1979 New Orleans Saints season

1979 New Orleans Saints season
Head Coach	Dick Nolan
Home Field	Louisiana Superdome
Results
Record	8–8
Place	2nd NFC West
Playoff Finish	did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	5 TE Henry Childs QB Archie Manning RB Chuck Muncie WR Wes Chandler FS Tom Myers
Timeline
Previous season	Next season
1978	1980

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. 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 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

Main article: 1979 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

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

Roster

1979 New Orleans Saints roster
	Quarterbacks 11 Ed Burns 8 Archie Manning Running backs 34 Tony Galbreath FB 45 Jack Holmes 42 Chuck Muncie 33 Mike Strachan Wide receivers 89 Wes Chandler 82 Ike Harris 84 Rich Mauti 83 Tinker Owens Tight ends 85 Henry Childs 87 Larry Hardy 88 Brooks Williams		Offensive linemen 66 Conrad Dobler G 61 Roger Finnie T 62 John Hill C 64 Dave Lafary G 68 Fred Sturt G 71 J. T. Taylor T 65 Robert Woods T 79 Emanuel Zanders G Defensive linemen 63 Barry Bennett DE 73 Joe Campbell DE 72 Mike Fultz DT 78 Elois Grooms DE 74 Derland Moore DT 75 Elex Price DT 60 Don Reese DE		Linebackers 50 Ken Bordelon 58 Joe Federspiel 54 Pat Hughes 52 Jim Kovach 56 Reggie Mathis 57 Jim Merlo Defensive backs 27 Ray Brown S 26 Clarence Chapman CB 20 Eric Felton CB 21 David Gray 49 Ralph McGill CB 37 Tom Myers FS 22 Ricky Ray 48 Don Schwartz Special teams 17 Rick Partridge P 1 Garo Yepremian K		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

Template:1979 NFC West standings

Awards and records

• Chuck Muncie, Pro Bowl Most Valuable Player

References

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