1981 New Orleans Saints season
OwnerJohn Mecom, Jr.
Head coachBum Phillips
Home fieldLouisiana Superdome
Results
Record4–12
Division place4th NFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersRB George Rogers

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.

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

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

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches
  • Defensive coordinator – Wade Phillips
  • Defensive line – Willie Zapalac
  • Linebackers – John Paul Young
  • Defensive backfield – Lance Van Zandt

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and Conditioning – Russell Paternostro

Roster

1981 New Orleans Saints roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad



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
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]

References

  1. ↑ "1981 New Orleans Saints draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  2. 1 2 NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 437


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