1976 Miami Dolphins season

1976 Miami Dolphins season
Head coach	Don Shula
Home field	Orange Bowl
Results
Record	6–8
Division place	3rd AFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	4 QB Bob Griese G Bob Kuechenberg C Jim Langer PR/KR Nat Moore

The 1976 Miami Dolphins season was the team's 11th, and seventh as a member of the National Football League (NFL). The Dolphins failed to improve on their previous season's output of 10–4, winning only six games. One of these wins came over their new in-state rivals, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — who proceeded to lose all 14 games that year. The 6–8 finish marked the first losing record of head coach Don Shula's career.

The Dolphins would not have another losing season until the 1988 Season.

Offseason

1976 Expansion Draft

Main article: 1976 NFL expansion draft

Miami Dolphins selected during the Expansion Draft

Round	Overall	Name	Position	Expansion Team
0	0	Bruce Elia	Linebacker	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
0	0	Norm Evans	Offensive tackle	Seattle Seahawks
0	0	Doug Swift	Linebacker	Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL Draft

Main article: 1976 NFL draft

1976 Miami Dolphins draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	17	Larry Gordon	Linebacker	Arizona State
1	19	Kim Bokamper *	Defensive end	San Jose State
2	49	Loaird McCreary	Tight end	Tennessee State
3	80	Duriel Harris	Wide receiver	New Mexico State
4	98	Melvin Mitchell	Guard	Tennessee State
6	174	Gary Davis	Running back	Cal Poly-SLO
7	185	Joe Ingersoll	Guard	UNLV
7	200	John Owens	Defensive end	Tennessee State
8	230	Bob Simpson	Defensive end	Colorado
9	257	Norris Thomas	Defensive back	Southern Miss
10	281	Gary Fencik *	Safety	Yale
10	282	Don Testerman	Running back	Clemson
11	312	Dexter Pride	Running back	Minnesota
12	339	Randy Young	Tackle	Iowa State
12	342	Darryl Brandford	Defensive tackle	Northwestern
13	366	Bernie Head	Center	Tulsa
14	396	Bob Gissler	Linebacker	South Dakota State
15	423	Ron Holmes	Running back	Utah State
16	450	Mike Green	Punter	Ohio
17	480	Jeff Grantz	Quarterback	South Carolina
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Coaches / Staff

1976 Miami Dolphins 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 Offensive Backs – Carl Taseff Offensive Line/Running Game – John Sandusky

Defensive coaches Assistant Head Coach/Defense – Bill Arnsparger Defensive Line/Run Defense – Mike Scarry Linebackers/Pass Defense – Don Doll Defensive Backs – Tom Keane Special teams coaches Special Teams – Carl Taseff Punting – Tom Keane Strength and conditioning None - N/A

Roster

1976 Miami Dolphins roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 12 Bob Griese 15 Earl Morrall 10 Don Strock Running backs (RB) 31 Norm Bulaich FB 27 Gary Davis 35 Clayton Heath 32 Benny Malone 36 Don Nottingham FB 33 Stan Winfrey FB Wide receivers (WR) 26 Duriel Harris 82 Ike Hill 43 Mike Holmes 89 Nat Moore 82 Morris Owens 86 Freddie Solomon 81 Howard Twilley Tight ends (TE) 88 Jim Mandich 80 Loaird McCreary 87 Andre Tillman

Offensive linemen (OL) 71 Darryl Carlton T 78 Tom Drougas T 67 Bob Kuechenberg G 62 Jim Langer C 66 Larry Little G 68 Melvin Mitchell T 79 Wayne Moore T 64 Ed Newman G 65 Wally Pesuit G Defensive linemen (DL) 70 John "Tiny" Andrews DE 74 Randy Crowder DT 83 Vern Den Herder DE 72 Bob Heinz DT 60 Don Reese DT 84 Bill Stanfill DE

Linebackers (LB) 85 Nick Buoniconti 51 Rusty Chambers 51 Mike Dennery 50 Larry Gordon 53 Bob Matheson 51 Andy Selfridge 56 Steve Towle MLB Defensive backs (DB) 40 Dick Anderson S 49 Charlie Babb SS 46 Ted Bachman CB 48 Ken Ellis CB 25 Tim Foley CB 44 Barry Hill FS 45 Curtis Johnson CB 41 Jeris White CB Special teams 1 Garo Yepremian K 20 Larry Seiple P

Practice squad None - N/A Reserve 58 Kim Bokamper (IR) 57 Mike Kolen LB (IR) 55 Earnest Rhone LB (IR) Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 13	at Buffalo Bills	W 30–21	1–0	Rich Stadium	77,683
2	September 19	at New England Patriots	L 14–30	1–1	Schaefer Stadium	46,053
3	September 26	New York Jets	W 16–0	2–1	Miami Orange Bowl	49,754
4	October 3	Los Angeles Rams	L 28–31	2–2	Miami Orange Bowl	60,753
5	October 10	at Baltimore Colts	L 14–28	2–3	Memorial Stadium	58,832
6	October 17	Kansas City Chiefs	L 17–20 (OT)	2–4	Miami Orange Bowl	43,325
7	October 24	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 23–20	3–4	Tampa Stadium	61,437
8	October 31	New England Patriots	W 10–3	4–4	Miami Orange Bowl	52,863
9	November 7	at New York Jets	W 27–7	5–4	Shea Stadium	53,344
10	November 14	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 3–14	5–5	Three Rivers Stadium	48,945
11	November 22	Baltimore Colts	L 16–17	5–6	Miami Orange Bowl	62,104
12	November 28	at Cleveland Browns	L 13–17	5–7	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	74,715
13	December 5	Buffalo Bills	W 45–27	6–7	Miami Orange Bowl	43,475
14	December 11	Minnesota Vikings	L 7–29	6–8	Miami Orange Bowl	46,543

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Baltimore Colts(2)	11	3	0	.786	7–1	11–1	417	246	W1
New England Patriots(4)	11	3	0	.786	6–2	10–2	376	236	W6
Miami Dolphins	6	8	0	.429	5–3	6–6	263	264	L1
New York Jets	3	11	0	.214	2–6	3–9	169	383	L4
Buffalo Bills	2	12	0	.143	0–8	2–10	245	363	L10

External links

• 1976 Miami Dolphins at Pro-Football-Reference.com