1979 New Orleans Saints season

1979 New Orleans Saints season
Head coach	Dick Nolan
Home field	Louisiana Superdome
Results
Record	8–8
Division place	2nd NFC West
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 1979 New Orleans Saints season was the team's 13th season in the National Football League. The Saints finished the season at 8–8, the franchise's first non-losing season. New Orleans 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 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 club Seattle, New Orleans was one of three franchises which failed to make the playoffs in the 1970s, joined by the New York Giants and New York Jets.

Offseason

NFL draft

1979 New Orleans Saints draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	11	Russell Erxleben	Punter	Texas
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 Head Coach – Dick Nolan Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Ed Hughes Quarterbacks/Receivers – Lamar McHan Offensive Line – Dick Stanfel			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Paul Wiggin Defensive Line – Tom Pratt Linebackers – Ed Beard Defensive Backs – Chet Franklin Special teams coaches Special Teams – Whitey Campbell Strength and conditioning Conditioning – Bob Hill

^[2]

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

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

• Saints on Pro Football Reference
• Saints on jt-sw.com