Jeff Duncan wrote in his 2012 book Tales from the New Orleans Saints Sideline: "All Saints Day, November 1, 1966, was the official birth of the Saints franchise in the National Football League. January 14, 1986 was the club's unofficial birth."

January 14, 1986 was the day owner Tom Benson hired Jim Finks as Saints General Manager. The Saints finally had someone in charge who had a wealth of experience running pro football teams.

After a so-so seven-year career as an NFL quarterback, Finks became an administrator starting with the Calgary Stampeders (1957-64) of the Canadian Football League where he served as a player/coach before becoming general manager. He then moved to the Minnesota Vikings as GM from 1964-1973. During his tenure the Vikings won their first NFL Central Division championship. That started a dynasty that won 11 division championships and made four Super Bowl appearances the next 14 years. The key decision that led to success was Finks' hiring of Bud Grant as head coach in 1967. Finks also traded for QB Fran Tarkenton from the Giants in 1972, giving the team the leader they needed to make the playoffs and reach the Super Bowl.

After the Vikings lost to the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VIII, Finks resigned in May 1974 as both general manager and vice-president. Reportedly he was not happy that the Vik­ings had reneged on their promise to give him the stock that had been held by Van Brocklin.

Finks joined the Chicago Bears in 1974 as executive vice-president and general manager. Founder/owner George Halas gave Finks complete control of football operations. By 1977, the Bears reached the playoffs for the first time since 1963. They made the playoffs again in 1979. But Finks abruptly resigned in 1982 because Halas did not consult him before hiring Mike Ditka as head coach.

After leaving the Bears, Finks brought his talents to a different sport by becoming the president and chief executive officer of the Chicago Cubs. His only year in that position, 1984, the Cubs won the National Legue's East Division crown and fell one game short of the fran­chise's first World Series appearance since 1945. Once again his tenure ended with a dispute with management. He resigned when the team and then baseball commissioner Peter Ueber­roth undercut his promise to Chicago fans that Wrigley Field would not need lights.

New Orleans native Tom Benson purchased a controlling interest in the Saints from John Mecom in May 1985 for $70 million after Governor Edwin Edwards told Tom the team was on the verge of being sold to parties interested in moving the team to Jacksonville FL. Benson had earned his fortune as owner of several automobile dealerships in the Greater New Orleans and San Antonio areas.

By his own admission, Benson didn't know much about football when he put together a co­alition to purchase the Saints. He recalled in 2016: "I wasn't a football fan. I didn't play foot­ball. I most probably didn't go to many games. But the big thing for me was the Saints were going to leave New Orleans. It would have been a disaster for us. I thought then, and I think that now. That's where it all started."

Benson inherited a team that was the only NFL franchise that had never had a winning sea­son. The best they had done was 8-8 in 1979 and again in 1983. As a much more successful businessman that John Mecom, Benson knew his first priority was to hire a General Manager with a track record of success in the NFL.

Bum Phillips, the coach and GM since 1981, had been unable to build on the momentum of the '83 season as the Saints dropped to 7-9 the following season. When Bum offered to resign so that the new owner could hire his own coach, Tom told him, "I need you to help me get this thing started." Bum acquiesced but said, "If it doesn't work out, I'll retire, and you won't have to tell me to."

When the '85 team won only four of its first 12 games, Bum resigned both his positions. He had decided to quit at the end of the season but did so earlier so that his son Wade, his defen­sive coordinator, could coach the last four games and perhaps earn the job full-time.

When the season ended, Benson decided to clean house. He fired President Eddie Jones and started a search for a new general manager, who would in turn hire the new head coach. Tom told the fans, "We're working to win," and, for the first time in Saints history, enlisted professionals to search for the men who would bring a winner to the long-suffering fans of the Crescent City.

Benson recalled, "I believe that everyone should answer to the president and general man­ager, and I decided that I didn't want to run the team. I wanted to hire a man who would be in charge but keep me informed."

Tom told the human resource manager for his business enterprises, Phil Osborne, to enlist the services of five nationally known people for the search committee but not general mana­gers or coaches.

The Saints received applications from nearly 200 coaches and 25 GM candidates. The new owner set aside the coaching candidates and quickly reduced the GM number to five.

The United States Football League had just thrown in the towel. Osborne arranged an in­terview with the GM and head coach of the Philadelphia Stars, who had the best record in the league: 48-13-1. Carl Peterson and coach Jim Mora discussed a package deal whereby they would assume the same positions with the Saints.

However, the search committee recommended someone else for GM—Jim Finks, one of pro football's most respected executives. Both New York Giants owner Wellington Mara and Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell recommended Finks to Benson.

Osborne invited Finks to come to San Antonio, headquarters of Benson's car empire. Jim met with Tom for four hours in December, 1985. Finks suggested they draw up a contract. Benson recalled, "There were some things I didn't understand, and when he asked me for a contract, I said, 'Contract! In any of my companies, I don't give contracts. What the hell are you talking about?' So Finks drew up a written agreement that designated himself as president and GM. Since Benson considered Finks "a good person who would do the right thing," the owner acquiesced.

When Finks signed his contract January 14, 1986, a football man took complete control of the team for the first time in Saints franchise history.