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1975 New Orleans Saints season

{{short description|NFL team season}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}

{{Infobox NFL team season

| team = New Orleans Saints

| year = 1975

| record = 2–12

| division_place = 4th NFC West

| coach = John North
Ernie Hefferle {{small|(interim)}}

| stadium = Louisiana Superdome

| playoffs = Did not qualify

| pro bowlers = None

| shortnavlink = Saints seasons

}}

The 1975 New Orleans Saints season was the Saints ninth season and their first in the newly opened Louisiana Superdome. Despite the new stadium, they failed to match their 1974 output of 5–9, winning only two games and tying the San Diego Chargers for the league’s worst record.

Coach John North, who was hired four games into the 1973 exhibition season, was fired following a 38–14 road loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the sixth game. Director of Player Personnel Ernie Hefferle took over for the final eight games. His only win was his first game in charge, a 23–7 victory at home over the hated Atlanta Falcons.

The Saints were winless on the road for the fourth time in six seasons, leaving them 3–36–3 away from New Orleans since 1970.

The Saints wore white pants for the first time after wearing old gold pants for their first eight seasons. After 1975, New Orleans did not wear white jerseys and white pants again until introducing their Color Rush set in 2016.

Offseason

= NFL draft =

{{main|1975 NFL draft}}

{{NFL team draft start

| year = 1975

| teamname = New Orleans Saints

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 1

| pick = 7

| player = Larry Burton

| position = Wide receiver

| college = Purdue

| notes =

| maderoster = yes

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 1

| pick = 12

| player = Kurt Schumacher

| position = Guard

| college = Ohio State

| notes =

| maderoster = yes

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 2

| pick = 32

| player = Lee Gross

| position = Center

| college = Auburn

| notes =

| maderoster = yes

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 3

| pick = 60

| player = Andrew Jones

| position = Running back

| college = Washington State

| notes =

| maderoster = yes

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 3

| pick = 63

| player = Elois Grooms

| position = Defensive end

| college = Tennessee Tech

| notes =

| maderoster = yes

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 4

| pick = 92

| player = John Starkebaum

| position = Defensive back

| college = Nebraska

| notes =

| maderoster = no

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 4

| pick = 99

| player = Charlie Hall

| position = Defensive end

| college = Tulane

| notes =

| maderoster = no

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 6

| pick = 149

| player = Mike Lemon

| position = Linebacker

| college = Kansas

| notes =

| maderoster = no

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 7

| pick = 163

| player = Steve Rogers

| position = Running back

| college = Louisiana State

| notes =

| maderoster = no

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 9

| pick = 216

| player = Mike Strachan

| position = Running back

| college = Iowa State

| notes =

| maderoster = yes

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 10

| pick = 243

| player = Chuck Heater

| position = Running back

| college = Michigan

| notes =

| maderoster = no

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 11

| pick = 266

| player = Danny Lee

| position = Punter

| college = N.E. Louisiana

| notes =

| maderoster = no

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 12

| pick = 294

| player = Ron Gustafson

| position = Wide receiver

| college = North Dakota

| notes =

| maderoster = no

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 13

| pick = 319

| player = Jim Upchurch

| position = Punter

| college = Arizona

| notes =

| maderoster = no

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 14

| pick = 344

| player = Randy Rhino

| position = Defensive back

| college = Georgia Tech

| notes =

| maderoster = no

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 15

| pick = 372

| player = Grant Burget

| position = Running back

| college = Oklahoma

| notes =

| maderoster = no

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 16

| pick = 397

| player = Mike McDonald

| position = Linebacker

| college = Catawba

| notes =

| maderoster = no

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 17

| pick = 422

| player = Greg Westbrooks

| position = Linebacker

| college = Colorado

| notes =

| maderoster = yes

}}

{{NFL team draft end

| probowl = no

| hof = no

}}

{{cite web |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/nor/1975_draft.htm |title=1975 New Orleans Saints draftees |work=Pro-Football-Reference.com |accessdate=November 10, 2014 }}

Personnel

= Staff =

{{NFL final staff

| year = 1975

| team = New Orleans Saints

| front_office =

  • President – John W. Mecom, Jr.
  • Executive Vice President – Richard F. Gordon, Jr.
  • Vice President of Administration – Harry Hulmes
  • Business Manager and Treasurer – Eddie Jones

| head_coach =

| offensive =

  • Quarterbacks – Lamar McHan
  • Offensive Backs – Bob Ledbetter
  • Receivers – Jim Phillips
  • Offensive Line – Wimp Hewgley

| defensive =

| special_teams =

}}

{{cite web |title=All-Time Roster |url=http://www.neworleanssaints.com/team/history/all-time-roster.html |work=NewOrleansSaints.com |accessdate=November 4, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120618110940/http://www.neworleanssaints.com/team/history/all-time-roster.html |archive-date=2012-06-18 |url-status=dead }}

= Roster =

{{NFL season roster

| year = 1975

| team = New Orleans Saints

| quarterbacks =

{{NFLplayer|13|Larry Cipa}}

{{NFLplayer|8|Archie Manning}}

{{NFLplayer|12|Bobby Scott|d=American football}}

| running_backs =

{{NFLplayer|36|Andrew Jones|d=American football|rookie=y}}

{{NFLplayer|36|Morris LaGrand|rookie=y}}

{{NFLplayer|28|Alvin Maxson}}

{{NFLplayer|27|Rod McNeill}}

{{NFLplayer|33|Mike Strachan|d=running back|rookie=y}}

| wide_receivers =

{{NFLplayer|80|Larry Burton|rookie=y}}

{{NFLplayer|89|Gil Chapman|rookie=y}}

{{NFLplayer|83|Andy Hamilton|d=American football}}

{{NFLplayer|87|Don Herrmann}}

{{NFLplayer|88|Joel Parker|d=American football}}

| tight_ends =

{{NFLplayer|85|Henry Childs}}

{{NFLplayer|84|Paul Seal}}

| offensive_linemen =

{{NFLplayer|79|Emanuel Zanders|G}}

{{NFLplayer|51|Sylvester Croom|rookie=y|C}}

{{NFLplayer|62|John Hill|d=American football|C}}

{{NFLplayer|50|Jake Kupp|G}}

{{NFLplayer|67|Phil LaPorta|T}}

{{NFLplayer|76|Don Morrison|d=American football|T}}

{{NFLplayer|71|Kurt Schumacher|d=American football|rookie=y|G}}

{{NFLplayer|65|Dave Thompson|d=American football|T}}

| defensive_linemen =

{{NFLplayer|63|Steve Baumgartner|DE}}

{{NFLplayer|69|Andy Dorris|DE}}

{{NFLplayer|78|Elois Grooms|rookie=y|DE}}

{{NFLplayer|74|Derland Moore|DT}}

{{NFLplayer|82|Bob Pollard|DE}}

{{NFLplayer|75|Elex Price|DT}}

| linebackers =

{{NFLplayer|55|Don Coleman|d=linebacker}}

{{NFLplayer|58|Joe Federspiel}}

{{NFLplayer|53|Rick Kingrea}}

{{NFLplayer|57|Jim Merlo}}

{{NFLplayer|54|Rick Middleton|d=American football}}

{{NFLplayer|60|Greg Westbrooks|rookie=y}}

| defensive_back =

{{NFLplayer|44|Chuck Crist|SS}}

{{NFLplayer|24|Johnny Fuller|SS}}

{{NFLplayer|30|Ernie Jackson|CB}}

{{NFLplayer|11|Bivian Lee|CB}}

{{NFLplayer|37|Tom Myers|d=safety|FS}}

{{NFLplayer|44|Terry Schmidt|CB}}

{{NFLplayer|29|Mo Spencer|CB}}

| special_teams =

{{NFLplayer|16|Tom Blanchard|P}}

{{NFLplayer|15|Rich Szaro|K}}

| reserve_lists =

{{NFLplayer|86|Dave Davis|d=American football|WR|IR}}

{{NFLplayer|56|Lee Gross|rookie=y|C|IR}}

{{NFLplayer|--|John Starkebaum|rookie=y|DB|IR}}

| practice_squad =

}}

Regular season

= Schedule =

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|New Orleans Saints|year=1975|border=2}}"| Week

!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|New Orleans Saints|year=1975|border=2}}"| Date

!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|New Orleans Saints|year=1975|border=2}}"| Opponent

!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|New Orleans Saints|year=1975|border=2}}"| Result

!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|New Orleans Saints|year=1975|border=2}}"| Record

!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|New Orleans Saints|year=1975|border=2}}"| Venue

!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|New Orleans Saints|year=1975|border=2}}"| Attendance

style="background:#fcc"

! 1

| September 21

| at Washington Redskins

| L 3–41

| 0–1

| RFK Stadium

| 54,414

style="background:#fcc"

! 2

| September 28

| Cincinnati Bengals

| L 0–21

| 0–2

| Louisiana Superdome

| 52,531

style="background:#fcc"

! 3

| October 5

| at Atlanta Falcons

| L 7–14

| 0–3

| Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium

| 29,444

style="background:#cfc"

! 4

| October 12

| Green Bay Packers

| W 20–19

| 1–3

| Louisiana Superdome

| 51,371

style="background:#fcc"

! 5

| October 19

| at San Francisco 49ers

| L 21–35

| 1–4

| Candlestick Park

| 39,990

style="background:#fcc"

! 6

| October 26

| at Los Angeles Rams

| L 14–38

| 1–5

| Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

| 54,723

style="background:#cfc"

! 7

| November 2

| Atlanta Falcons

| W 23–7

| 2–5

| Louisiana Superdome

| 49,342

style="background:#fcc"

! 8

| November 9

| at Oakland Raiders

| L 10–48

| 2–6

| Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum

| 51,267

style="background:#fcc"

! 9

| November 16

| Minnesota Vikings

| L 7–20

| 2–7

| Louisiana Superdome

| 52,765

style="background:#fcc"

! 10

| November 23

| San Francisco 49ers

| L 6–16

| 2–8

| Louisiana Superdome

| 40,328

style="background:#fcc"

! 11

| November 30

| at Cleveland Browns

| L 16–17

| 2–9

| Cleveland Municipal Stadium

| 44,753

style="background:#fcc"

! 12

| December 7

| Los Angeles Rams

| L 7–14

| 2–10

| Louisiana Superdome

| 39,958

style="background:#fcc"

! 13

| December 14

| at New York Giants

| L 14–28

| 2–11

| Shea Stadium

| 40,150

style="background:#fcc"

! 14

| December 21

| Chicago Bears

| L 17–42

| 2–12

| Louisiana Superdome

| 33,371

style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|New Orleans Saints|year=1975|border=2}}"

|colspan="7"| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

= Standings =

{{1975 NFC West standings}}

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

{{New Orleans Saints}}

{{New Orleans Saints seasons}}

{{1975 NFL season by team}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1975 New Orleans Saints season}}

New Orleans Saints

Category:New Orleans Saints seasons

New Orl

Category:1970s in New Orleans