1979 New Orleans Saints season

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.

1979 New Orleans Saints season
Head coachDick Nolan
Home fieldLouisiana Superdome
Results
Record8–8
Division place2nd NFC West
Playoff finishdid not qualify
Pro Bowlers

The Saints were eliminated from playoff contention in Week 15 when they were blown out 35–0 at home by the San Diego Chargers. 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.

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  Defensive back 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
  • President – John W. Mecom, Jr.
  • Executive Vice President – Eddie Jones
  • Vice President of Player Personnel – Harry Hulmes

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Conditioning – Bob Hill

[2]

Roster
1979 New Orleans Saints roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 2, 1979 Atlanta Falcons L 40–34
70,940
2 September 9, 1979 at Green Bay Packers L 28–19
53,184
3 September 16, 1979 Philadelphia Eagles L 26–14
54,212
4 September 23, 1979 at San Francisco 49ers W 30–21
39,727
5 September 30, 1979 New York Giants W 24–14
51,543
6 October 7, 1979 Los Angeles Rams L 35–17
68,986
7 October 14, 1979 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 42–14
67,640
8 October 21, 1979 Detroit Lions W 17–7
57,428
9 October 28, 1979 at Washington Redskins W 14–10
52,133
10 November 4, 1979 at Denver Broncos L 10–3
74,482
11 November 11, 1979 San Francisco 49ers W 31–20
65,551
12 November 18, 1979 at Seattle Seahawks L 38–24
60,055
13 November 25, 1979 at Atlanta Falcons W 37–6
42,815
14 December 3, 1979 Oakland Raiders L 42–35
65,541
15 December 9, 1979 San Diego Chargers L 35–0
61,059
16 December 16, 1979 at Los Angeles Rams W 29–14
53,879

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 14
See also: 1979 Oakland Raiders season
Week Fourteen: Oakland Raiders (7–6) at New Orleans Saints (7–6)
1 2 34Total
Raiders 7 7 72142
Saints 0 28 7035

at Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

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 2012-06-18. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  3. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 368
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