1981 New Orleans Saints season

The 1981 New Orleans Saints season was the Saints' fifteenth season in the National Football League. Hoping past success would bring a bright future to New Orleans the Saints hired Bum Phillips to be their new head coach. With the first pick overall the Saints draft Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers out of South Carolina. Phillips banked on Rogers giving the Saints the same boost that Earl Campbell did when Phillips drafted him out of Texas three years earlier.

1981 New Orleans Saints season
Owner	John Mecom, Jr.
Head coach	Bum Phillips
Home stadium	Louisiana Superdome
Results
Record	4–12
Division place	4th NFC West
Playoffs	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	RB George Rogers
← 1980 Saints seasons 1982 →

Rogers won the Offensive Rookie of the Year, as he rushed all-time rookie record of 1,674 yards, a record which was eclipsed just two years later when Eric Dickerson of the Los Angeles Rams rushed for 1,808. However, the Saints would continue to struggle finishing with a 4–12 record. It was the Saints’ thirteenth of fifteen seasons with five or fewer wins, and eighth with double-digit defeats.

Despite finishing with a poor record, they did have a couple bright moments, such as defeating the eventual AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals in the Superdome and defeating the Houston Oilers, Bum Phillips' old team, on the road.

New Orleans swept the NFC West division rival Los Angeles Rams for the first time since they were placed in the same division for the 1970 season.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1981 NFL draft

1981 New Orleans Saints draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	1	George Rogers *	Running back	South Carolina
2	29	Russell Gary	Safety	Nebraska
2	51	Rickey Jackson * †	Linebacker	Pittsburgh
3	57	Frank Warren	Defensive end	Auburn
3	71	Hoby Brenner *	Tight end	USC
5	112	Louis Oubre	Guard	Oklahoma
5	128	Jerry Boyarsky	Defensive tackle	Pittsburgh
6	139	Nat Hudson	Guard	Georgia
6	144	Johnnie Poe	Defensive back	Missouri
6	166	Glen Redd	Linebacker	BYU
7	167	Kevin Williams	Wide receiver	USC
8	214	Gene Gladys	Linebacker	Penn State
8	215	Kevin Evans	Cornerback	Arkansas
9	222	Toussaint Tyler	Running back	Washington
10	249	Hokie Gajan	Running back	LSU
11	277	Lester Mickens	Wide receiver	Kansas
12	305	Jim Wilks	Defensive end	San Diego State
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[1]

Personnel

Staff

1981 New Orleans Saints staff

Front office Owner – John Mecom, Jr. Director of Football Operations – Harry Hulmes Director of Player Personnel – Pat Peppler Head coaches Head coach – Bum Phillips Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – King Hill Offensive backfield – John Levra Receivers – Lamar McHan Offensive line – Joe Spencer

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Wade Phillips Defensive line – Willie Zapalac Linebackers – John Paul Young Defensive backfield – Lance Van Zandt Special teams coaches Special teams – Harold Richardson Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Russell Paternostro

Roster

1981 New Orleans Saints roster

Quarterbacks (QB)  8 Archie Manning 12 Bobby Scott 18 Dave Wilson Running backs (RB) 45 Jack Holmes 38 George Rogers 41 Jimmy Rogers 32 Scott Stauch 42 Toussaint Tyler 30 Wayne Wilson Wide receivers (WR) 48 Jeff Groth 86 Rich Martini 19 Guido Merkens 89 Aundra Thompson Tight ends (TE) 85 Hoby Brenner 87 Larry Hardy

Offensive linemen (OL) 61 Sam Adams G 67 Stan Brock T 62 John Hill C 69 Nat Hudson G 64 Dave Lafary T 76 Jim Pietrzak C 68 Fred Sturt G 65 Bob Young G Defensive linemen (DL) 91 Monte Bennett NT 77 Jerry Boyarsky NT 78 Elois Grooms DE 74 Derland Moore DE 73 Frank Warren DE 94 Jim Wilks DE

Linebackers (LB) 50 Ken Bordelon OLB 59 Chuck Evans ILB 52 Jim Kovach ILB 57 Rickey Jackson OLB 55 Rob Nairne OLB 53 Scott Pelluer ILB 58 Glen Redd OLB Defensive backs (DB) 20 Russell Gary SS 37 Tom Myers FS 25 Johnnie Poe CB 47 Mike Spivey CB 49 Frank Wattelet SS/FS 44 Dave Waymer CB Special teams (ST) 14 Russell Erxleben P  1 Benny Ricardo K 54 Paul Ryczek LS

Reserve 63 Barry Bennett NT (IR) 98 Donnie Echols TE (IR) 46 Hokie Gajan FB (IR) 92 Gene Gladys LB (IR) 73 Jeff Harper C (IR) 82 Ike Harris WR (IR) 28 Bill Hurley S (IR) 60 Tom Kearns G (IR) 56 Reggie Mathis LB (IR) 84 Rich Mauti WR (IR) 26 Lester Mickens WR (IR) 66 Louis Oubre G (IR) 83 Tinker Owens WR (PUP) 71 J. T. Taylor T (IR) Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 6	at Atlanta Falcons	L 0–27	0–1	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	57,406
2	September 13	Los Angeles Rams	W 23–17	1–1	Louisiana Superdome	62,063
3	September 20	at New York Giants	L 7–20	1–2	Giants Stadium	69,814
4	September 27	at San Francisco 49ers	L 14–21	1–3	Candlestick Park	44,433
5	October 4	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 6–20	1–4	Louisiana Superdome	64,578
6	October 11	Philadelphia Eagles	L 14–31	1–5	Louisiana Superdome	52,728
7	October 18	at Cleveland Browns	L 17–20	1–6	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	76,059
8	October 25	Cincinnati Bengals	W 17–7	2–6	Louisiana Superdome	46,336
9	November 1	Atlanta Falcons	L 10–41	2–7	Louisiana Superdome	63,637
10	November 8	at Los Angeles Rams	W 21–13	3–7	Anaheim Stadium	61,068
11	November 15	at Minnesota Vikings	L 10–20	3–8	Metropolitan Stadium	45,215
12	November 22	at Houston Oilers	W 27–24	4–8	Houston Astrodome	49,581
13	November 29	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 14–31	4–9	Louisiana Superdome	62,209
14	December 6	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 3–30	4–10	Busch Memorial Stadium	46,923
15	December 13	Green Bay Packers	L 7–35	4–11	Louisiana Superdome	45,518
16	December 20	San Francisco 49ers	L 17–21	4–12	Louisiana Superdome	43,639
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFC West
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
San Francisco 49ers(1)	13	3	0	.813	5–1	10-2	357	250	W5
Atlanta Falcons	7	9	0	.438	3–3	6–6	426	355	L3
Los Angeles Rams	6	10	0	.375	2–4	5–7	303	351	L1
New Orleans Saints	4	12	0	.250	2–4	2–10	207	378	L4

Awards and records

• George Rogers, NFL rushing title, 1,674 yards^[2]
• George Rogers, franchise record, most rushing yards by a rookie, 1,674 yards
• George Rogers, NFL Record (since broken), most rushing yards by a rookie, 1,674 yards^[2]