# 1976 Miami Dolphins season

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

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

1976 Miami Dolphins draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 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 ||||||

## 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 :
| viewtalkedit | 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 |