1981 New Orleans Saints season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 New Orleans Saints 1981 4–12 4th NFC West Bum Phillips John Mecom, Jr. Louisiana Superdome Did not qualify RB George Rogers Saints seasons thumb | right 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. Phillips had turned around the Houston Oilers after they had suffered similar struggles, eventually taking them to consecutive AFC Championship Games in 1978 and 1979, both of which ended with defeats to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Coming of an NFL worst 1–15 record the previous year, the Saints received the first overall pick in the 1981 draft, which they used to select 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 NFL draft 1981 New Orleans Saints 1 1 George Rogers Running back South Carolina yes yes 2 29 Russell Gary Safety Nebraska yes 2 51 Rickey Jackson Linebacker Pittsburgh yes yes yes 3 57 Frank Warren Defensive end Auburn yes 3 71 Hoby Brenner Tight end USC yes yes 5 112 Louis Oubre Guard Oklahoma yes 5 128 Jerry Boyarsky Defensive tackle Pittsburgh yes 6 139 Nat Hudson Guard Georgia yes 6 144 Johnnie Poe Defensive back Missouri yes 6 166 Glen Redd Linebacker BYU yes 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 yes 10 249 Hokie Gajan Running back LSU yes 11 277 Lester Mickens Wide receiver Kansas 12 305 Jim Wilks Defensive end San Diego State yes https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/nor/1981_draft.htm 1981 New Orleans Saints draftees Pro-Football-Reference.com November 10, 2014 Undrafted free agents + 1981 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeMonte BennettDefensive tackleKansas State Personnel Staff 1981 New Orleans Saints Owner – John Mecom, Jr. Director of Football Operations – Harry Hulmes Director of Player Personnel – Pat Peppler Head coach – Bum Phillips Offensive coordinator – King Hill Offensive backfield – John Levra Receivers – Lamar McHan Offensive line – Joe Spencer Defensive coordinator – Wade Phillips Defensive line – Willie Zapalac Linebackers – John Paul Young Defensive backfield – Lance Van Zandt Special teams – Harold Richardson Strength and Conditioning – Russell Paternostro Roster 1981 New Orleans Saints  8 Archie Manning 12 Bobby Scott American football 18 Dave Wilson American football y 45 Jack Holmes American football 38 George Rogers American football y 41 Jimmy Rogers running back 32 Scott Stauch y 42 Toussaint Tyler y 30 Wayne Wilson American football 48 Jeff Groth American football 86 Rich Martini 19 Guido Merkens 89 Aundra Thompson 85 Hoby Brenner y 87 Larry Hardy American football 61 Sam Adams Sr. G 67 Stan Brock American football T 62 John Hill American football C 69 Nat Hudson American football y G 64 Dave Lafary T 76 Jim Pietrzak C 68 Fred Sturt G 65 Bob Young offensive lineman G 91 Monte Bennett y NT 77 Jerry Boyarsky y NT 78 Elois Grooms DE 74 Derland Moore DE 73 Frank Warren American football y DE 94 Jim Wilks y DE 50 Ken Bordelon OLB 59 Chuck Evans linebacker ILB 52 Jim Kovach ILB 57 Rickey Jackson y OLB 55 Rob Nairne OLB 53 Scott Pelluer y ILB 58 Glen Redd y OLB 20 Russell Gary y SS 37 Tom Myers safety FS 25 Johnnie Poe y CB 47 Mike Spivey American football CB 49 Frank Wattelet SS/FS 44 Dave Waymer CB 14 Russell Erxleben P  1 Benny Ricardo K 54 Paul Ryczek LS 63 Barry Bennett NT IR 98 Donnie Echols y TE IR 46 Hokie Gajan y FB IR 92 Gene Gladys no y LB IR 73 Jeff Harper no y C IR 82 Ike Harris WR IR 28 Bill Hurley S IR 60 Tom Kearns y G IR no 56 Reggie Mathis LB IR 84 Rich Mauti WR IR 26 Lester Mickens no y WR IR 66 Louis Oubre y G IR 83 Tinker Owens WR PUP 71 J. T. Taylor American football T IR 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 Awards and records George Rogers, NFL rushing title, 1,674 yardsNFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, 0-7611-2480-2, p. 437 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 References External links Saints on Pro Football Reference Saints on jt-sw.com New Orleans Category:New Orleans Saints seasons New Category:Long stubs with short prose