1975 Miami Dolphins

1975 Miami Dolphins season
Head Coach	Don Shula
Home Field	Miami Orange Bowl
Results
Record	10–4–0
Place	2nd AFC East
Playoff Finish	did not qualify
Timeline
Previous Season	Next Season
1974	1976

The 1975 Miami Dolphins season was the team's 10th, and sixth in the National Football League.

Season summary

Although they tied for the division title at 10–4 with the Baltimore Colts, the Colts won the tiebreaker in 1975 with a sweep of both games. The sole wild card in the conference was Cincinnati at 11–3, so the Dolphins missed the playoffs for the first time since 1969.

The 1975 Dolphins were without running backs Larry Csonka and Jim Kiick and wide receiver Paul Warfield. They signed three-year contracts with the Memphis Southmen in March 1974 to play in the World Football League, beginning in 1975. The second-year league folded in the season's twelfth week, and the trio returned to the NFL in 1976 with other teams.

Offseason

NFL Draft

1975 Miami Dolphins draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	23	Darryl Carlton	Tackle	Tampa
2	36	Freddie Solomon	Wide receiver	Tampa
2	49	Stan Winfrey	Running back	Arkansas State
3	75	Gerald Hill	Linebacker	Houston
4	100	Bruce Elia	Linebacker	Ohio State
5	106	Morris Owens	Wide receiver	Arizona State
5	127	Barry Hill	Defensive back	Iowa State
6	143	Steve Towle	Linebacker	Kansas
7	179	Phillip Kent	Running back	Baylor
8	205	Barney Crawford	Defensive tackle	Harding
9	231	James Wilson	Guard	Clark Atlanta
10	239	Clyde Russell	Running back	Oklahoma
10	256	Joe Jackson	Tight end	Penn State
10	257	Joe Danelo	Kicker	Washington State
11	283	John Dilworth	Defensive back	Northwestern State
12	309	Joe Yancey	Tackle	Henderson State
13	334	Leonard Isabell	Wide receiver	Tulsa
14	338	James Lewis	Defensive back	Tennessee State
14	361	John Graham	Quarterback	Colorado State
15	387	Skip Johns	Running back	Carson–Newman
16	413	Vernon Smith	Center	Georgia
17	439	Dwaine Copeland	Running back	Middle Tennessee State
Made roster

Personnel

Coaches / Staff

1975 Miami Dolphins final staff
	Front Office President – Joe Robbie Vice President – Don Shula Director of Player Personnel – Bobby Beathard Head Coaches Head coach – Don Shula Offensive Coaches Offense/Receivers/Passing Game – Howard Schnellenberger Offense/Offensive Line/Run Offense – Monte Clark Offensive Backs – Carl Taseff			Defensive Coaches Defensive Line/Run Defense – Mike Scarry Linebackers/Pass Defense – Don Doll Defensive Backs – Tom Keane Special Teams Coaches Kickers – Carl Taseff Strength and Conditioning None - N/A

Roster

1975 Miami Dolphins roster
	Quarterbacks 12 Bob Griese 11 Jim Del Gaizo 15 Earl Morrall 10 Don Strock Running backs 22 Mercury Morris 36 Don Nottingham FB 31 Norm Bulaich FB 28 Hubert Ginn 32 Benny Malone 33 Stan Winfrey FB Wide receivers 89 Nat Moore 81 Howard Twilley 82 Morris Owens 86 Freddie Solomon 82 Cotton Speyrer Tight ends 87 Andre Tillman 88 Jim Mandich 80 Jim McFarland		Offensive linemen 79 Wayne Moore T 67 Bob Kuechenberg G 62 Jim Langer C 66 Larry Little G 73 Norm Evans T 71 Darryl Carlton T 78 Tom Drougas T 64 Ed Newman G Defensive linemen 83 Vern Den Herder DE 74 Randy Crowder DT 76 Don Reese DT 84 Bill Stanfill DE 70 John "Tiny" Andrews DE 75 Manny Fernandez DT		Linebackers 59 Doug Swift 57 Mike Kolen 53 Bob Matheson 51 Rodrigo Barnes 50 Bruce Elia 55 Earnest Rhone 56 Steve Towle Defensive backs 25 Tim Foley CB 45 Curtis Johnson CB 49 Charlie Babb SS 13 Jake Scott FS 44 Barry Hill S 41 Jeris White CB Special teams 1 Garo Yepremian K 20 Larry Seiple P		Reserve lists None - N/A Practice/Taxi Squad None - N/A Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Score	Record	Attendance
1	Sept. 22	Oakland Raiders	Loss	31-21	0–1	78,744
2	Sept. 28	at New England Patriots	Win-22	14	1–1	60,602
3	Oct. 5	at Green Bay Packers	Win	31-7	2–1	56,267
4	Oct. 12	Philadelphia Eagles	Win	24-16	3–1	60,127
5	Oct. 19	at New York Jets	Win	43-0	4–1	47,191
6	Oct. 26	at Buffalo Bills	Win	35-30	5–1	79,141
7	Nov. 2	at Chicago Bears	Win	46-13	6–1	57,455
8	Nov. 9	New York Jets	Win	27-7	7–1	72,896
9	Nov. 16	at Houston Oilers	Loss	20-19	7–2	48,892
10	Nov. 23	Baltimore Colts	Loss	33-17	7–3	61,986
11	Dec. 1	New England Patriots	Win	20-7	8–3	61,963
12	Dec. 7	Buffalo Bills	Win	31-21	9–3	78,701
13	Dec. 14	at Baltimore Colts	Loss	10-7	9–4	59,398
14	Dec. 20	Denver Broncos	Win	14-13	10–4	43,064

Standings

1975 AFC East standings
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
Baltimore Colts	10	4	0	.714	395	269
Miami Dolphins	10	4	0	.714	357	222
Buffalo Bills	8	6	0	.571	420	355
New York Jets	3	11	0	.214	258	433
New England Patriots	3	11	0	.214	258	358

External links

• 1975 Miami Dolphins season article at Wikipedia
• 1975 Miami Dolphins on Pro Football Reference
• 1975 Miami Dolphins on jt-sw.com