2012 New Orleans Saints season
| 2012 New Orleans Saints season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Tom Benson |
| General manager | Mickey Loomis (suspended for first 8 games) |
| Head coach | Sean Payton (suspended 16 games) Joe Vitt (Interim, games 7–16) Aaron Kromer (Interim, games 1–6) |
| Home stadium | Mercedes-Benz Superdome |
| Results | |
| Record | 7–9 |
| Division place | 3rd NFC South |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
| All-Pros | 2
|
| Pro Bowlers | |
| Uniform | |
The 2012 season was the New Orleans Saints' 46th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 37th playing home games at the Superdome. The Saints head coach was Sean Payton, but he was suspended by the NFL for the entire season as part of the punishment for the team's bounty scandal. On April 12, 2012, linebackers coach Joe Vitt was named interim head coach to replace Payton while he was suspended. On August 22, 2012, it was announced that Aaron Kromer would take over while Vitt himself served a six-game suspension to start the regular season. The Saints attempted to make history as the first host team to play the Super Bowl on their own home field, but they were eliminated from post-season contention for the first time since 2008 in Week 16. The Saints’ defense struggled all season and set an NFL record for most yards given up by a defense, 7,042 yards, surpassing the 1981 Baltimore Colts record of 6,793 yards.