1997 New Orleans Saints

1997 New Orleans Saints season
Head Coach	Mike Ditka
Home Field	Louisiana Superdome
Results
Record	6–10
Place	4th NFC West
Playoff Finish	did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	T Willie Roaf
Timeline
Previous Season	Next Season
1996	1998

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.

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.

Personnel

Staff

1997 New Orleans Saints staff
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 Special Teams – Bobby April Strength and Conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Mike Woicik Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Jack Del Rio

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	August 31, 1997	at St. Louis Rams	L 38-24	64,575
2	September 7, 1997	San Diego Chargers	L 20-6	65,760
3	September 14, 1997	at San Francisco 49ers	L 33-7	61,838
4	September 21, 1997	Detroit Lions	W 35-17	50,016
5	September 28, 1997	at New York Giants	L 14-9	68,891
6	October 5, 1997	at Chicago Bears	W 20-17	58,865
7	October 12, 1997	Atlanta Falcons	L 23-17	65,619
8	October 19, 1997	Carolina Panthers	L 13-0	50,963
9	October 26, 1997	San Francisco 49ers	L 23-0	60,443
10	Bye
11	November 9, 1997	at Oakland Raiders	W 13-10	40,091
12	November 16, 1997	Seattle Seahawks	W 20-17	50,493
13	November 23, 1997	at Atlanta Falcons	L 20-3	48,620
14	November 30, 1997	at Carolina Panthers	W 16-13	57,957
15	December 7, 1997	St. Louis Rams	L 34-27	54,803
16	December 14, 1997	Arizona Cardinals	W 27-10	45,517
17	December 21, 1997	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 25-13	66,772

Standings

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

References

• Saints on Pro Football Reference
• Saints on jt-sw.com