There are some funny aspects of Ditka's Saints.
The 1997 team had a top 10 defense and led the league in sacks. They ran the 4-6 scheme, and they racked up big sack numbers that season. On the other side of the field, the offense was pathetic and one of the worst in the league and could probably be historically bad. The defense eventually started giving up points due to the short fields the offense gave teams.
Ditka didn't believe in free agency. His only free agency signing was Heath Schuler who turned out to be an epic bust. These are the years when the Saints had the Billy Joes at QB. They signed Kerry Collins after he was run out of Carolina and he had a few good games, but couldn't stay healthy.
Saints fans were PUMPED over Rickey Williams. The hype was real. He didn't last long here, and Deuce McAllister stole all his thunder and became the big fan favorite.
After Ditka was fired, the Saints went all in on free agency signings and put together a pretty good team in 2000 that won their first franchise playoff game. As badly as Ditka handled their drafts, the flip side was his lack of belief in free agency led to something they could build on in the 2000s.
In today's era of social media, Ditka's Saints would've been a clown show like the Jets are. He was a loudmouth who was always making statements in pressers. His teams did dumb stuff, as mentioned by how putrid the offenses were. There were little things like how he cut Jim Everett, who went on to rub it on him when Everett's Chargers beat the Saints the following year. Then there are the heartbreaker games that are sadly forgotten by most people, where Ditka had his antics.
This is the one that most people still remember, but there were plenty of others. They lost to the 49ers one time with Billy Joe throwing a pick six in the final 2 minutes when it was tied. (Back when they faced SF twice a year and couldn't beat them)