1997 New Orleans Saints season

1997 New Orleans Saints season
Head Coach	Mike Ditka
Home Field	Louisiana Superdome
Results
Record	6–10
Place	4th NFC West
Playoff Finish	did not qualify
Timeline
Previous season	Next season
1996	1998

The 1997 New Orleans Saints season was the franchise’s 31st season in the National Football League, and 24th at the Louisiana Superdome. The team improved upon its 1996 record of 3–13, winning six games, but failed to qualify for the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1997 NFL Draft

1997 New Orleans Saints draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	10	Chris Naeole	Guard	Colorado
2	33	Rob Kelly	Defensive back	Ohio State
2	39	Jared Tomich	Defensive end	Nebraska
3	62	Troy Davis	Running back	Iowa State
4	99	Danny Wuerffel	Quarterback	Florida
4	116	Keith Poole	Wide receiver	Arizona State
6	165	Nicky Savoie	Tight end	LSU
Made roster

Personnel

Staff

1997 New Orleans Saints staff
	Front office Owner – Tom Benson President/General Manager/Chief Operating Officer – Bill Kuharich Vice President of Football Operations/Assistant General Manager – Chet Franklin Director of College Scouting – Bruce Lemmerman Head coaches Head Coach – Mike Ditka Assistant Head Coach/Linebackers – Rick Venturi Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Danny Abramowicz Quarterbacks – Tom Clements Running Backs – Tom Moore Wide Receivers – Harold Jackson Tight Ends/Offensive Line Assistant – Dan Neal Offensive Line – Dick Stanfel Offensive Assistant – Judd Garrett			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Zaven Yaralian Defensive Line – Walt Corey Defensive Backs – Willie Shaw Defensive Assistant – John Pagano Special teams coaches Special Teams – Bobby April Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Mike Woicik Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Jack Del Rio

Roster

1997 New Orleans Saints roster
	Quarterbacks 12 Billy Joe Hobert 13 Doug Nussmeier  5 Heath Shuler  7 Danny Wuerffel Running backs 24 Mario Bates 40 Wes Bender 28 Troy Davis 44 Fred McCrary FB 34 Ray Zellars FB Wide receivers 89 Brett Bech 84 Eric Guliford 88 Andre Hastings 89 Mercury Hayes 81 Randal Hill 80 Daryl Hobbs 83 Keith Poole 86 Gunnard Twyner Tight ends 87 John Farquhar 89 Kendall Gammon 86 Tony Johnson 85 Nicky Savoie 82 Irv Smith		Offensive linemen 69 Tom Ackerman C 73 Isaac Davis G 62 Jerry Fontenot C 76 Keno Hills G 74 Clarence Jones T 67 Andy McCollum G 65 Chris Naeole G 77 Willie Roaf T 66 Mike Verstegen G Defensive linemen 97 La'Roi Glover DT 94 Joe Johnson DE 93 Wayne Martin DT 92 Darren Mickell DE 91 Brady Smith DE 90 Jared Tomich DT		Linebackers 50 Ink Aleaga 53 Don Davis 55 Mark Fields 52 Richard Harvey 59 Keith Mitchell 54 Winfred Tubbs Defensive backs 27 Vashone Adams SS 21 Eric Allen CB 30 Je'Rod Cherry FS 38 Donovan Greer CB 23 Chris Hewitt 33 Rob Kelly FS 29 Sammy Knight SS 25 Alex Molden CB 30 Anthony Newman FS 26 Mickey Washington CB Special teams 10 Doug Brien K  3 Mark Royals P		Reserve lists 96 Luke Fickell DT (IR) Practice squad Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	August 31, 1997	at St. Louis Rams	L 38–24	64,575
2	September 7, 1997	San Diego Chargers	L 20–6	65,760
3	September 14, 1997	at San Francisco 49ers	L 33–7	61,838
4	September 21, 1997	Detroit Lions	W 35–17	50,016
5	September 28, 1997	at New York Giants	L 14–9	68,891
6	October 5, 1997	at Chicago Bears	W 20–17	58,865
7	October 12, 1997	Atlanta Falcons	L 23–17	65,619
8	October 19, 1997	Carolina Panthers	L 13–0	50,963
9	October 26, 1997	San Francisco 49ers	L 23–0	60,443
10	Bye
11	November 9, 1997	at Oakland Raiders	W 13–10	40,091
12	November 16, 1997	Seattle Seahawks	W 20–17	50,493
13	November 23, 1997	at Atlanta Falcons	L 20–3	48,620
14	November 30, 1997	at Carolina Panthers	W 16–13	57,957
15	December 7, 1997	St. Louis Rams	L 34–27	54,803
16	December 14, 1997	Arizona Cardinals	W 27–10	45,517
17	December 21, 1997	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 25–13	66,772

Standings

NFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
San Francisco 49ers	13	3	0	.813	375	265
Carolina Panthers	7	9	0	.438	265	314
Atlanta Falcons	7	9	0	.438	320	361
New Orleans Saints	6	10	0	.375	237	327
St. Louis Rams	5	11	0	.313	299	359

References

• Saints on Pro Football Reference
• Saints on jt-sw.com