1979 Miami Dolphins season

Last updated

1979 Miami Dolphins season
Owner Joe Robbie
General manager Mike Robbie
Head coach Don Shula
Home field Miami Orange Bowl
Results
Record10–6
Division place1st AFC East
Playoff finishLost Divisional Playoffs
(at Steelers) 14–34
Pro Bowlers None
The Dolphins playing against the Oakland Raiders at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in 1979 Bob Baumhower 1979.jpg
The Dolphins playing against the Oakland Raiders at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in 1979

The 1979 Miami Dolphins season was the franchise's 10th season in the National Football League, the 14th overall, and the 10th under head coach Don Shula. Prior to the start of the season, the Dolphins re-signed Larry Csonka who left to join the WFL after the 1974 season. Despite struggles from Bob Griese all year, the Dolphins finished 10-6 and won their first division title in five years. Among the season highlights were the Dolphins' 19th and 20th consecutive wins over the Buffalo Bills. For the entire decade of the 1970s (1970–79), the Dolphins hold a perfect 20–0 record over the Bills, which contributed to O. J. Simpson never seeing any postseason success in his career. In the Divisional Playoffs, the Dolphins were no match for the Pittsburgh Steelers who jumped out to a 20–0 lead in the 1st Quarter to win 34–14 on their way to their second straight Super Bowl title.

Contents

The Dolphins failed to have a Pro Bowler this season.

Offseason

NFL draft

1979 Miami Dolphins draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
124 Jon Giesler   Offensive tackle Michigan
253 Jeff Toews   Guard Washington
361 Tony Nathan  *  Running back Alabama
363 Mel Land   Linebacker Michigan State
365 Ronnie Lee  Offensive tackle Baylor
4107 Steve Howell   Fullback Baylor
5134 Don Bessillieu   Defensive back Georgia Tech
6162Steve Lindquist Guard Nebraska
7189 Uwe von Schamann   Placekicker Oklahoma
8206 Jeff Groth   Wide receiver Bowling Green
8215 Glenn Blackwood  Defensive back Texas
9244 Jeff Weston  Offensive tackle Notre Dame
10258Jerome Stanton Defensive backMichigan State
10272 Mike Kozlowski  Defensive back Colorado
11299Mike Blanton  Defensive end Georgia Tech
12327Larry Fortner  Quarterback Miami (OH)
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[1]

1979 Undrafted Free Agents of note
PlayerPositionCollege
Joel Williams Linebacker Wisconsin–La Crosse

Personnel

Coaches / Staff

1979 Miami Dolphins staff

Front office

  • President – Joe Robbie
  • Executive vice president/general manager – Mike Robbie
  • Vice president – Don Shula
  • Director of player personnel – Chuck Connor

Head coaches

  • Head coach – Don Shula

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams – Steve Crosby, Carl Taseff
  • Punting – Tom Keane



Roster

1979 Miami Dolphins roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

 Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

 Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Reserve

Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueRecap
1September 2at Buffalo Bills W 9–71–0 Rich Stadium Recap
2September 9 Seattle Seahawks W 19–102–0 Miami Orange Bowl Recap
3September 16at Minnesota Vikings W 27–123–0 Metropolitan Stadium Recap
4September 23 Chicago Bears W 31–164–0Miami Orange Bowl Recap
5September 30at New York Jets L 27–334–1 Shea Stadium Recap
6October 8at Oakland Raiders L 3–134–2 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Recap
7October 14 Buffalo Bills W 17–75–2Miami Orange Bowl Recap
8October 21at New England Patriots L 13–285–3 Schaefer Stadium Recap
9October 28 Green Bay Packers W 27–76–3Miami Orange Bowl Recap
10November 5 Houston Oilers L 6–96–4Miami Orange Bowl Recap
11November 11 Baltimore Colts W 19–07–4Miami Orange Bowl Recap
12November 18at Cleveland Browns L 24–30 (OT)7–5 Cleveland Stadium Recap
13November 25at Baltimore Colts W 28–248–5 Memorial Stadium Recap
14November 29 New England Patriots W 39–249–5Miami Orange Bowl Recap
15December 9at Detroit Lions W 28–1010–5 Pontiac Silverdome Recap
16December 15 New York Jets L 24–2710–6Miami Orange Bowl Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

[2]

Standings

AFC East
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Miami Dolphins (3)1060.6255–36–6341257L1
New England Patriots 970.5634–46–6411326W1
New York Jets 880.5004–45–7337383W3
Buffalo Bills 790.4384–45–7268279L3
Baltimore Colts 5110.3133–54–10271351W1

Playoffs

AFC Divisional Playoff: at Pittsburgh Steelers

Quarter1234Total
Dolphins007714
Steelers2007734

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Date: Sunday December 30, 1979
  • Game time: 12:30 pm EST
  • Game attendance: 50,214
  • Referee: Cal Lepore
  • TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui (play by play), John Brodie (color commentator)
Game information

Awards and honors

Larry Csonka returned to the Dolphins in 1979 for one last season before retiring, after leaving in 1975 for the World Football League and spending the next three seasons after with the New York Giants. He led the team with 837 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, in addition to one receiving touchdown. His return led to him being named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year.

References

  1. ↑ "1979 Miami Dolphins draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  2. ↑ "1979 Miami Dolphins".
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