| 1977 New Orleans Saints season | |
|---|---|
| Head Coach | Hank Stram |
| Home Field | Louisiana Superdome |
| Results | |
| Record | 3–11 |
| Place | 4th NFC West |
| Playoff Finish | did not qualify |
| Timeline | |
| Previous season | Next season |
| 1976 | 1978 |
The Saints playing against the Philadelphia Eagles at Veterans Stadium in 1977
The 1977 New Orleans Saints season was the team's eleventh as a member of the National Football League. They were unable to improve on their previous season's output of 4–10, winning only three games.[1] The team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the eleventh consecutive season, while coach Hank Stram was fired following the season. In his two seasons as coach the Saints only won seven games.
Offseason[]
NFL draft[]
| 1977 New Orleans Saints draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Joe Campbell | Defensive end | Maryland | |
| 2 | 34 | Mike Fultz | Defensive tackle | Maryland | |
| 3 | 64 | Robert Watts | Linebacker | Boston College | |
| 5 | 118 | Dave LaFary | Offensive tackle | Purdue | |
| 5 | 135 | Andy Spiva | Linebacker | Tennessee | |
| 6 | 147 | Cliff Parsley | Punter | Oklahoma State | |
| 6 | 162 | Tom Schick | Guard | Maryland | |
| 7 | 174 | Greg Boykin | Running back | Northwestern | |
| 8 | 201 | Jimmy Stewart | Running back | Tulsa | |
| 9 | 231 | Dave Knowles | Tackle | Indiana | |
| 10 | 258 | Rafael Septién[lower-alpha 1] * | Kicker | Southwestern Louisiana | |
| 11 | 285 | John Blain | Tackle | San José State | |
| 12 | 315 | Oakley Dalton | Defensive tackle | Jackson State | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Personnel[]
Staff[]
| 1977 New Orleans Saints staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
| |||||
Roster[]
| 1977 New Orleans Saints roster | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
|
Reserve lists
{{{reserve_lists}}}
| ||||||
Regular season[]
The first victory overall for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, did not come until week 13 on the road against the Saints, almost two seasons after their first game against the Houston Oilers in 1976. The Bucs led at halftime by a score of 13–0. Dave Green had two field goals, while Gary Huff threw a touchdown pass to Morris Owens. Upon their arrival to Tampa Bay, the Bucs were greeted by 8,000 fans.[4]
The Saints were 11-point favorites before the game,[5] and fans booed as the Buccaneers scored. "Eleven years I've supported this franchise!" one shouted, adding, "With all this money I've spent on this lousy team I could have bought some land in Colombia and raised pot". Losing to a team with a 0-26 losing streak was so humiliating that safety Tom Myers said, "We've been made the laughingstocks of the business ... I'm too embarrassed to say that I play for the team that got beat by Tampa Bay". Said head coach Hank Stram, "We're all very ashamed of what happened today. Ashamed for our people, for our fans, the organization, everybody. It is my worst coaching experience". Team owner John Mecom said during the loss that the Saints "is a poorly coached team",[6] and Stram was fired the next week.
Schedule[]
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 18, 1977 | Green Bay Packers | L 24–20 | |
| 2 | September 25, 1977 | at Detroit Lions | L 23–19 | |
| 3 | October 2, 1977 | at Chicago Bears | W 42–24 | |
| 4 | October 9, 1977 | San Diego Chargers | L 14–0 | |
| 5 | October 16, 1977 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 14–7 | |
| 6 | October 23, 1977 | at St. Louis Cardinals | L 49–31 | |
| 7 | October 30, 1977 | Los Angeles Rams | W 27–26 | |
| 8 | November 6, 1977 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 28–7 | |
| 9 | November 13, 1977 | San Francisco 49ers | L 10–7 | |
| 10 | November 20, 1977 | Atlanta Falcons | W 21–20 | |
| 11 | November 27, 1977 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 20–17 | |
| 12 | December 4, 1977 | New York Jets | L 16–13 | |
| 13 | December 11, 1977 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 33–14 | |
| 14 | December 18, 1977 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 35–7 |
Standings[]
Template:1977 NFC West standings
Notes[]
- ↑ 1977 New Orleans Saints
- ↑ "1977 New Orleans Saints draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/nor/1977_draft.htm. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
- ↑ "All-Time Roster". NewOrleansSaints.com. http://www.neworleanssaints.com/team/history/all-time-roster.html. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
- ↑ Numbelivable!, p.111, Michael X. Ferraro and John Veneziano, Triumph Books, Chicago, Illinois, 2007, ISBN 978-1-57243-990-0
- ↑ Martz, Ron (1977-12-12). "BUCS WIN: Saints historic victims 33-14". St. Petersburg Times: pp. 1C,6C. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TG9IAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HVoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3872%2C3827820.
- ↑ Martz, Ron (1977-12-13). "Well, forget about encouraging words". St. Petersburg Times: p. 1C. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TW9IAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HVoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3096%2C4273261.
References[]
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