1997 Chicago Bears season

1997 Chicago Bears season
Head coach	Dave Wannstedt
Home field	Soldier Field
Results
Record	4–12
Division place	5th NFC Central
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 1997 Chicago Bears season was their 78th regular season completed in the National Football League (NFL). The club posted a 4–12 record under head coach Dave Wannstedt. It was the club's first 4-win season since the club posted a 4–10 record in 1975. The team allowed a franchise-record 421 points in 1997.^[1]

Offseason

NFL draft

1997 Chicago Bears draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
2	38	John Allred	Tight end	USC
3	69	Bob Sapp	Guard	Washington
4	105	Darnell Autry	Running back	Northwestern
4	108	Marcus Robinson	Wide receiver	South Carolina
5	141	Van Hiles	Defensive back	Kentucky
6	196	Shawn Swayda	Defensive end	Arizona State
6	200	Richard Hogans	Linebacker	Memphis
6	201	Ricky Parker	Defensive back	San Diego State
7	210	Mike Miano	Defensive tackle	Missouri State
7	233	Marvin Thomas	Defensive end	Memphis
Made roster

^[2]

Personnel

Staff

1997 Chicago Bears staff
	Front office Chairman of the Board – Ed McCaskey President and Chief Executive Officer – Michael McCaskey Vice President of Operations – Ted Phillips Vice President of Player Personnel – Mark Hatley Director of College Scouting – Bill Rees Director of Pro Personnel – Rick Spielman Director of Research and Quality Control – Eric Studesville Head coaches Head Coach – Dave Wannstedt Assistant Head Coach – Tony Wise Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks – Matt Cavanaugh Running Backs – Willie Peete Wide Receivers – Ivan Fears Tight Ends – Ted Plumb Offensive Line – Tony Wise			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers – Bob Slowik Defensive Line – Clarence Brooks Defensive Backs – Carlos Mainord Defensive Assistant – Greg Schiano Special teams coaches Special Teams – Keith Armstrong Strength and conditioning Physical Development Coordinator – Russ Riederer Assistant Physical Development Coordinator – Steve Little

^[3]

Roster

1997 Chicago Bears roster
	Quarterbacks 12 Erik Kramer 13 Rick Mirer 18 Steve Stenstrom Running backs 21 Darnell Autry 30 Tony Carter FB 38 Mike Dulaney FB 22 Ronnie Harmon 29 Raymont Harris 44 Michael Hicks 31 Rashaan Salaam Wide receivers 82 Fabien Bownes 80 Curtis Conway 81 Bobby Engram 86 Chris Penn 87 Ricky Proehl 83 Eric Smith		Tight ends 49 Tremayne Allen 84 John Allred 85 Keith Jennings 89 Ryan Wetnight Offensive linemen 63 Todd Burger G 72 Jon Clark T 62 Chris Gray G 64 Andy Heck T 74 Jimmy Herndon T 67 Greg Huntington G 75 Todd Perry G 65 Evan Pilgrim C 67 Bill Schultz G 58 Chris Villarrial C/G 60 Casey Wiegmann C 71 James Williams T		Defensive linemen 99 Jim Flanigan DT 93 Paul Grasmanis DT 68 Carl Reeves DE 98 Carl Simpson DT 90 Alonzo Spellman DE 91 John Thierry DE 95 Mark Thomas DE 97 Chris Zorich DT 96 Tyrone Williams DT Linebackers 59 Daryl Carter OLB 52 Bryan Cox MLB 54 Ron Cox OLB 55 Sean Harris OLB 53 Michael Lowery OLB 92 Barry Minter OLB 57 Tony Peterson MLB		Defensive backs 32 Ricky Bell CB 35 James Burton CB 23 Marty Carter SS 25 Tom Carter CB 24 Terry Cousin CB 20 Corey Dowden CB 46 Marlon Forbes S 27 Walt Harris CB 48 Van Hiles S 26 John Mangum FS 36 Anthony Marshall SS 45 Tony Stargell CB Special teams 33 Tyrone Hughes KR/PR  1 Jeff Jaeger K 88 Harper LeBel LS 16 Todd Sauerbrun P Rookies in italics

^[4]

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	TV Time	Attendance
1	September 1, 1997	at Green Bay Packers	L 38–24	ABC 8:00pm	60,766
2	September 7, 1997	Minnesota Vikings	L 27–24	FOX 12:00pm	59,263
3	September 14, 1997	Detroit Lions	L 32–7	FOX 12:00pm	59,147
4	September 21, 1997	at New England Patriots	L 31–3	FOX 12:00pm	59,873
5	September 28, 1997	at Dallas Cowboys	L 27–3	FOX 3:00pm	64,082
6	October 5, 1997	New Orleans Saints	L 20–17	TNT 7:15pm	58,865
7	October 12, 1997	Green Bay Packers	L 24–23	FOX 12:00pm	62,212
8	Bye
9	October 27, 1997	at Miami Dolphins	W 36–33	ABC 8:00pm	73,156
10	November 2, 1997	Washington Redskins	L 31–8	FOX 12:00pm	53,052
11	November 9, 1997	at Minnesota Vikings	L 29–22	FOX 12:00pm	63,443
12	November 16, 1997	New York Jets	L 23–15	NBC 3:00pm	45,642
13	November 23, 1997	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 13–7	FOX 12:00pm	43,955
14	November 27, 1997	at Detroit Lions	L 55–20	FOX 11:30am	77,904
15	December 7, 1997	Buffalo Bills	W 20–3	NBC 12:00pm	39,784
16	December 14, 1997	at St. Louis Rams	W 13–10	ESPN 7:15pm	66,030
17	December 21, 1997	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 31–15	FOX 12:00pm	70,930

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
^(2) Green Bay Packers	13	3	0	.813	422	282	W5
^(4) Tampa Bay Buccaneers	10	6	0	.625	299	263	W1
^(5) Detroit Lions	9	7	0	.563	379	306	W2
^(6) Minnesota Vikings	9	7	0	.563	354	359	W1
Chicago Bears	4	12	0	.250	263	421	L1

References

1. Mayer, Larry (November 14, 2013). "Have Bears had two 1,000-yard receivers?". Chicago Bears. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
2. "1997 Chicago Bears draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
3. "Club directory". Chicago Bears 1997 Media Guide. p. 2.
4. "1997 Chicago Bears starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 26, 2014.

External links

• 1997 Chicago Bears at Pro-Football-Reference.com