Tag: vaughan johnson

Opinion: Saints shouldn’t wait much longer to memorialize ‘Dome Patrol’ legends

The Saints shouldn’t wait much longer to memorialize their ‘Dome Patrol’ legends. Permanent recognition for their first great team is long overdue:

Steve Sidwell died Wednesday evening. For New Orleans Saints fans of a certain age, he was one of the first members of the team whose name they remembered — for good reasons. He was the Saints defensive coordinator from 1986 to 1994, also coaching the team’s linebackers at times, and he was one of the people most responsible for building, developing, and maintaining the greatest defense in franchise history.

Now he’s gone. So are two of his former linebackers who helped make up the “Dome Patrol” defense: Pro Football Hall of Famer Sam Mills (who died far too young, back in 2005) and fan-favorite linebacker Vaughan Johnson (who passed more recently in 2019). Rickey Jackson, also a Hall of Fame inductee, is still with us as is Pat Swilling.

But the Saints shouldn’t keep putting this off. Installing a permanent memorial to their first great team, insuring that those legendary players will not be forgotten by future generations, should be an easy decision. Saints fans seem to bring it up every summer. And the precedent is there.

Mills has already been immortalized with a bronze statue outside the Carolina Panthers’ stadium in Charlotte; he was a founding member of that franchise as a player and coach before his tragic death, and fans of both NFC South-rival teams came together to celebrate his Hall of Fame induction with his family.

If the Panthers can make tribute to Mills, why can’t the Saints? Why shouldn’t the Saints do it for the entire four-man linebacker corps, the only group in NFL history to be invited to the Pro Bowl at the time in 1992? Their defense powered New Orleans to its first winning season and playoff appearance in 1987. They gave fans something more to root for than Tom Dempsey’s legendary field goal or Archie Manning’s futile heroics.

The Saints recognized them last year with reprints of the iconic posters that young fans all across the Gulf South proudly displayed in their youth, and all four linebackers have places in the Saints Hall of Fame. But they can do more. And they should, with a larger public gesture. Late owner Tom Benson placed a statue of himself in Champions Square back in 2014. The Caesars Superdome is also home to a Vietnam War Memorial near Poydras Street. And of course there’s Steve Gleason’s all-time great “Rebirth” statue, which has become a landmark and pilgrimage for many fans visiting town for the first time.

There’s room for a “Dome Patrol” memorial on the Superdome grounds. There’s appetite for it among the fanbase, too. And with time working against them, the Saints shouldn’t put this easy decision off any longer. People should be given their flowers while they’re still with us to appreciate them. It’s too late for Mills, Johnson, and Sidwell to have that time in the sun. That doesn’t mean the Saints can’t make things right with their families and the legendary players and coaches still among us.

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Saints honoring Sam Mills’ Hall of Fame induction with ‘Dome Patrol’ poster for fans

Saints honoring Sam Mills’ Hall of Fame induction with ‘Dome Patrol’ poster for fans at Monday night game vs. Ravens; will you be in that number?

Now this is cool. Remember that iconic poster every teenaged New Orleans Saints fan had hanging in their room of the “Dome Patrol” linebackers standing tall in matching fatigues and gold wraparound sunglasses? Replica posters will be handed out to fans in attendance for Monday night’s home game with the Baltimore Ravens at the Caesars Superdome this week, featuring the legendary Rickey Jackson, Sam Mills, Vaughan Johnson, and Pat Swilling.

It’s a very appropriate commemoration for Mills’ long-awaited induction to the Pro Football Hall of Fame earlier this year, where a bronze bust in his likeness joined Jackson for time immemorial. Mills died of cancer in 2005 but his family and supporters kept his Hall of Fame campaign going, finally finding success when he was inducted as part of the Class of 2022.

So you can bet it’s going to be a joyous occasion celebrating this achievement with Mills’ family, friends, and old teammates. Will you be in that number?

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Watch: Pat Swilling welcomes Saints draft pick Zack Baun to New Orleans

New Orleans Saints rookie linebacker Zack Baun interviewed with Pat Swilling, a ‘Dome Patrol’ legend and one of the best to ever do it.

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It’s one thing to get drafted by an NFL team. It’s something else entirely to land with the New Orleans Saints, earning a call loaded with career advice from “Dome Patrol” defense legend Pat Swilling. That’s what Wisconsin Badgers alum Zack Baun learned when he joined Swilling for a chat after the team traded up acquire him in the third round of this year’s draft.

One of the most important lessons Swilling stressed to the rookie was the value in scouting his opponents ahead of time, and putting together a file on each team he’s scheduled to play. That way Baun can quickly refer back to each blocker’s strengths and weaknesses before putting together his plan of attack.

Swilling said, “When you don’t know what you’re doing, you play slow, but when you know what you’re doing, you play fast.”

Of course, Swilling and Baun talked about more than football. They touched on topics like must-see sights and traditions when Baun visits New Orleans for the first time, and something entirely foreign and highly critical to making the most of his new home: peeling crawfish.

Baun clearly took the suggestions to heart. Check out the interview where we’ve embedded it below, or at this link:

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Famed ‘Dome Patrol’ Saints LB Sam Mills named Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist

Former New Orleans Saints Saints linebacker Sam Mills, of ‘Dome Patrol’ fame, was named a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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Former New Orleans Saints linebacker Sam Mills was announced as a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2020. This is huge news considering Mills has been named a semifinalist three times since becoming eligible to enter the Hall of Fame, most recently in Nov. 2019, but this is the first time his candidacy has advanced to the next stage of voting.

Mills spent nine years in New Orleans, starring in the famous “Dome Patrol” defense alongside linebackers Vaughan Johnson, Pat Swilling, and Rickey Jackson, who was voted into the Hall of Fame back in 2010. Mills finished his career with the expansion-team Carolina Panthers, joining their coaching staff after his playing days were over. He died in Charlotte in 2005 of intestinal cancer, and a bronze statue stands in his memory outside the Panthers’ Bank of America Stadium to this day.

Mills’ career stats and impact to both teams he played with speaks for itself. His five Pro Bowl appearances (four with the Saints) also help, as well as his past inductions to the Saints Hall of Fame in 1998 and Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2001. He’ll have his case heard before the Hall of Fame selection committee on Feb. 1, the day before Super Bowl LIV, as part of the 15-strong group of finalists. Only five will make the final cut, and his credentials are as strong as any.

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Saints mourn death of famed ‘Dome Patrol’ linebacker Vaughan Johnson

Former New Orleans Saints LB Vaughan Johnson passed away Thursday, leaving a legacy filled with ‘Dome Patrol’ memories and four Pro Bowls.

The New Orleans Saints lost a great member of the black and gold this week, after former linebacker Vaughan Johnson passed away after battling kidney disease. He was 57, and is survived by his wife and children.

Johnson was a key piece of the famous “Dome Patrol” Saints defenses of the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, having played alongside Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Rickey Jackson, Pat Swilling, and the late Sam Mills. Johnson represented the Saints in four Pro Bowl appearances, including the 1992 Pro Bowl in which all four linebackers were invited — the only time it’s happened in the history of the NFL’s all-star game.

Having starred at North Carolina State in college, Johnson was initially drafted not by the NFL, but by the then-competitor United States Football Legaue, joining the Jacksonville Bulls in 1984. The Saints claimed his rights in the NFL’s supplemental draft of USFL and Canadian Football League players, and he signed with New Orleans after the USFL folded in 1986.

While Jackson was the unquestioned star of the group and Swilling the most athletically-gifted, Mills and Johnson were the glue and no-nonsense pros who kept the group together. Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio was the Saints’ linebackers coach during the “Dome Patrol” era, and he described Johnson to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen as, “He was a great teammate, loved by everyone. He was a ferocious hitter and great all around ILB. And feared by the RBs in the league when he played. Ask Roger Craig.”

Johnson was remembered by other peers like Hall of Fame kicker Morten Andersen, who praised the linebacker’s kind nature off the field and ferocity during games in equal measure. Andersen bid his old teammate farewell and asked that Johnson greet Mills, who died in 2005, when they meet again.

It’s a sad day for the Who Dat Nation. But it doesn’t have to be. Johnson created many memories for long-time Saints fans, and it’s past time for the Saints to recognize their contributions. Late owner Tom Benson and living legend Steve Gleason have bronze statues in their likeness outside the Superdome, and an effigy of Mills guards the Carolina Panthers’ stadium (his second team) to this day. Renovations are already planned for the Superdome, set to begin in 2020; wouldn’t it be great if statues of Johnson, Mills, Swilling, and Jackson joined them to greet fans someday, sooner rather than later?

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