1976 Green Bay Packers season

The 1976 Green Bay Packers season was their 58th season overall and their 56th season in the National Football League. The team finished with a 5–9 record under coach Bart Starr, earning them a fourth-place finish in the NFC Central division. The Packers struggled, and finished in last place in the NFC Central with a 5–9 record, as the Quarterback position began to resemble a revolving door, as Lynn Dickey became the latest young Quarterback to struggle with Interceptions.

1976 Green Bay Packers season
Head coach	Bart Starr
Home field	Lambeau Field Milwaukee County Stadium
Results
Record	5–9
Division place	4th NFC Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify

After this season, guard Gale Gillingham; the lone remaining player from the Vince Lombardi-era Packers still with the team, retired.

Offseason

1976 Expansion Draft

Main article: 1976 NFL expansion draft

Green Bay Packers selected during the Expansion Draft

Round	Overall	Name	Position	Expansion Team
0	0	Ken Hutcherson	Linebacker	Seattle Seahawks
0	0	Al Matthews	Safety	Seattle Seahawks
0	0	Barry Smith	Wide Receiver	Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL draft

Main article: 1976 NFL draft

1976 Green Bay Packers draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	23	Mark Koncar	Offensive tackle	Colorado
3	72	Mike McCoy	Cornerback	Colorado
4	101	Tom Perko	Linebacker	Pittsburgh
5	132	Aundra Thompson	Running back	East Texas State
8	218	Jim Burrow	Safety	Nebraska
9	245	Jim Gueno	Linebacker	Tulane
10	274	Jessie Green	Wide receiver	Tulsa
11	301	Curtis Leak	Wide receiver	Johnson C. Smith
12	328	Melvin Jackson	Guard	USC
13	355	Bradley Bowman	Defensive back	Southern Miss
14	386	John Henson	Running back	Cal Poly
15	413	Jerry Dandridge	Linebacker	Memphis State
16	440	Mike Timmermans	Guard	Northern Iowa
17	467	Ray Hall	Tight end	Cal Poly
Made roster

Undrafted free agents

1976 Undrafted Free Agents of note

Player	Position	College
Dan Brunner	Tight end	Wisconsin–Whitewater

Roster

Green Bay Packers roster
Quarterbacks 19 Alan Autry 10 Lynn Dickey 16 Randy Johnson Running backs 42 John Brockington 40 Willard Harrell 41 Dave Osborn 33 Barty Smith 32 Ken Starch 27 Cliff Taylor 26 Eric Torkelson Wide receivers 84 Steve Odom 85 Ken Payne 89 Ollie Smith 80 Don Zimmerman Tight ends 88 Bert Askson 81 Rich McGeorge		Offensive linemen 67 Dick Enderle G 68 Gale Gillingham G 72 Dick Himes T 55 Bob Hyland C 71 Melvin Jackson G 60 Steve Knutson T 79 Mark Koncar T 54 Larry McCarren C 61 Bruce Van Dyke G Defensive linemen 70 Bob Barber DE 76 Mike McCoy DT 75 Dave Pureifory DT 87 Alden Roche DE 74 Dave Roller DT 83 Clarence Williams DE		Linebackers 57 Ron Acks 53 Fred Carr 51 Jim Gueno 58 Don Hansen 58 Bob Lally 56 Tom Perko 59 Tom Toner 52 Gary Weaver Defensive backs 28 Willie Buchanon CB 41 Jim Burrow S 24 Johnnie Gray FS 44 Charlie Hall S 46 Steve Luke SS 29 Mike McCoy CB 45 Perry Smith CB 21 Steve Wagner S Special teams 11 David Beverly P 13 Chester Marcol K		Reserve lists 50 Jim Carter LB (IR) 86 Jessie Green WR (IR) 12 Don Milan QB (IR) 43 Aundra Thompson WR (IR) 82 Gerald Tinker WR (IR) Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 12	San Francisco 49ers	L 14–26	0–1	Lambeau Field	54,628
2	September 19	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 0–29	0–2	Busch Memorial Stadium	48,842
3	September 26	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 7–28	0–3	Riverfront Stadium	44,103
4	October 3	Detroit Lions	W 24–14	1–3	Lambeau Field	55,041
5	October 10	Seattle Seahawks	W 27–20	2–3	Milwaukee County Stadium	54,983
6	October 17	Philadelphia Eagles	W 28–13	3–3	Lambeau Field	55,398
7	October 24	at Oakland Raiders	L 14–18	3–4	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	52,232
8	October 31	at Detroit Lions	L 6–27	3–5	Pontiac Silverdome	74,992
9	November 7	New Orleans Saints	W 32–27	4–5	Milwaukee County Stadium	52,936
10	November 14	at Chicago Bears	L 13–24	4–6	Soldier Field	52,907
11	November 21	Minnesota Vikings	L 10–17	4–7	Milwaukee County Stadium	53,104
12	November 28	Chicago Bears	L 10–16	4–8	Lambeau Field	56,267
13	December 5	at Minnesota Vikings	L 9–20	4–9	Metropolitan Stadium	43,700
14	December 12	at Atlanta Falcons	W 24–20	5–9	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	23,436

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Minnesota Vikings(1)	11	2	1	.821	5–1	9–2–1	305	176	W2
Chicago Bears	7	7	0	.500	4–2	7–5	253	216	L1
Detroit Lions	6	8	0	.429	2–4	4–8	262	220	L2
Green Bay Packers	5	9	0	.357	1–5	5–8	218	299	W1

Season summary

Week 4 vs Lions

Week Four: Detroit Lions (1–2) at Green Bay Packers (0–3)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Lions	0	14	0	0	14
Packers	10	0	0	14	24

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

• Date: October 3
• Game time: 2:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 60 °F (16 °C)
• Game attendance: 55,041
• Box Score

Game information

First quarter GB – Barty Smith 1-yard run (Chester Marcol kick). Packers 7–0. Drive: GB – Chester Marcol 35-yard field goal. Packers 10–0. Drive: Second quarter DET – Dexter Bussey 7-yard run (Errol Mann kick). Packers 10–7. Drive: DET – Ray Jarvis 3-yard pass from Greg Landry (Errol Mann kick). Lions 14–10. Drive: Third quarter No scoring Fourth quarter GB – Bert Askson 2-yard pass from Lynn Dickey (Chester Marcol kick). Packers 17–14. Drive: GB – Steve Odom 40-yard pass from Willard Harrell (Chester Marcol kick). Packers 24–14. Drive: Top passers DET – Greg Landry – 12/17, 122 yards, TD, INT GB – Willard Harrell – 1/1, 40 yards, TD Top rushers DET – Dexter Bussey – 22 rushes, 81 yards, TD GB – Willard Harrell – 17 rushes, 111 yards Top receivers DET – Charlie Sanders – 3 receptions, 41 yards GB – Steve Odom – 2 receptions, 45 yards, TD

References

• Sportsencyclopedia.com