lead at 54-52, thanks to Sean Payton torching them with a 21-9 record against Atlanta during his long run as Saints head coach.

But how have the individual Falcons head coaches fared? Let’s run down the list:

Arthur Smith (2021-Present)

Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Record vs. Saints: 1-1

Smith beat the Trevor Siemian-led Saints in New Orleans last year by just two points after a furious 22-point comeback fell short, but Siemian got the last laugh in the regular season finale in Atlanta to close out a 30-20 win after stepping in for an injured Taysom Hill. Smith has since lost his franchise quarterback and spent a high first round pick on a receiver coming off of a season-ending injury in hopes of propping up Marcus Mariota. Best of luck to him.

Raheem Morris (2020)

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Record vs. Saints: 0-2

Morris was named Atlanta’s interim head coach in 2020 after Dan Quinn was dismissed following an 0-5 start to the season; his replacement ended the year with a 4-7 record, losing both games with the Saints by scores of 24-9 (in New Orleans) and 21-16 (in Atlanta). Coincidentally, Morris is one of the few head coaches to have lost games to the Saints with multiple different franchises — he went 3-3 against them as the Buccaneers head coach from 2009 to 2011.

Dan Quinn (2015-2020)

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Record vs. Saints: 4-6

Quinn’s teams gave the Saints some real trouble, winning three in a row from 2016 (the same year they won the division title) to 2017. But they weren’t the same without Kyle Shanahan calling plays on offense, and it didn’t take the Saints long to strike back. New Orleans followed that three-game win streak by Atlanta with back-to-back-to-back wins of their own from 2017 to 2018.

Mike Smith (2008-2014)

Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Record vs. Saints: 5-9

The longest-tenured head coach in Falcons franchise history, Smith accomplished a 66-46 record across 112 games but never could get the better of the Saints, sweeping them just once — in his last year on the job. Smith also won his first game with New Orleans by a comfortable 34-20 margin, with his defense limiting Drew Brees and the Saints offense to just 6 points (off of two Garrett Hartley field goals) through the first three quarters.

Emmitt Thomas (2007)

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Record vs. Saints: 0-0

Thomas never coached against the Saints, having been named the interim coach on the heels of Bobby Petrino’s surprise resignation following a 34-14 loss to New Orleans in prime-time.

Bobby Petrino (2007)

AP Photo/John Amis, File

Record vs. Saints: 0-2

It didn’t take long for Petrino to get his fill of the NFL, losing both of his matchups with the Saints before bolting for the Arkansas job mid-season. A high-profile loss on Monday Night Football was enough for him to call it quits; the Saints rolled to a 34-14 victory powered by three Drew Brees touchdown passes (two to Marques Colston, and another to David Patten) with a win-sealing Roman Harper interception returned for a defensive touchdown in the second half.

Jim L. Mora (2004-2006)

Marc Serota/Getty Images

Record vs. Saints: 3-3

Mora, son of former Saints head coach Jim E. Mora, fared better against his dad’s old team than most of his successors — but the Saints helped show him the door with a crucial late-season loss in 2006 to help keep Atlanta out of the playoff race, starting with a 76-yard touchdown pass from Drew Brees to Devery Henderson in the first quarter. New Orleans won 31-13 and the Falcons were eliminated from playoff contention a few weeks later, with Mora’s dismissal soon to follow.

Wade Phillips (2003)

Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images

Record vs. Saints: 0-0

Another interim coach tasked with finishing a losing campaign, Phillips didn’t face the Saints during his three-game run to close out the 2003 season.

Dan Reeves (1997-2003)

Photo By USA TODAY Sports © Copyright USA TODAY Sports

Record vs. Saints: 9-3

One of two coaches to work 100-plus games for Atlanta (the other being Mike Smith), Reeves gave the Saints fits from the opening whistle, starting with a six-game win streak against New Orleans. But the Saints came through in the end, defeating Reeves in one of his last games with Atlanta: their defense pitched a second-half shutout, and a couple of short-yardage touchdown runs from Deuce McAllister helped force overtime, where John Carney came through with his third field goal to seal a big win.

June Jones (1994-1996)

AP Photo/John Bazemore

Record vs. Saints: 4-2

Jones didn’t find immediate success against the Saints, getting swept in 1994, but he pulled off an overtime win in 1995 and kept up the momentum. But he clashed with his mentor Jerry Glanville on staff (replacing him as head coach didn’t help) as well as his quarterback Jeff George, and the Falcons dismissed Jones after a disappointing 3-13 season in 1996.

Jerry Glanville (1990-1993)

Manny Rubio-USA TODAY Sports

Record vs. Saints: 4-5

Maybe best known for weaponizing Deion Sanders on special teams and shipping Brett Favre out to Green Bay, Glanville annoyingly also won the first Saints-Falcons playoff game in 1991, by a final score of 27-20. New Orleans jumped out to a 10-0 lead but couldn’t hang onto it, with Bobby Hebert completing just 26 of 44 passes while throwing two interceptions in the loss. A fourth-quarter 61-yard touchdown pass over the top of the “Dome Patrol” defense was the last nail in their coffin.

Jim Hanifan (1989)

Herb Weitman-USA TODAY Sports

Record vs. Saints: 0-0

Hanifan is another Falcons interim coach who didn’t work a game against the Saints, having taken over once Marion Campbell retired 12 games into the season. He’s best known for having coached the then-St. Louis Cardinals (before they moved to Arizona) in the early 1980’s.

Marion Campbell (1987-1989)

RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports

Record vs. Saints: 0-5

This was actually Campbell’s second stint with the Falcons as head coach, so we’ll focus on this stretch. He lost all five matchups with New Orleans, starting with a brutal 38-0 shutout in Atlanta in 1987. The Saints ran 42 times for 244 rushing yards and only attempted 26 passes in the big road win; Rueben Mayes led the team with 19 carries for 112 yards on the ground, while Dalton Hilliard scored two touchdown runs.

Dan Henning (1983-1986)

Manny Rubio-USA TODAY Sports

Record vs. Saints: 4-4

The Saints and Falcons were both well behind the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams at this point, so it was a constant battle for third place within the old NFC West. And Henning’s teams were fairly evenly matched with New Orleans at the time. Of their eight meetings from 1983 to 1986, only two games were decided by more than seven points.

Leeman Bennett (1977-1982)

Manny Rubio-USA TODAY Sports

Record vs. Saints: 9-2

Sheesh. Bennett strung together four- and five-game win streaks against the Saints during his tenure, only interrupted by a 37-6 Saints road win in Atlanta after Thanksgiving in 1979. New Orleans ran 39 times for 139 rushing yards as a team with Chuck Muncie, Tony Galbreath, and Michael Strachan each scoring touchdown runs, and Archie Manning capping things off with a 37-yard touchdown pass to Henry Childs in the fourth quarter.

Pat Peppler (1976)

Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Record vs. Saints: 1-0

Peppler worked double-duty as Falcons general manager and interim head coach after Marion Campbell was dismissed early in the 1976 season, going 3-6 but defeating the Saints, 49ers, and Dallas Cowboys along the way.

Marion Campbell (1974-1976)

Manny Rubio-USA TODAY Sports

Record vs. Saints: 2-2

Campbell’s first run as Falcons head coach lasted 25 games, and for the most part the Saints took care of business against him, outside of an embarrassing 30-0 home loss in 1976.

Norm Van Brocklin (1968-1974)

AP Photo/Harry Cabluck

Record vs. Saints: 9-2

Van Brocklin found mixed success on the whole as Atlanta’s head coach (going 37-49-3) but he dominated the fledgling Saints whenever they matched up, which goes to show just how rudderless those early New Orleans teams were. It’s good to see how far they’ve come in the decades since.

Norb Hecker (1966-1968)

Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Record vs. Saints: 0-1

Hecker was the first head coach for Atlanta, and he only faced off with the Saints once (losing 27-24 in 1967, New Orleans’ inaugural season, in which the black and gold went 3-11 on the year) before his dismissal early in the 1968 season.

1

1