1975 Miami Dolphins season

1975 Miami Dolphins season
Owner	Joe Robbie
Head coach	Don Shula
Home stadium	Orange Bowl
Results
Record	10–4
Division place	2nd AFC East
Playoffs	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	3 C Jim Langer FS Jake Scott G Bob Kuechenberg
←  1974 Dolphins seasons 1976  →

The 1975 Miami Dolphins season was the franchise's tenth season in existence, and its sixth in the National Football League (NFL) since the AFL-NFL merger.

Season summary

Although Miami tied for the AFC Eastern division title at 10–4 with the Baltimore Colts, the Colts won the divisional tiebreaker in 1975 with a sweep of both inter-division matchups, beating Miami 33–17 in week 10 and 10–7 in week 13. The sole wild card in the conference was Cincinnati at 11–3, so the Dolphins missed the playoffs for the first time since the merger.

The 1975 Dolphins were without running backs Larry Csonka and Jim Kiick and wide receiver Paul Warfield, who each signed three-year contracts with the Memphis Southmen in March 1974 to play in the World Football League, beginning in 1975. ^[1] The second-year league folded in the season's twelfth week, and the trio returned to the NFL in 1976 with other teams.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1975 NFL draft

1975 Miami Dolphins draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	23	Darryl Carlton	Tackle	Tampa
2	36	Freddie Solomon	Wide receiver	Tampa
2	49	Stan Winfrey	Running back	Arkansas State
3	75	Gerald Hill	Linebacker	Houston
4	100	Bruce Elia	Linebacker	Ohio State
5	106	Morris Owens	Wide receiver	Arizona State
5	127	Barry Hill	Defensive back	Iowa State
6	143	Steve Towle	Linebacker	Kansas
7	179	Phillip Kent	Running back	Baylor
8	205	Barney Crawford	Defensive tackle	Harding
9	231	James Wilson	Guard	Clark Atlanta
10	239	Clyde Russell	Running back	Oklahoma
10	256	Joe Jackson	Tight end	Penn State
10	257	Joe Danelo	Kicker	Washington State
11	283	John Dilworth	Defensive back	Northwestern State
12	309	Joe Yancey	Tackle	Henderson State
13	334	Leonard Isabell	Wide receiver	Tulsa
14	338	James Lewis	Defensive back	Tennessee State
14	361	John Graham	Quarterback	Colorado State
15	387	Skip Johns	Running back	Carson–Newman
16	413	Vernon Smith	Center	Georgia
17	439	Dwaine Copeland	Running back	Middle Tennessee State
Made roster

^[2]

Personnel

Coaches / Staff

1975 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 Offense/Offensive Line/Run Offense – Monte Clark Offensive Backs – Carl Taseff

Defensive coaches Defensive Line/Run Defense – Mike Scarry Linebackers/Pass Defense – Don Doll Defensive Backs – Tom Keane Special teams coaches Kickers – Carl Taseff

Roster

1975 Miami Dolphins roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 11 Jim Del Gaizo 15 Earl Morrall 10 Don Strock Running backs (RB) 31 Norm Bulaich 28 Hubert Ginn 32 Benny Malone 22 Mercury Morris 36 Don Nottingham 33 Stan Winfrey Wide receivers (WR) 89 Nat Moore 86 Freddie Solomon 82 Cotton Speyrer 81 Howard Twilley Tight ends (TE) 88 Jim Mandich 87 Andre Tillman

Offensive linemen (OL) 71 Darryl Carlton T 78 Tom Drougas T 73 Norm Evans T 67 Bob Kuechenberg G 62 Jim Langer C 66 Larry Little G 79 Wayne Moore T 64 Ed Newman G Defensive linemen (DL) 70 John Andrews DT/DE 74 Randy Crowder DT 83 Vern Den Herder DE 75 Manny Fernandez DT 76 Don Reese DT 84 Bill Stanfill DE

Linebackers (LB) 51 Rodrigo Barnes OLB 50 Bruce Elia MLB 53 Bob Matheson OLB 55 Earnie Rhone OLB 59 Doug Swift OLB 56 Steve Towle MLB Defensive backs (DB) 49 Charlie Babb SS 25 Tim Foley CB 44 Barry Hill FS 45 Curtis Johnson CB 13 Jake Scott FS 41 Jeris White CB Special teams (ST) 20 Larry Seiple P  1 Garo Yepremian K

Reserve 40 Dick Anderson S (IR) 85 Nick Buoniconti LB (IR) 12 Bob Griese QB (IR) 72 Bob Heinz DT (IR) 57 Mike Kolen LB (IR) 80 Jim McFarland TE (IR) 82 Morris Owens WR (IR) Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1	September 22	Oakland Raiders	L 21–31	0–1	Miami Orange Bowl	Recap
2	September 28	at New England Patriots	W 22–14	1–1	Schaefer Stadium	Recap
3	October 5	at Green Bay Packers	W 31–7	2–1	Lambeau Field	Recap
4	October 12	Philadelphia Eagles	W 24–16	3–1	Miami Orange Bowl	Recap
5	October 19	at New York Jets	W 43–0	4–1	Shea Stadium	Recap
6	October 26	at Buffalo Bills	W 35–30	5–1	Rich Stadium	Recap
7	November 2	at Chicago Bears	W 46–13	6–1	Soldier Field	Recap
8	November 9	New York Jets	W 27–7	7–1	Miami Orange Bowl	Recap
9	November 16	at Houston Oilers	L 19–20	7–2	Astrodome	Recap
10	November 23	Baltimore Colts	L 17–33	7–3	Miami Orange Bowl	Recap
11	December 1	New England Patriots	W 20–7	8–3	Miami Orange Bowl	Recap
12	December 7	Buffalo Bills	W 31–21	9–3	Miami Orange Bowl	Recap
13	December 14	at Baltimore Colts	L 7–10 (OT)	9–4	Memorial Stadium	Recap
14	December 20	Denver Broncos	W 14–13	10–4	Miami Orange Bowl	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Baltimore Colts (3)	10	4	0	.714	6–2	8–3	395	269	W9
Miami Dolphins	10	4	0	.714	6–2	7–4	357	222	W1
Buffalo Bills	8	6	0	.571	5–3	7–4	420	355	L1
New York Jets	3	11	0	.214	2–6	3–8	258	433	L2
New England Patriots	3	11	0	.214	1–7	2–9	258	358	L6

References

1. Jones, Robert F. (July 28, 1975). "They're grinning and bearing". Sports Illustrated. p. 16. Archived from the original on February 2, 2011.
2. "1975 Miami Dolphins draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2022.

External links

• 1975 Miami Dolphins at Pro-Football-Reference.com