| 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 stadium | Louisiana Superdome |
| Results | |
| Record | 5–11 |
| Division place | 3rdNFC West |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | LBRickey Jackson KMorten Andersen |
The1985 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 ownerJohn W. Mecom Jr. was anxious to sell the team, and he threatened to move toJacksonville, Florida if no suitable owner could be found.
In May, local car magnateTom Benson stepped up and pledged to meet Mecom's asking price of $70 million. Mecom and Benson sat down withLouisiana governorEdwin W. Edwards and hammered out a deal, which was finalized May 31. Prior to the sale to Benson, businessmanAbram 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 theLouisiana Legislature to assist Pritzker.
Benson moved training camp fromVero Beach, Florida toLouisiana Tech University inRuston. The team quickly brought in local legend andUnited States Football League standoutBobby Hebert to compete withRichard Todd andDave Wilson for the starting quarterback position. Hebert won the position late in the season and started the final five games.
CoachBum 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 theKansas 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 atDenver, but the season quickly turned sour, thanks to a six-game losing streak that dropped the club to 3–8.
One day after winning atMinnesota to end the skid, Phillips resigned. His son, defensive coordinatorWade 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 championLos 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.
| 1985 New Orleans Saints draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 onePro Bowl during career | |||||
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
.jpg)
| 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 | atDenver 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 | atSan 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 | atLos Angeles Raiders | L 13–23 | 3–3 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 48,152 |
| 7 | October 20 | atAtlanta 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 | atLos 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 | atGreen Bay Packers | L 14–38 | 3–8 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 52,104 |
| 12 | November 24 | atMinnesota 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 | atSt. 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 inbold text. | ||||||
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Giants | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
| Saints | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 13 |
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Saints | 14 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 30 |
| Vikings | 7 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 23 |
| Q1 | NO | Wilson 41 yard run (Andersen kick) | NO 7–0 | |
| Q1 | MIN | Anderson 54 yard pass fromKramer (Stenerud kick) | Tie 7–7 | |
| Q1 | NO | Campbell 4 yard run (Andersen kick) | NO 14–7 | |
| Q2 | NO | Andersen 26 yard field goal | NO 17–7 | |
| Q2 | NO | Andersen 47 yard field goal | NO 20–7 | |
| Q2 | MIN | Stenerud 22 yard field goal | NO 20–10 | |
| Q3 | NO | Andersen 45 yard field goal | NO 23–10 | |
| Q3 | MIN | Stenerud 22 yard field goal | NO 23–13 | |
| Q4 | MIN | Stenerud 37 yard field goal | NO 23–16 | |
| Q4 | MIN | Jones 6 yard pass from Kramer (Stenerud kick) | Tie 23–23 | |
| Q4 | NO | Tice 39 yard pass fromHebert (Andersen kick) | NO 30–23 | |
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • 49ers | 0 | 7 | 10 | 14 | 31 |
| Saints | 0 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 19 |
| Q2 | SF | Clark 26 yard pass fromMontana (Wersching kick) | SF 7–0 | |
| Q2 | NO | Andersen 46 yard field goal | SF 7–3 | |
| Q2 | NO | Warren 42 yard blocked field goal return (kick failed) | NO 9–7 | |
| Q3 | SF | Wilson 52 yard pass from Montana (Wersching kick) | SF 14–9 | |
| Q3 | NO | Goodlow 76 yard pass fromHebert (Andersen kick) | NO 16–14 | |
| Q3 | SF | Wersching 24 yard field goal | SF 17–16 | |
| Q4 | NO | Andersen 41 yard field goal | NO 19–17 | |
| Q4 | SF | Francis 17 yard pass from Montana (Wersching kick) | SF 24–19 | |
| Q4 | SF | Craig 15 yard run (Wersching kick) | SF 31–19 | |
| NFC West | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
On opening day, quarterbackDave 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.
