1979 Miami Dolphins season

1979 Miami Dolphins season
Head coach Don Shula
Home field Orange Bowl
Results
Record 10–6
Division place 1st AFC East
Playoff finish Lost AFC Divisional Playoff (Steelers) 14-34
The Dolphins playing against the Oakland Raiders at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in 1979

The 1979 Miami Dolphins season was the 14th year of existence for the Miami Dolphins franchise. Prior to the start of the season the Dolphins re-signed Larry Csonka who left to join the WFL after the 1974 season. Despite struggles from Bob Griese all year, the Dolphins finished 10-6 and won their first division title in five years. Among the season highlights were the Dolphins 19th and 20th consecutive wins over the Buffalo Bills. For the entire decade of the 1970s (1970–79) the Dolphins hold a perfect 20-0 record over the Bills, which contributed to O.J. Simpson never seeing any postseason success in his career. In the Divisional Playoff the Dolphins were no match for the Pittsburgh Steelers who jumped out to a 20-0 lead in the 1st Quarter to win 34-14 on their way to their second Straight Super Bowl title.

Offseason

NFL draft

1979 Miami Dolphins draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 24 Jon Giesler  Offensive tackle Michigan
2 53 Jeff Toews  Guard Washington
3 61 Tony Nathan *  Running back Alabama
3 63 Mel Land  Linebacker Michigan State
3 65 Ronnie Lee  Offensive tackle Baylor
4 107 Steve Howell  Fullback Baylor
5 134 Don Bessillieu  Defensive back Georgia Tech
6 162 Steve Lindquist  Guard Nebraska
7 189 Uwe von Schamann  Placekicker Oklahoma
8 206 Jeff Groth  Wide receiver Bowling Green
8 215 Glenn Blackwood  Defensive back Texas
9 244 Jeff Weston  Offensive tackle Notre Dame
10 258 Jerome Stanton  Defensive back Michigan State
10 272 Mike Kozlowski  Defensive back Colorado
11 299 Mike Blanton  Defensive end Georgia Tech
12 327 Larry Fortner  Quarterback Miami (OH)
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[1]

Personnel

Staff

1979 Miami Dolphins staff
Front office
  • President – Joe Robbie
  • Executive Vice President/General Manager – Mike Robbie
  • Vice President – Don Shula
  • Director of Player Personnel – Chuck Connor

Head coaches

  • Head Coach – Don Shula

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special Teams – Steve Crosby, Carl Taseff
  • Punting – Tom Keane

Roster

1979 Miami Dolphins final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists



Practice squad



Rookies in italics
 Active, Inactive, Practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

GameDateOpponentResultDolphins pointsOpponentsRecordAttendance
1Sep 2at Buffalo BillsWin971–0
69,441
2Sep 9Seattle SeahawksWin19102–0
56,233
3Sep 16at Minnesota VikingsWin27123–0
46,187
4Sep 23Chicago BearsWin31164–0
66,011
5Sep 30at New York JetsLoss27334–1
51,496
6Oct 8at Oakland RaidersLoss3134–2
52,419
7Oct 14Buffalo BillsWin1775–2
45,597
8Oct 21at New England PatriotsLoss13285–3
61,096
9Oct 28Green Bay PackersWin2776–3
47,741
10Nov 5Houston OilersLoss696–4
70,273
11Nov 11Baltimore ColtsWin1907–4
50,193
12Nov 18at Cleveland BrownsLoss (OT)24307–5
80,374
13Nov 25at Baltimore ColtsWin28248–5
38,016
14Nov 29New England PatriotsWin39249–5
69,174
15Dec 9at Detroit LionsWin281010–5
78,087
16Dec 15New York JetsLoss242710–6
49,915

[2]

Standings

AFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Miami Dolphins(3) 10 6 0 .625 5–3 6–6 341 257 L1
New England Patriots 9 7 0 .563 4–4 6–6 411 326 W1
New York Jets 8 8 0 .500 4–4 5–7 337 383 W3
Buffalo Bills 7 9 0 .438 4–4 5–7 268 279 L3
Baltimore Colts 5 11 0 .313 3–5 4–10 271 351 W1

Playoffs

AFC Divisional Playoff: at Pittsburgh Steelers

1 2 34Total
Dolphins 0 0 7714
Steelers 20 0 7734

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Date: Sunday December 30, 1979
  • Game time: 12:30 pm EST
  • Game attendance: 50,214
  • Referee: Cal Lepore
  • TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui (play by play), John Brodie (color commentator)

Awards and honors

Larry Csonka returned to the Dolphins in 1979 for one last season before retiring, after leaving in 1975 for the World Football League and spending the next three seasons after with the New York Giants. He led the team with 837 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, in addition to one receiving touchdown. His return led to him being named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year.

References

  1. ↑ "1979 Miami Dolphins draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  2. ↑ http://www.jt-sw.com/football/pro/results.nsf/Teams/1979-mia
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