1979 Miami Dolphins

1979 Miami Dolphins season
Head Coach	Don Shula
Home Field	Orange Bowl
Results
Record	10–6
Place	1st AFC East
Playoff Finish	Lost AFC Divisional Playoff to Pittsburgh 34–14
Timeline
Previous Season	Next Season
1978	1980

The 1979 Miami Dolphins season was the 14th year of existence for the Miami Dolphins franchise. Although they finished at 10–6, one win fewer than the previous year, they were still able to win the AFC East division title outright. They ultimately lost in the division round of the NFL playoffs to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Offseason

NFL Draft

1979 Miami Dolphins draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	24	Jon Giesler	Offensive tackle	Michigan
2	53	Jeff Toews	Guard	Washington
3	61	Tony Nathan *	Running back	Alabama
3	63	Mel Land	Linebacker	Michigan State
3	65	Ronnie Lee	Offensive tackle	Baylor
4	107	Steve Howell	Fullback	Baylor
5	134	Don Bessillieu	Defensive back	Georgia Tech
6	162	Steve Lindquist	Guard	Nebraska
7	189	Uwe von Schamann	Placekicker	Oklahoma
8	206	Jeff Groth	Wide receiver	Bowling Green
8	215	Glenn Blackwood	Defensive back	Texas
9	244	Jeff Weston	Offensive tackle	Notre Dame
10	258	Jerome Stanton	Defensive back	Michigan State
10	272	Mike Kozlowski	Defensive back	Colorado
11	299	Mike Blanton	Defensive end	Georgia Tech
12	327	Larry Fortner	Quarterback	Miami (OH)
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

1979 Undrafted Free Agents of note

Player	Position	College
Joel Williams	Linebacker	Wisconsin–La Crosse

Personnel

Coaches / Staff

1979 Miami Dolphins final 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 Quarterbacks/receivers – Dan Henning Offensive backs – Carl Taseff Offensive line/running game – John Sandusky			Defensive Coaches Assistant head coach/defense – Bill Arnsparger Defensive line/run defense – Mike Scarry Defensive backs – Tom Keane Special Teams Coaches Special teams – Steve Crosby, Carl Taseff Punting – Tom Keane Strength and Conditioning None - N/A

Roster

1979 Miami Dolphins final roster
	Quarterbacks  7 Guy Benjamin 12 Bob Griese 10 Don Strock Running backs 39 Larry Csonka 27 Gary Davis 38 Steve Howell FB 22 Tony Nathan 38 Bob Torrey 24 Delvin Williams Wide receivers 81 Jimmy Cefalo 82 Duriel Harris 89 Nat Moore Tight ends 84 Bruce Hardy 86 Ronnie Lee		Offensive linemen 71 Mike Current T 63 Mark Dennard C 79 Jon Giesler T 61 Cleveland Green T 67 Bob Kuechenberg G 68 Eric Laakso T 66 Larry Little G 64 Ed Newman G Defensive linemen 78 Carl Barisich DT 73 Bob Baumhower DT 75 Doug Betters DE 83 Vern Den Herder DE 77 A. J. Duhe DE		Linebackers 58 Kim Bokamper 51 Rusty Chambers 50 Larry Gordon 52 Mel Land 53 Bob Matheson 54 Ralph Ortega 55 Earnest Rhone 56 Steve Towle Defensive backs 46 Don Bessillieu 20 Neal Colzie FS 25 Tim Foley SS 37 Mike Kozlowski 48 Gerald Small 45 Ed Taylor CB 41 Norris Thomas CB Special teams 4 George Roberts P 5 Uwe von Schamann K		Reserve lists 49 Charlie Babb SS (IR) 47 Glenn Blackwood DB (IR) 31 Norm Bulaich RB (IR) 62 Jim Langer C (IR) 60 Jeff Toews G (IR) Practice squad Rookies in italics Active, Inactive, Practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Score	Record	Attendance
1	Sept. 2	at Buffalo Bills	Win	9-7	1–0	69,441
2	Sept. 9	Seattle Seahawks	Win	19-10	2–0	56,233
3	Sept. 16	at Minnesota Vikings	Win	27-12	3–0	46,187
4	Sept. 23	Chicago Bears	Win	31-16	4–0	66,011
5	Sept. 30	at New York Jets	Loss	33-27	4–1	51,496
6	Oct. 8	at Oakland Raiders	Loss	13-3	4–2	52,419
7	Oct. 14	Buffalo Bills	Win	17-7	5–2	45,597
8	Oct. 21	at New England Patriots	Loss	28-13	5–3	61,096
9	Oct. 28	Green Bay Packers	Win	27-7	6–3	47,741
10	Nov. 5	Houston Oilers	Loss	9-6	6–4	70,273
11	Nov. 11	Baltimore Colts	Win	19-0	7–4	50,193
12	Nov. 18	at Cleveland Browns	Loss (OT)	30-24	7–5	80,374
13	Nov. 25	at Baltimore Colts	Win	28-24	8–5	38,016
14	Nov. 29	New England Patriots	Win	39-24	9–5	69,174
15	Dec. 9	at Detroit Lions	Win	28-10	10–5	78,087
16	Dec. 15	New York Jets	Loss	27-24	10–6	49,915

Standings

AFC East
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
Miami Dolphins	10	6	0	.625	341	257
New England Patriots	9	7	0	.563	411	326
New York Jets	8	8	0	.500	337	383
Buffalo Bills	7	9	0	.438	268	279
Baltimore Colts	5	11	0	.313	271	351

Playoffs

AFC Divisional Playoff (Sunday December 30, 1979): at Pittsburgh Steelers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Dolphins	0	0	7	7	14
Steelers	20	0	7	7	34

|stadium= Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |time= 12:30 pm EST |weather= |attendance= 50,214 |referee= Cal Lepore |TV=NBC | TVAnnouncers= Don Criqui (play by play), John Brodie (color commentator) |bg2=#eee |scoring=

• Pittsburgh – Thornton 1 run (Bahr kick)
• Pittsburgh – Stallworth 17 pass from Bradshaw (kick blocked)
• Pittsburgh – Swann 20 pass from Bradshaw (Bahr kick)
• Miami – Harris 7 pass from Griese (von Schamann kick)
• Pittsburgh – Bleier 1 run (Bahr kick)
• Pittsburgh – Harris 5 run (Bahr kick)
• Miami – Csonka 1 run (von Schamann kick)

}}

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.

External links

• 1979 Miami Dolphins season article at Wikipedia
• 1979 Miami Dolphins at Pro Football Reference
• 1979 Miami Dolphins at jt-sw.com