1978 San Francisco 49ers season

1978 San Francisco 49ers season
1978 San Francisco 49ers season
Owner	Edward J. DeBartolo, Jr.
Head coach	Pete McCulley; Fred O'Connor (interim)
General manager	Joe Thomas
Home field	Candlestick Park
Results
Record	2–14
Division place	4th NFC West
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
	← 1977; 49ers seasons; 1979 →;

The 1978 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 29th season in the National Football League and their 33rd overall. The team began the season hoping to improve upon their previous 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.^[1]

During the off-season, the 49ers acquired running back O. J. Simpson from Buffalo (himself originally from San Francisco). 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.

The 49ers finished with the worst record in the league and scored only 219 points^[2] the fewest in the league in 1978. Making matters worse is that the first pick in the 1979 NFL Draft was traded to the Bills as part of the Simpson deal. The team set an NFL record with 63 turnovers.

Personnel[]

Staff[]

**1978 San Francisco 49ers staff**

	Front office Owner and President – Edward J. DeBartolo, Jr. General Manager – Joe Thomas Head coaches Head Coach – Pete McCulley Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Fred O'Connor Receivers – Les Steckel Offensive Line – Mike White			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers – Dan Radakovich Defensive Line – Earl Leggett Defensive Backfield – Jimmy Carr Special teams coaches Special Teams – Frank Gansz Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Floyd Reese

Roster[]

**1978 San Francisco 49ers roster**

	Quarterbacks 19 Scott Bull 17 Steve DeBerg Running backs 33 Greg Boykin FB 31 Earl Carr 38 Bob Ferrell FB 36 Paul Hofer 35 Elliott Walker 30 Dave Williams KR Wide receivers 84 Elmo Boyd 83 Kenny Harrison 21 Larry Jones 80 Terry LeCount 84 Mike Shumann 88 Freddie Solomon 87 PR Tight ends 82 Lon Boyett 85 Paul Seal		Offensive linemen -- Tony Ardizzone G 68 John Ayers G/T 51 Randy Cross C 64 Kyle Davis C 62 Walt Downing G 71 Keith Fahnhorst T 65 Ernie Hughes G 60 Steve Knutson G/T 56 Fred Quillan C 67 Ron Singleton T Defensive linemen 72 Cleveland Elam DE/DT 75 Ed Galigher DT 86 Cedrick Hardman DE 76 Willie McCray DT 78 Archie Reese DE 74 Jimmy Webb DT		Linebackers 52 Mike Baldassin OLB 54 Ed Bradley OLB 57 Dan Bunz MLB 55 Bruce Elia OLB 50 Joe Harris OLB 53 OLB 58 Mark Nichols MLB Defensive backs 24 Chuck Crist SS/FS 26 Bob Jury SS 42 Tony Leonard CB 22 Eddie Lewis CB 25 Wonder Monds CB 42 Ricky Odom CB 49 Vern Roberson FS/CB 23 Bruce Threadgill FS Special teams 10 Mike Connell P 14 Ray Wersching K		Reserve lists 81 Ken MacAfee TE (IR) 32 O. J. Simpson RB (IR) Practice squad Rookies in italics

^[3]

Schedule[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 3	at Cleveland Browns	L 24–7	68,973
2	September 10	Chicago Bears	L 16–13	49,502
3	September 17	at Houston Oilers	L 20–19	46,161
4	September 24	at New York Giants	L 27–10	71,536
5	October 1	Cincinnati Bengals	W 28–12	41,107
6	October 8	at Los Angeles Rams	L 27–10	59,337
7	October 15	New Orleans Saints	L 14–7	37,671
8	October 22	Atlanta Falcons	L 20–17	44,235
9	October 29	at Washington Redskins	L 38–20	53,706
10	November 5	at Atlanta Falcons	L 21–10	55,468
11	November 12	St. Louis Cardinals	L 16–10	33,155
12	November 19	Los Angeles Rams	L 31–28	45,022
13	November 27	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 24–7	51,657
14	December 3	at New Orleans Saints	L 24–13	50,068
15	December 10	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 6–3	30,931
16	December 17	at Detroit Lions	L 33–14	56,674

Standings[]

NFC West
view talk	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

References[]

^ 1978 San Francisco 49ers
^ 1978 NFL Standings
^ "1978 San Francisco 49ers starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 1, 2014.

[1] 1978 San Francisco 49ers

[2] 1978 NFL Standings

[3] "1978 San Francisco 49ers starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 1, 2014.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t San Francisco 49ers
Founded in 1946 Based and headquartered in Santa Clara, California
Franchise	Franchise Team history Coaches Players Seasons Logo and uniform history Starting quarterbacks Draft history Broadcasters
Stadiums	Kezar Stadium Candlestick Park Levi's Stadium State Farm Stadium Three games played due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Culture	Sourdough Sam San Francisco Gold Rush West Coast offense The Pigskin Priest KGO KNBR
Lore	The Catch (II) Joe Cool Million Dollar Backfield Snowball Game No Punt Game Fútbol Americano Harbaugh Bowl The Tip Jet Chip Wasp
Rivalries	Dallas Cowboys Green Bay Packers Las Vegas Raiders Los Angeles Rams New York Giants Seattle Seahawks
Key figures	Eddie DeBartolo Denise DeBartolo York Jed York John York Gideon Yu
Division championships (20)	1970 1971 1972 1981 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1992 1993 1994 1995 1997 2002 2011 2012 2019
Conference championships (7)	1981 1984 1988 1989 1994 2012 2019
League championships (5)	1981 (XVI) 1984 (XIX) 1988 (XXIII) 1989 (XXIV) 1994 (XXIX)
Retired numbers	8 12 16 34 37 39 70 73 79 80 87 BW Mr. D
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League (1950–present) Conference: National Football Conference Division: West Division
Former league affiliation	All-America Football Conference (1946–1949)