1979 San Francisco 49ers season

The 1979 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 30th season in the National Football League and their 34th overall. The season is noted as running back O. J. Simpson's final year, quarterback Joe Montana's rookie season, and Bill Walsh's first year as head coach.

1979 San Francisco 49ers season
Owner	Edward J. DeBartolo, Jr.
General manager	Bill Walsh
Head coach	Bill Walsh
Defensive coordinator	Chuck Studley
Home stadium	Candlestick Park
Results
Record	2–14
Division place	4th NFC West
Playoffs	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	none
← 1978 49ers seasons 1980 →

The 1979 49ers remain the only team in NFL history to lose twelve games in which they held a lead.^[1]

They are also the first team in NFL history to attempt 600 or more passes, attempting 602.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1979 NFL draft

1979 San Francisco 49ers draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
2	29	James Owens	Running back	UCLA
3	82	Joe Montana * †	Quarterback	Notre Dame
5	111	Tom Seabron	Linebacker	Michigan
5	119	Jerry Aldridge	Running back	Angelo State
6	138	Ruben Vaughan	Defensive tackle	Colorado
7	166	Phil Francis	Running back	Stanford
9	221	Steve Hamilton	Defensive tackle	Missouri
10	249	Dwight Clark *	Wide receiver	Clemson
10	252	Howard Ballage	Defensive back	Colorado
11	276	Billy McBride	Defensive back	Tennessee State
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[2]

Personnel

Staff / Coaches

1979 San Francisco 49ers staff

Front office Owner and president – Edward J. DeBartolo, Jr. General manager – Bill Walsh Director of player personnel – John McVay Head coaches Head coach – Bill Walsh Offensive coaches Quarterbacks – Sam Wyche Running Backs – Billie Matthews Receivers – Dennis Green Offensive Line – Bobb McKittrick Administrative Assistant/Offensive Line – Mike White

Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Chuck Studley Linebackers – Bill McPherson Defensive Backs – Norb Hecker Special teams coaches Special Teams – Dennis Green Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Al Vermeil

Roster

1979 San Francisco 49ers roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 17 Steve DeBerg 16 Joe Montana Running backs (RB) 35 Lenvil Elliott 38 Bob Ferrell 34 Phil Francis 36 Paul Hofer 40 Wilbur Jackson 32 O. J. Simpson Wide receivers (WR) 87 Dwight Clark 20 James Owens 84 Mike Shumann 88 Freddie Solomon Tight ends (TE) 82 Bob Bruer 81 Ken MacAfee 80 Eason Ramson 85 Paul Seal

Offensive linemen (OL) 68 John Ayers G 77 Jean Barrett T 51 Randy Cross G 62 Walt Downing G 71 Keith Fahnhorst T 56 Fred Quillan C 67 Ron Singleton T Defensive linemen (DL) 76 Dwaine Board DE 79 Al Cowlings DE 78 Archie Reese DE 72 Ruben Vaughan DT 66 Ted Vincent DT 74 Jimmy Webb DT

Linebackers (LB) 57 Dan Bunz MLB 58 Gordy Ceresino MLB 59 Willie Harper OLB 54 Bob Martin OLB 52 Jeff McIntyre OLB 50 Dave Morton OLB 53 Tom Seabron OLB Defensive backs (DB) 28 Charles Cornelius CB 27 Tony Dungy FS 30 Tim Gray SS 22 Dwight Hicks FS 44 Charles Johnson CB 29 Gerard Williams CB Special teams (ST) 11 Dan Melville P 14 Ray Wersching K

Reserve 47 Jerry Aldridge RB (IR) 41 Mike Baldassin LB (IR) -- Ed Bradley LB (IR) 86 Cedrick Hardman DE (IR) 55 Scott Hilton LB (IR) 45 Mike Hogan RB (IR) 65 Ernie Hughes G (IR) -- Dan Irons T (IR) 24 Eric Johnson S (IR) 26 Bob Jury S (IR) 60 Steve Knutson G/T (IR) -- Johnny Miller G (IR) 46 Melvin Morgan CB (IR) 66 Bob Nelson LB (IR) -- Troy Thomas DT Rookies in italics

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	August 4	San Diego Chargers	W 13–10	1–0	Candlestick Park	32,275
2	August 11	at Oakland Raiders	L 10–41	1–1	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	53,503
3	August 19	Denver Broncos	L 0–21	1–2	Candlestick Park	34,133
4	August 24	at Seattle Seahawks	L 20–55	1–3	Kingdome	59,941

^[3]

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 2	at Minnesota Vikings	L 22–28	0–1	Metropolitan Stadium	46,539
2	September 9	Dallas Cowboys	L 13–21	0–2	Candlestick Park	56,728
3	September 16	at Los Angeles Rams	L 24–27	0–3	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	44,303
4	September 23	New Orleans Saints	L 21–30	0–4	Candlestick Park	39,727
5	September 30	at San Diego Chargers	L 9–31	0–5	San Diego Stadium	50,893
6	October 7	Seattle Seahawks	L 24–35	0–6	Candlestick Park	44,592
7	October 14	at New York Giants	L 16–32	0–7	Giants Stadium	70,352
8	October 21	Atlanta Falcons	W 20–15	1–7	Candlestick Park	33,952
9	October 28	Chicago Bears	L 27–28	1–8	Candlestick Park	42,773
10	November 4	at Oakland Raiders	L 10–23	1–9	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	52,764
11	November 11	at New Orleans Saints	L 20–31	1–10	Louisiana Superdome	65,551
12	November 18	Denver Broncos	L 28–38	1–11	Candlestick Park	42,910
13	November 25	Los Angeles Rams	L 20–26	1–12	Candlestick Park	49,282
14	December 2	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 10–13	1–13	Busch Memorial Stadium	41,593
15	December 9	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 23–7	2–13	Candlestick Park	44,506
16	December 16	at Atlanta Falcons	L 21–31	2–14	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	37,211
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 8: vs. Atlanta Falcons

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	0	9	0	6	15
• 49ers	7	0	7	6	20

• Date: October 21
• Location: Candlestick Park
• Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 57 °F or 13.9 °C; wind 7 miles per hour (11 km/h; 6.1 kn)
• TV announcers (CBS): Lindsey Nelson and Paul Hornung

Scoring summary

Q1		SF	Solomon 56 yard run (Wersching kick)	SF 7–0
Q2		ATL	Mazzetti 23 yard field goal	SF 7–3
Q2		ATL	Jenkins 7 yard pass from Bartkowski (kick failed)	ATL 9–7
Q3		SF	Hofer 2 yard run (Wersching kick)	SF 14–9
Q4		ATL	Lawrence 41 yard blocked punt return (kick failed)	ATL 15–14
Q4		SF	Hofer 3 yard run (kick failed)	SF 20–15

^[4]

Week 15: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week Fifteen: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9–5) at San Francisco 49ers (1–13)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Buccaneers	0	7	0	0	7
49ers	10	3	0	10	23

at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California

• Date: December 9, 1979
• Game time: 4:00 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: 52 °F (11 °C)
• Game attendance: 44,506
• Box Score

Game information

First quarter SF – Mike Shumann 19-yard pass from Steve DeBerg (Ray Wersching kick). 49ers 7–0. SF – Ray Wersching 39-yard field goal. 49ers 10–0. Second quarter TB – Jimmie Giles 19-yard pass from Doug Williams (Neil O'Donoghue kick). 49ers 10–7. SF – Ray Wersching 27-yard field goal. 49ers 13–7. Third quarter No scoring Fourth quarter SF – Lenvil Elliott 1-yard run (Ray Wersching kick). 49ers 20–7. SF – Ray Wersching 45-yard field goal. 49ers 27–7. Top passers TB – Doug Williams – 10/24, 167 yards, TD, 5 INT SF – Steve DeBerg – 22/30, 186 yards, TD Top rushers TB – Ricky Bell – 10 rushes, 36 yards SF – Wilbur Jackson – 10 rushes, 35 yards Top receivers TB – Isaac Hagins – 3 receptions, 90 yards SF – Mike Shumann – 4 receptions, 61 yards, TD

49ers' players carried Bill Walsh off the field and fans tore down the goal posts.

Standings

NFC West
view talk edit	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