It should feel strange to turn the page on an era in New Orleans Saints history, but that’s something we’ve gotten used to. So many franchise cornerstones have hung it up in recent years: quarterback Drew Brees, defensive back Malcolm Jenkins, and even head coach Sean Payton. Payton’s tenure in particular saw great success for the Saints — he led them out of the NFL’s basement, built an offense that Brees used to become one of the best passers of all time, and put Jenkins in position to captain a defense that became the team’s strength.

More than all of those contributions, though, we’ve got to consider what the Saints were wearing. Everyone knows their sick jerseys and iconic uniform combos were what won all those games and set all those records. Right?

Jokes aside, it’s fun to keep up with arbitrary stats like this. And things are going to change with the advent of new black helmets to be used in select games this season. With the Dennis Allen era dawning before us, let’s look back at the record New Orleans achieved in each of their different uniform combos dating back to Payton’s hire in 2006; a milestone that helps mark the modern era of Saints football.

White jerseys, white pants

AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack

Record: 8-3 (0.727)

This look debuted a few years ago when fans embraced the “Color Rush” variants so passionately; NFL rules limited how often the Saints could wear those popular alternates, so white pants were introduced to kind of mimic it and tide us over between appearances.

"Black and Gold" throwbacks

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Record: 2-1 (0.667)

We haven’t seen these uniforms in a while, having been first used in 2011 wins over the Houston Texans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and then shelved after a 2016 loss to the visiting Detroit Lions. The throwback to the 1967 Saints team is still a strong look.

"Color Rush" alternates

Al Bello/Getty Images

Record: 9-5 (0.643)

Some of the luster came off the “Color Rush” jerseys in 2021 when the Saints took a couple of tough losses while wearing them — including back-to-back losses in prime time against the Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys. Let’s hope for better luck in 2022.

Black jerseys, gold pants

Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Record: 24-14 (0.632)

This has been one of the more common looks we’ve seen from the Saints since 2006 (worn in 38 games), though gold pants went on hiatus for a couple years after Drew Brees suffered an injury to his throwing hand against the Los Angeles Rams early in the 2019 season. Maybe it’s superstition, but we didn’t see gold pants for quite a while after that.

White jerseys, black pants

Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Record: 42-26 (0.618)

This uniform combo has been the second-most popular look the Saints have used since 2006, totaling 68 appearances including the playoffs. With team captains voting on what to wear each week, they’ve often preferred to save the black home jerseys for home games and go with white away jerseys when on the road, which is unsurprising.

White jerseys, gold pants

AP Photo/Brynn Anderson

Record: 37-24 (0.607)

The Saints have used this uniform combo in 61 games, third-most since 2006, so you’d expect it to have a lower winning percentage than less frequently-used looks. Still, it almost always contrasts well with opposing teams’ home uniforms.

Black jerseys, black pants

Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Record: 46-33 (0.582)

The all-black uniforms have been almost everyone’s favorite (until the “Color Rush” jerseys dropped, anyway), including the players, with team captains voting to use them in 79 games since 2006. That’s more than any other jersey-pants combo in the modern era of Saints football, most often appearing in national-broadcast matchups from the Superdome. Those tend to be the most challenging games, too, so it makes sense for the comparatively low winning percentage.

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