Saints might want to explore black helmet as alternate look

Miami, Jacksonville and Tennessee have made uniform changes for the 2018 NFL season.

Many rejoiced when it was announced the Jaguars were ditching the two-tone, multi-colored helmet for a cleaner all-black look. The familiar Jaguar head design remains in place.

The Titans are switching to a dark blue helmet, quite the departure from the all-white lid that they have used since their name change.

The Dolphins adjustments are a little more subtle. The helmet stripe will change slightly and the shade of the aqua jersey will darken slightly.

I recently broke bread with a few long time associates who happen to be former Saints players and The Saints helmet design was a hot topic within this group.

Older Saints’ faithful may remember that back in 1969, then owner John Mecom Jr. had the team wear black helmets with a gold Fleur De Lis logo for a preseason game. The stripes on the helmet were also reversed as two gold stripes flanking a white stripe in the middle. It was a nice look that the team has not used since.

At the time, Mecom had not registered the uniform request change with the NFL, which took a hard line on their strict rule regarding such changes. The league dictated that the fledgling New Orleans franchise (in just their third season of existence) must return to the gold helmets.

It seems to me with all the color changes the NFL teams have used in the recent past, now might be an opportune time for Saints owner Gayle Benson and her staff to look into the matter.

Black and Gold faithful with increased requests on this cause would certainly help, if you are are so inspired. I’ve even run across an online petition supporting the concept.

Perhaps the matte look be better than glossy. Maybe experiment with black, gold white and gray face mask colors as well.

Let em be clear though. I’m not in favor of dismissing the gold helmet as the team’s primary look, but there just might be many fans who would appreciate another occasional option.