1997 New Orleans Saints season

The 1997 New Orleans Saints season was the franchise’s 31st season in the National Football League (NFL), 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.

1997 New Orleans Saints season
Head coach	Mike Ditka
Offensive coordinator	Danny Abramowicz
Defensive coordinator	Zaven Yaralian
Home stadium	Louisiana Superdome
Results
Record	6–10
Division place	4th NFC West
Playoffs	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	T Willie Roaf
← 1996 Saints seasons 1998 →

This was the Saints’ first season with Mike Ditka as head coach. New Orleans hired the former Chicago Bears head coach after Ditka had spent the previous four seasons as a studio analyst for NBC Sports.

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

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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

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Roster

1997 New Orleans Saints roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 12 Billy Joe Hobert 13 Doug Nussmeier  7 Danny Wuerffel Running backs (RB) 24 Mario Bates 40 Wes Bender 28 Troy Davis 44 Fred McCrary FB 34 Ray Zellars FB Wide receivers (WR) 84 Eric Guliford 80 Alvin Harper 88 Andre Hastings 81 Randal Hill 83 Keith Poole 86 Gunnard Twyner Tight ends (TE) 87 John Farquhar 85 Nicky Savoie 82 Irv Smith

Offensive linemen (OL) 69 Tom Ackerman C/G 73 Isaac Davis G 62 Jerry Fontenot C 76 Keno Hills G/T 72 Trezelle Jenkins T 74 Clarence Jones T 67 Andy McCollum G 77 Willie Roaf T 71 Ricky Siglar T 66 Mike Verstegen G Defensive linemen (DL) 97 La'Roi Glover DT 94 Joe Johnson DE 93 Wayne Martin DT 92 Darren Mickell DE 95 Austin Robbins DT 99 Pio Sagapolutele DT 91 Brady Smith DE 90 Jared Tomich DE

Linebackers (LB) 50 Ink Aleaga OLB 51 Derrick Barnes MLB 56 Ernest Dixon MLB 55 Mark Fields OLB 59 Keith Mitchell OLB 54 Winfred Tubbs MLB Defensive backs (DB) 21 Eric Allen CB 30 Je'Rod Cherry CB/FS 38 Donovan Greer CB 23 Chris Hewitt SS 33 Rob Kelly SS 29 Sammy Knight FS 25 Alex Molden CB 30 Anthony Newman FS 26 Mickey Washington CB Special teams (ST) 10 Doug Brien K 60 Kendall Gammon LS  3 Mark Royals P

Practice squad 63 Duane Ashman DE 27 Anthony Cobbs CB  9 Jake Delhomme QB 46 Earl Little S Reserve 89 Brett Bech WR (IR) 20 Derek Brown RB (IR) 53 Don Davis LB (IR) 96 Luke Fickell DT (IR) 52 Richard Harvey LB (IR) 64 Mike Jerich T (PUP) 58 Brian Jones LB (IR) 45 Ron Leshinski TE (Military Reserve) 65 Chris Naeole G (IR)  5 Heath Shuler QB (IR) 53 active, 10 inactive, 4 practice squad Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	August 31	at St. Louis Rams	L 24–38	0–1	TWA Dome	64,575
2	September 7	San Diego Chargers	L 6–20	0–2	Louisiana Superdome	65,760
3	September 14	at San Francisco 49ers	L 7–33	0–3	3Com Park	61,838
4	September 21	Detroit Lions	W 35–17	1–3	Louisiana Superdome	50,016
5	September 28	at New York Giants	L 9–14	1–4	Giants Stadium	68,891
6	October 5	at Chicago Bears	W 20–17	2–4	Soldier Field	58,865
7	October 12	Atlanta Falcons	L 17–23	2–5	Louisiana Superdome	65,619
8	October 19	Carolina Panthers	L 0–13	2–6	Louisiana Superdome	50,963
9	October 26	San Francisco 49ers	L 0–23	2–7	Louisiana Superdome	60,443
10	Bye
11	November 9	at Oakland Raiders	W 13–10	3–7	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	40,091
12	November 16	Seattle Seahawks	W 20–17 (OT)	4–7	Louisiana Superdome	50,493
13	November 23	at Atlanta Falcons	L 3–20	4–8	Georgia Dome	48,620
14	November 30	at Carolina Panthers	W 16–13	5–8	Ericcson Stadium	57,957
15	December 7	St. Louis Rams	L 27–34	5–9	Louisiana Superdome	54,803
16	December 14	Arizona Cardinals	W 27–10	6–9	Louisiana Superdome	45,517
17	December 21	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 25–13	6–10	Arrowhead Stadium	66,772
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFC West
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
(1) San Francisco 49ers	13	3	0	.813	375	265	L1
Carolina Panthers	7	9	0	.438	265	314	L2
Atlanta Falcons	7	9	0	.438	320	361	L1
New Orleans Saints	6	10	0	.375	237	327	L1
St. Louis Rams	5	11	0	.313	299	359	W1