Former New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Steve Sidwell, who coached the famed "Dome Patrol" linebacker group and help construct some of the top defenses in franchise history, has died at age 78.
"He was a tremendous defensive coach in our league -- a ton of success," Saints coach Dennis Allen, a defensive coach himself, said following practice on Thursday, shortly after the club confirmed Sidwell's passing.
"He led the 'Dome Patrol' defense, which is really the standard of defense for the New Orleans Saints; it's what we kind of aspire to be defensively. It's a sad day for our organization."
Sidwell was with the Saints for nine of his 21 NFL seasons, coached under then-head coach Jim Mora from 1986 to 1994.
The Saints ran a 3-4 defense then, and the Dome Patrol consisted of the four starting linebackers in that formation: Rickey Jackson, Sam Mills, Pat Swilling and Vaughn Johnson.
Two of those linebackers -- Jackson and Mills -- have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Sidwell's defenses twice led the league in fewest points allowed (1991, '92) and pass defense (1992, '93) and once in run defense (1989) as New Orleans reached the playoffs for the first four times in franchise history.
"For nine years, Steve Sidwell played an integral role in the success of the New Orleans Saints and helped develop several of the franchise's greatest defensive players," Saints owner Gayle Benson said in a statement. "The success of these teams and players continue to resonate with our organization and fan base to this day."
He was inducted into the Saints Hall of Fame in 2004.
During Sidwell's tenure, seven of his players, including Jackson and Mills, garnered a combined 18 Pro Bowl selections, with all four starting linebackers making it in 1992. Swilling led the NFL with 17 sacks in 1991, when he was named AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
The Saints' 408 quarterback sacks during Sidwell's nine seasons ranked third in the league. New Orleans' defenses also ranked in the top five in the NFL in net yards per game (three times) and run defense (four times), and they were in the NFL's top three in pass defense on three occasions.
After 16 seasons as a college coach at Colorado, UNLV and SMU, Sidwell entered the NFL ranks with the New England Patriots in 1982 and moved to the Colts in 1985 before joining Mora's staff with the Saints one year later.
He also served as defensive coordinator of the Houston Oilers (1995-96), Patriots (1997-99) and Seattle Seahawks (2000-02).
"My late husband Tom owned the team during Steve's entire tenure and had a great affinity for him both as a coach and as a person," Benson said in her statement. "In addition to being an outstanding coach, Steve was also a dedicated husband, father and grandfather. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Sidwell family, including his wife Kathleen and two sons, Brad and Scott."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.