1977 New Orleans Saints season
Head coachHank Stram
Home fieldLouisiana Superdome
Results
Record3–11
Division place4th NFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersNone
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. The most notable part of the season was when they lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who won their first game in franchise history after losing their first 26 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 Nebraska
3 64 Robert Watts  Linebacker Boston College
5 118 Dave LaFary  Offensive tackle Purdue
5 135 Dave Hubbard  Tackle Brigham Young
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 Jose State
12 315 Oakley Dalton  Defensive tackle Jackson State
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[2]

Personnel

Staff

1977 New Orleans Saints staff
Front office
  • President – John W. Mecom, Jr.
  • Vice-president of administration – Harry Hulmes
  • Vice-president and treasurer – Eddie Jones

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and Conditioning – Alvin Roy

[3]

Roster

1977 New Orleans Saints roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

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 in 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 January 28, 1978.

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 18 Green Bay Packers L 20–24 0–1 Louisiana Superdome 56,250
2 September 25 at Detroit Lions L 19–23 0–2 Pontiac Silverdome 51,458
3 October 2 at Chicago Bears W 42–24 1–2 Soldier Field 51,488
4 October 9 San Diego Chargers L 0–14 1–3 Louisiana Superdome 53,942
5 October 16 at Los Angeles Rams L 7–14 1–4 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 46,045
6 October 23 at St. Louis Cardinals L 31–49 1–5 Busch Memorial Stadium 48,417
7 October 30 Los Angeles Rams W 27–26 2–5 Louisiana Superdome 59,023
8 November 6 at Philadelphia Eagles L 7–28 2–6 Veterans Stadium 53,482
9 November 13 San Francisco 49ers L 7–10 2–7 Louisiana Superdome 41,564
10 November 20 Atlanta Falcons W 21–20 3–7 Louisiana Superdome 43,135
11 November 27 at San Francisco 49ers L 17–20 3–8 Candlestick Park 33,702
12 December 4 New York Jets L 13–16 3–9 Louisiana Superdome 40,464
13 December 11 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 14–33 3–10 Louisiana Superdome 40,124
14 December 18 at Atlanta Falcons L 7–35 3–11 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 36,895
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Week 10 vs. Atlanta Falcons

Before a Regional TV Audience, Atlanta, which had never given up more than 14 points in a game this year, tried to keep it that way with one minute to go - In New Orleans - And Archie Manning was waiting. The Saints quarterback, back in action for the first time in six weeks, read the blitz and beat it with a 18-yard TD Pass, his second scoring strike to tight end Henry Childs. It was Hank Stram's 136th victory as a head coach... and his last.

Standings

NFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Los Angeles Rams(2) 10 4 0 .714 4–2 8–4 302 146 L1
Atlanta Falcons 7 7 0 .500 3–3 7–5 179 129 W1
San Francisco 49ers 5 9 0 .357 3–3 5–7 220 260 L3
New Orleans Saints 3 11 0 .214 2–4 3–9 232 336 L4

Notes

  1. ↑ Never played a game with the Saints, but played in the Pro Bowl in 1982 with the Dallas Cowboys.

References

  1. ↑ 1977 New Orleans Saints
  2. ↑ "1977 New Orleans Saints draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  3. ↑ "All-Time Roster". NewOrleansSaints.com. Archived from the original on June 18, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  4. ↑ Ferraro, Michael X.; Veneziano, John (2007). Numbelievable!. Chicago: Triumph Books. p. 111. ISBN 978-1-57243-990-0.
  5. ↑ Martz, Ron (December 12, 1977). "BUCS WIN: Saints historic victims 33-14". St. Petersburg Times. pp. 1C, 6C. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
  6. ↑ Martz, Ron (December 13, 1977). "Well, forget about encouraging words". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1C. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
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