| 1978 San Francisco 49ers season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Edward J. DeBartolo, Jr. |
| General manager | Joe Thomas |
| Head coach | Pete McCulley Fred O'Connor(interim) |
| Offensive coordinator | Fred O'Connor |
| Defensive coordinator | Dan Radakovich |
| Home stadium | Candlestick Park |
| Results | |
| Record | 2–14 |
| Division place | 4thNFC West |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | none |
The1978 San Francisco 49ers season was thefranchise's 29thseason in theNational Football League, their 33rd overall, and their second and final season under general managerJoe Thomas, who was fired following the end of the season.[1] The Niners' 2–14 record was the worst in the NFL in 1978 and tied for the worst in franchise history with the2004 and2016 seasons, dating back to the team's origins in theAll America Football Conference (AAFC) in 1946.[2]
The team began the season hoping to improve upon theirprevious output of 5–9. Instead, the team started the season 0–4 for the second straight year. The team also suffered a nine-game losing streak.[3]
During the off-season, the 49ers acquiredrunning backO. J. Simpson, who originally hailed from San Francisco, fromthe Buffalo Bills. Although Simpson had been one of the best backs in the league over the previous decade, he was in poor physical condition and had recently undergone knee surgery. As a result, his playing ability was limited.
Interim head coachFred O'Connor was hired in the middle of the team's season after first-season head coachPete McCulley posted an unremarkable 1–8 record. However, after the season ended, O'Connor was let go along with the coaching staff, who had been hired by McCulley.[1]
The 49ers finished with the worst record in the league and scored only 219 points,[4] the fewest in the league in 1978. Making matters worse is that the club was unable to benefit from their miserable performance in the1979 NFL draft, with the team's first pick already traded to the Bills as part of theO.J. Simpson deal.
The 1978 team set anNFL record with 63 turnovers.
| 1978 San Francisco 49ers draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Ken MacAfee | Tight end | Notre Dame | |
| 1 | 24 | Dan Bunz | Linebacker | Long Beach State | |
| 2 | 47 | Walt Downing | Guard | Michigan | |
| 3 | 79 | Ernie Hughes | Center | Notre Dame | |
| 4 | 91 | Terry LeCount | Wide receiver | Florida | |
| 5 | 127 | Archie Reese | Defensive end | Clemson | |
| 5 | 133 | Bruce Threadgill | Defensive back | Mississippi State | |
| 6 | 148 | Elliott Walker | Running back | Pittsburgh | |
| 7 | 175 | Fred Quillan | Center | Oregon | |
| 9 | 229 | Herman Redden | Defensive back | Howard | |
| 9 | 233 | Dean Moore | Linebacker | Iowa | |
| 9 | 249 | Steve McDaniels | Tackle | Notre Dame | |
| 10 | 260 | Mike Connell | Punter | Cincinnati | |
| 11 | 287 | Willie McCray | Defensive end | Troy State | |
| 12 | 314 | Dan Irons | Tackle | Texas Tech | |
| Made roster * Made at least onePro Bowl during career | |||||
Source:[5]
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
| Quarterbacks(QB) Running backs(RB) Wide receivers(WR) Tight ends(TE) | Offensive linemen(OL) | Linebackers(LB)
Defensive backs(DB)
Special teams(ST) | Reserve
|
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 5 | atDallas Cowboys | L 24–41 | 0–2 | Texas Stadium | 63,736 |
| 2 | August 12 | Seattle Seahawks | L 6–20 | 0–2 | Candlestick Park | 36,069 |
| 3 | August 20 | Oakland Raiders | L 14–31 | 0–3 | Candlestick Park | 58,658 |
| 4 | August 25 | atDenver Broncos | W 24–13 | 1–3 | Mile High Stadium | 73,559 |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 3 | atCleveland Browns | L 7–24 | 0–1 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 68,973 | |
| 2 | September 10 | Chicago Bears | L 13–16 | 0–2 | Candlestick Park | 49,502 | |
| 3 | September 17 | atHouston Oilers | L 19–20 | 0–3 | Houston Astrodome | 46,161 | |
| 4 | September 24 | atNew York Giants | L 10–27 | 0–4 | Giants Stadium | 71,536 | |
| 5 | October 1 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 28–12 | 1–4 | Candlestick Park | 41,107 | |
| 6 | October 8 | atLos Angeles Rams | L 10–27 | 1–5 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 59,337 | |
| 7 | October 15 | New Orleans Saints | L 7–14 | 1–6 | Candlestick Park | 37,671 | |
| 8 | October 22 | Atlanta Falcons | L 17–20 | 1–7 | Candlestick Park | 44,235 | |
| 9 | October 29 | atWashington Redskins | L 20–38 | 1–8 | RFK Stadium | 53,706 | |
| 10 | November 5 | atAtlanta Falcons | L 10–21 | 1–9 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 55,468 | |
| 11 | November 12 | St. Louis Cardinals | L 10–16 | 1–10 | Candlestick Park | 33,155 | |
| 12 | November 19 | Los Angeles Rams | L 28–31 | 1–11 | Candlestick Park | 45,022 | |
| 13 | November 27 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 7–24 | 1–12 | Candlestick Park | 51,657 | |
| 14 | December 3 | atNew Orleans Saints | L 13–24 | 1–13 | Louisiana Superdome | 50,068 | |
| 15 | December 10 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 6–3 | 2–13 | Candlestick Park | 30,931 | |
| 16 | December 17 | atDetroit Lions | L 14–33 | 2–14 | Pontiac Silverdome | 56,674 | |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are inbold text. | |||||||
| NFC West | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Los Angeles Rams(1) | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 4–2 | 10–2 | 316 | 245 | W1 |
| Atlanta Falcons(4) | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 5–1 | 8–4 | 240 | 290 | L1 |
| New Orleans Saints | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3–3 | 6–6 | 281 | 298 | W1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 0–6 | 1–11 | 219 | 350 | L1 |
