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1977 New Orleans Saints season
1977 New Orleans Saints season
Head coach	Hank Stram
Home field	Louisiana Superdome
Results
Record	3–11
Division place	4th NFC West
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	None
	← 1976; Saints seasons; 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. 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

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1977 New Orleans Saints draft
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^[a] *	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 Vice-president/head coach – Hank Stram Offensive coaches Quarterbacks – Dick Wood Offensive backfield – John Beake Receivers – Sam Rutigliano Offensive line – Dick Stanfel Quality control – Rich Kotite			Defensive coaches Defensive line – Buck Buchanan Linebackers – Dick Nolan Defensive backfield – Jim Garrett Special teams coaches Special teams – Whitey Campbell Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Alvin Roy

^[3]

Roster

**1977 New Orleans Saints roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 10 Bobby Douglass 8 Archie Manning 12 Bobby Scott Running backs (RB) 36 Greg Boykin 34 Tony Galbreath FB 32 Kim Jones 42 Chuck Muncie 33 Mike Strachan Wide receivers (WR) 41 John Gilliam 87 Don Herrmann 84 Rich Mauti 89 Leonard Willis Tight ends (TE) 85 Henry Childs 86 Jim Thaxton		Offensive linemen (OL) 69 Oakley Dalton T 62 John Hill C 70 Dave Hubbard T 64 Dave Lafary G 77 Marv Montgomery T 76 Don Morrison T 71 Kurt Schumacher G 65 Robert Woods T 79 Emanuel Zanders G Defensive linemen (DL) 73 Joe Campbell DE 72 Mike Fultz DT 78 Elois Grooms DE 74 Derland Moore DT 82 Bob Pollard DE 75 Elex Price DT		Linebackers (LB) 50 Ken Bordelon 58 Joe Federspiel 54 Pat Hughes 53 Rick Kingrea 57 Jim Merlo 60 Greg Westbrooks Defensive backs (DB) 25 Wade Bosarge S 23 Craig Cassady CB 24 Clarence Chapman CB 44 Chuck Crist SS 30 Ernie Jackson CB 40 Jim Marsalis CB 37 Tom Myers FS Special teams 16 Tom Blanchard P 15 Rich Szaro K				Reserve 80 Larry Burton WR (IR) -- Dave Knowles T (IR) 83 Tinker Owens WR (IR) 88 Joel Parker WR (IR) 26 Jimmy Stewart SS (IR) 67 John Watson T (IR) -- Bob Watts LB (IR) 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

TV Network: CBS
Announcers: Gary Bender, Johnny Unitas

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
view talk edit	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

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

References

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

[2] Never played a game with the Saints, but played in the Pro Bowl in 1982 with the Dallas Cowboys.

[1] 1977 New Orleans Saints

[3] "1977 New Orleans Saints draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 10, 2014.

[4] "All-Time Roster". NewOrleansSaints.com. Archived from the original on June 18, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2014.

[5] Ferraro, Michael X.; Veneziano, John (2007). Numbelievable!. Chicago: Triumph Books. p. 111. ISBN 978-1-57243-990-0.

[bucswin19771212-6] Martz, Ron (December 12, 1977). "BUCS WIN: Saints historic victims 33-14". St. Petersburg Times. pp. 1C, 6C. Retrieved February 14, 2019.

[martzforget19771213-7] Martz, Ron (December 13, 1977). "Well, forget about encouraging words". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1C. Retrieved February 14, 2019.

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