1985 New Orleans Saints season

1985 New Orleans Saints season
1985 New Orleans Saints season
Owner	Tom Benson
General manager	Bum Phillips
Head coach	Bum Phillips (weeks 1–12); Wade Phillips (interim, weeks 13–16)
Home field	Louisiana Superdome
Results
Record	5–11
Division place	3rd NFC West
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	LB Rickey Jackson; K Morten Andersen
	← 1984; Saints seasons; 1986 →;

The 1985 New Orleans Saints season was the Saints 19th season.

The offseason began with rampant rumors the franchise was on its way out of town. Original owner John W. Mecom Jr. was anxious to sell the team, and he threatened to move to Jacksonville, Florida if no suitable owner could be found.

In May, local car magnate Tom Benson stepped up and pledged to meet Mecom's asking price of $70 million. Mecom and Benson sat down with Louisiana governor Edwin W. Edwards and hammered out a deal, which was finalized May 31. Prior to the sale to Benson, businessman Abram Nicholas Pritzker attempted to purchase the team, but he could not meet Mecom's asking price, and Edwards was unable to secure a loan from the Louisiana Legislature to assist Pritzker.

Benson moved training camp from Vero Beach, Florida to Louisiana Tech University in Ruston. The team quickly brought in local legend and United States Football League standout Bobby Hebert to compete with Richard Todd and Dave Wilson for the starting quarterback position. Hebert won the position late in the season and started the final five games.

Coach Bum Phillips offered to resign when Benson completed his purchase, but Benson declined the offer. The season got off to a disastrous start, as the Saints were routed 47–27 at home by the Kansas City Chiefs, and an angry woman poured a cup of beer on Phillips as he exited the field. The Saints won three consecutive games following a week two loss at Denver, but the season quickly turned sour, thanks to a six-game losing streak that dropped the club to 3–8.

One day after winning at Minnesota to end the skid, Phillips resigned. His son, defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, took over as interim coach for the final four games. The Saints won their first game under the younger Phillips, routing the eventual NFC West champion Los Angeles Rams 29–3, but losses to the Cardinals, 49ers and Falcons ended the year on another glum note.

The Saints finished with a non-winning record for the nineteenth time in as many seasons, going 5–11. Benson promised big changes following the campaign, which he delivered upon.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1985 New Orleans Saints draft
1	24	Alvin Toles	Linebacker	Tennessee
2	38	Daren Gilbert	Offensive tackle	Cal State Fullerton
3	68	Jack Del Rio *	Linebacker	USC
4	95	Billy Allen	Defensive back	Florida State
7	179	Eric Martin *	Wide receiver	LSU
8	206	Joe Kohlbrand	Linebacker	Miami (FL)
9	236	Earl Johnson	Defensive back	South Carolina
12	320	Treg Songy	Defensive back	Tulane
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

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Personnel

Staff

**1985 New Orleans Saints staff**
	Front office Owner – Tom Benson President – Eddie Jones Director of football operations – Pat Peppler Head coaches Head coach/general manager – Bum Phillips Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – King Hill Offensive backfield – John Levra Wide receivers – Harold Richardson Offensive line – Carl Mauck Quality control – Joe Spencer			Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Wade Phillips Defensive line – Willie Zapalac Linebackers – John Paul Young Defensive backfield – Mark Hatley Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Russell Paternostro

Roster

**1985 New Orleans Saints roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 3 Bobby Hebert 19 Guido Merkens 11 Richard Todd 18 Dave Wilson Running backs (RB) 22 Tyrone Anthony 35 Earl Campbell 43 Bobby Fowler 46 Hokie Gajan 30 Wayne Wilson Wide receivers (WR) 88 Eugene Goodlow 86 Jeff Groth 84 Eric Martin 83 Carl Roaches 80 Lindsay Scott Tight ends (TE) 85 Hoby Brenner 87 Larry Hardy 82 John Tice		Offensive linemen (OL) 67 Stan Brock T 68 Kelvin Clark G 63 Brad Edelman G 77 Daren Gilbert T 61 Joel Hilgenberg C/G 60 Steve Korte C/G 64 Dave Lafary T 71 Petey Perot G 70 Jim Rourke G 79 Ralph Williams T Defensive linemen (DL) 75 Bruce Clark DE 99 Tony Elliott NT 97 Jumpy Geathers DE 74 Derland Moore NT 73 Frank Warren DE 94 Jim Wilks DE		Linebackers (LB) 50 Jack Del Rio ILB 92 James Haynes 57 Rickey Jackson OLB 55 Joe Kohlbrand ILB 52 Jim Kovach 51 Whitney Paul 53 Scott Pelluer 58 Glen Redd 54 Alvin Toles 56 Dennis Winston Defensive backs (DB) 20 Russell Gary SS 24 Terry Hoage FS 39 Brett Maxie SS 25 Johnnie Poe CB 47 David Rackley CB 26 Willie Tullis CB 49 Frank Wattelet FS 44 Dave Waymer CB Special teams 7 Morten Andersen K 10 Brian Hansen P				Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

A ticket for a September 15, 1985 game between the Saints and the Denver Broncos.

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 8	Kansas City Chiefs	L 27–47	0–1	Louisiana Superdome	57,760
2	September 15	at Denver Broncos	L 23–34	0–2	Mile High Stadium	74,488
3	September 22	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 20–13	1–2	Louisiana Superdome	45,320
4	September 29	at San Francisco 49ers	W 20–17	2–2	Candlestick Park	58,053
5	October 6	Philadelphia Eagles	W 23–21	3–2	Louisiana Superdome	56,364
6	October 13	at Los Angeles Raiders	L 13–23	3–3	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	48,152
7	October 20	at Atlanta Falcons	L 24–31	3–4	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	44,784
8	October 27	New York Giants	L 13–21	3–5	Louisiana Superdome	54,082
9	November 3	at Los Angeles Rams	L 10–28	3–6	Anaheim Stadium	49,030
10	November 10	Seattle Seahawks	L 3–27	3–7	Louisiana Superdome	47,365
11	November 17	at Green Bay Packers	L 14–38	3–8	Milwaukee County Stadium	52,104
12	November 24	at Minnesota Vikings	W 30–23	4–8	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	54,117
13	December 1	Los Angeles Rams	W 29–3	5–8	Louisiana Superdome	44,122
14	December 8	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 16–28	5–9	Busch Memorial Stadium	29,527
15	December 15	San Francisco 49ers	L 19–31	5–10	Louisiana Superdome	46,065
16	December 22	Atlanta Falcons	L 10–16	5–11	Louisiana Superdome	37,717
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 8

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Giants	0	7	0	14	21
Saints	3	0	0	10	13

Date: October 27
Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Game start: 3:00 p.m.
Game weather: Indoors (dome)
Referee: Bob Frederic
TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall John Madden

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Week 12

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Saints	14	6	3	7	30
Vikings	7	3	3	10	23

Date: November 24
Location: Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, MN
Game start: 1:00 p.m.
Game weather: Indoors (dome)
Referee: Fred Silva
TV announcers (CBS): Dick Stockton and Wayne Walker

Earl Campbell 35 Rush, 160 Yds

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Week 15

	1	2	3	4	Total
• 49ers	0	7	10	14	31
Saints	0	9	7	3	19

Date: December 15
Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA
Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 46,065
Game weather: Indoors (dome)
Referee: Ben Dreith

Joe Montana 25/38, 354 Yds

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Standings

NFC West
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Los Angeles Rams⁽²⁾	11	5	0	.688	3–3	8–4	340	277	L1
San Francisco 49ers⁽⁵⁾	10	6	0	.625	4–2	7–5	411	263	W2
New Orleans Saints	5	11	0	.313	2–4	5–7	294	401	L3
Atlanta Falcons	4	12	0	.250	3–3	4–8	282	452	W2

Notable events

On opening day, quarterback Dave Wilson set the unwanted record of completing only two of twenty-two passes: the lowest pass completion percent in an NFL game for any quarterback with a double figure total of attempts.

References

^ "1985 New Orleans Saints draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Nov-09.
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Dec-18.

External links

1985 New Orleans Saints at Pro-Football-Reference.com

[1] "1985 New Orleans Saints draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 5, 2014.

[2] Pro-Football-Reference.com

[3] Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Nov-09.

[4] Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Dec-18.

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