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1979 New Orleans Saints season

1979 New Orleans Saints season
Head coachDick Nolan
Home fieldLouisiana Superdome
Results
Record8–8
Division place2nd NFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers
New Orleans Saints’ Fleur-de-lis logo from 1967 to 1999

The 1979 New Orleans Saints season was the team's thirteenth season in the National Football League. The Saints finished the season at 8–8, the franchise's first non-losing season. After starting 0–3, New Orleans won seven of its next 10 and was tied for first place with the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC West with three weeks to play, but the season unraveled in a Monday Night Football contest at home vs. the Oakland Raiders, when the Saints squandered a 35–14 lead and lost, 42–35. The Raiders returned to the Superdome a little over a year later and won Super Bowl XV.

The Saints were eliminated from playoff contention in week 15 when they were blown out 35–0 at home by the San Diego Chargers, but defeated the NFC West champion Los Angeles Rams in the regular season finale in what was the Rams' last game in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum until 2016. While the Rams went on to represent the NFC in Super Bowl XIV, the Saints ended their season with a record of 8-8, the first time in the history of the franchise that the team finished with a non-losing record. Not counting the 1976 expansion Seattle Seahawks, New Orleans was one of three franchises which failed to make the playoffs in the 1970s, joined by the Giants and the Jets (the other 1976 expansion team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, won the NFC Central Division in 1979).

Following the season, running back Chuck Muncie was named Most Valuable Player of the ensuing Pro Bowl.

Offseason

NFL draft

1979 New Orleans Saints draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 11 Russell Erxleben  Punter Texas
2 38 Reggie Mathis  Linebacker Oklahoma
4 93 Jim Kovach  Linebacker Kentucky
5 120 Harlan Huckleby  Linebacker Michigan
6 146 Ricky Ray  Cornerback Norfolk State
7 176 Stan Sytsma  Linebacker Minnesota
8 202 Doug Panfil  Guard Tulsa
11 285 David Hall  Wide receiver Missouri-Rolla
12 311 Kelsey Finch  Running back Tennessee
      Made roster  

[1]

Personnel

Staff

1979 New Orleans Saints staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Conditioning – Bob Hill


[2]

Roster

1979 New Orleans Saints roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Reserve


Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 2 Atlanta Falcons L 34–40 0–1 Louisiana Superdome 70,940
2 September 9 at Green Bay Packers L 19–28 0–2 Milwaukee County Stadium 53,184
3 September 16 Philadelphia Eagles L 14–26 0–3 Louisiana Superdome 54,212
4 September 23 at San Francisco 49ers W 30–21 1–3 Candlestick Park 39,727
5 September 30 New York Giants W 24–14 2–3 Louisiana Superdome 51,543
6 October 7 Los Angeles Rams L 17–35 2–4 Louisiana Superdome 68,986
7 October 14 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 42–14 3–4 Tampa Stadium 67,640
8 October 21 Detroit Lions W 17–7 4-4 Louisiana Superdome 57,428
9 October 28 at Washington Redskins W 14–10 5–4 RFK Stadium 52,133
10 November 4 at Denver Broncos L 3–10 5–5 Mile High Stadium 74,482
11 November 11 San Francisco 49ers W 31–20 6–5 Louisiana Superdome 65,551
12 November 18 at Seattle Seahawks L 24–38 6–6 Kingdome 60,055
13 November 25 at Atlanta Falcons W 37–6 7–6 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 42,815
14 December 3 Oakland Raiders L 35–42 7–7 Louisiana Superdome 65,541
15 December 9 San Diego Chargers L 0–35 7–8 Louisiana Superdome 61,059
16 December 16 at Los Angeles Rams W 29–14 8–8 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 53,879
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Los Angeles Rams(3) 9 7 0 .563 5–1 7–5 323 309 L1
New Orleans Saints 8 8 0 .500 4–2 8–4 370 360 W1
Atlanta Falcons 6 10 0 .375 2–4 5–7 300 388 W1
San Francisco 49ers 2 14 0 .125 1–5 2–10 308 416 L1

Season summary

Week Four: New Orleans Saints (0–3) at San Francisco 49ers (0–3)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Saints 0 13 14330
49ers 7 7 0721

at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California

Game information

Week 14

Week Fourteen: Oakland Raiders (7–6) at New Orleans Saints (7–6)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Raiders 7 7 72142
Saints 0 28 7035

at Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

Game information

Awards and records

  • Chuck Muncie, Pro Bowl Most Valuable Player [3]

References

  1. ^ "1979 New Orleans Saints draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  2. ^ "All-Time Roster". NewOrleansSaints.com. Archived from the original on June 18, 2012. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  3. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 368