| 1976 Philadelphia Eagles season | |
|---|---|
| Head Coach | Dick Vermeil |
| Home Field | Veterans Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 4–10 |
| Place | 4th NFC East |
| Playoff Finish | did not qualify |
| Timeline | |
| Previous Season | Next Season |
| 1975 | 1977 |
Off Season[]
After coaching #12 UCLA (8–2–1) in a win over #1 Ohio State (11–0) in the 1976 Rose Bowl by the score of 23–10, Dick Vermeil was offered the Head coaching job of the Philadelphia Eagles Vermiel's NFL head coaching career with the Philadelphia Eagles began before his first season. He decided to host open tryouts. Because of bad trades by past Eagles coaches, Vermeil did not have a 1st round draft pick until 1978, but Vermeil did big things with the talent he had inherited from previous coaches.
NFL Draft[]
The 1976 National Football League Draft was an annual player selection meeting held on April 8 – April 9, 1976. It lasted 17 rounds, with the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks making the first two selections. The expansion teams were also given a pair of extra picks at the end of each of rounds 2–5.
The Philadelphia Eagles would pick 9th in the 17 rounds. They still had to overcome the traded away draft picks of the Mike McCormack era.
The draft began with first overall pick of future Hall of Famer Lee Roy Selmon, Defensive End from Oklahoma, by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Eagles had to wait until the forth round and make a selection with the 111th pick.
Player Selections[]
The table [1] shows the Eagles selections and what picks they had that were traded away and the team that ended up with that pick. It is possible the Eagles' pick ended up with this team via another team that the Eagles made a trade with. Not shown are acquired picks that the Eagles traded away.
| = Pro Bowler [2] | = Hall of Famer |
| Rd | PICK | PLAYER | POS | COLLEGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Pick Traded to Cincinnati Bengels | ||
| 2 | 18 | Pick Traded to Cincinnati Bengels | ||
| 3 | 69 | Pick Traded to Cincinnati Bengals | ||
| 4a | 101 | Pick Traded to San Francisco 49ers | ||
| 4b | 111 | Mike Smith | DE | Florida |
| 4c | Pick Acquired from New England Patriots Pick Traded to Cleveland Browns | |||
| 5 | 135 | Greg Johnson | DT | Florida State |
| 6 | 165 | Kirk Johnson | T | Howard Payne |
| 7 | 191 | Carl Hairston | DE | Maryland-Eastern Shore |
| 8 | 216 | Richard LaFargue | C | Arkansas |
| 9a | 247 | Mike Hogan Pick Acquired from Chicago Bears |
RB | Tennessee-Chattanooga |
| 9b | 248 | Richard Osborne | TE | Texas A & M |
| 10 | 273 | Herb Lusk | RB | Long Beach State |
| 11 | 300 | Mike Gilbert | DT | San Diego State |
| 12 | 228 | Pick Traded to New York Jets | ||
| 13a | 353 | Terry Tautolo Pick Acquired from New york Jets |
LB | UCLA |
| 13b | 358 | Steve Ebbecke | DB | Villanova |
| 14 | 385 | Melvin Shy | DB | Tennessee State |
| 15 | 412 | Brett White | Punter | UCLA |
| 16 | 439 | Steve Campassi | RB | Kentucky |
| 17 | 470 | Anthony Terry | DB | California-Davis |
Regular season[]
Vincent Papale[]
Vincent Papale, at 6-feet 2-inches (1.88 m) and 195 pounds (88.5 kg), was a long shot to make the Eagles roster. At age 30, Papale became the oldest rookie in the history of the NFL to play without the benefit of college football experience (other than kickers). He went on to play wide receiver and special teams for the Eagles.
Papale, earned the nickname "Rocky" (after the 1976 Sylvester Stallone movie and character) while playing with the Eagles, is the subject of the Disney movie Invincible, starring Mark Wahlberg.
Schedule[]
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 12, 1976 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 27–7 | |
| 2 | September 19, 1976 | New York Giants | W 20–7 | |
| 3 | September 27, 1976 | Washington Redskins | L 20–17 | |
| 4 | October 3, 1976 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 14–13 | |
| 5 | October 10, 1976 | St. Louis Cardinals | L 33–14 | |
| 6 | October 17, 1976 | at Green Bay Packers | L 28–13 | |
| 7 | October 24, 1976 | Minnesota Vikings | L 31–12 | |
| 8 | October 31, 1976 | at New York Giants | W 10–0 | |
| 9 | November 7, 1976 | St. Louis Cardinals | L 17–14 | |
| 10 | November 14, 1976 | at Cleveland Browns | L 24–3 | |
| 11 | November 21, 1976 | Oakland Raiders | L 26–7 | |
| 12 | November 28, 1976 | at Washington Redskins | L 24–0 | |
| 13 | December 5, 1976 | Dallas Cowboys | L 26–7 | |
| 14 | December 12, 1976 | Seattle Seahawks | W 27–10 |
Standings[]
| NFC East | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |
| Dallas Cowboys | 11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | 296 | 194 | L-1 |
| Washington Redskins | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 291 | 217 | W-4 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 309 | 267 | W-2 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 165 | 286 | W-1 |
| New York Giants | 3 | 11 | 0 | .214 | 170 | 250 | L-1 |
Roster[]
Awards and honors[]
References[]
- ↑ http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/pdf/Y_B_Y_DRAFT_06.pdf
- ↑ Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.