1978 San Francisco 49ers season

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

The 1978 San Francisco 49ers season was their 29th season in the National Football League. 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.

During the off-season, the 49ers acquired running back O. J. Simpson from Buffalo. 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 the fewest in the league in 1978. 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 32 O. J. Simpson 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 Jack Steptoe PR		Tight ends 82 Lon Boyett 81 Ken MacAfee 85 Paul Seal Offensive linemen 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 Dean Moore 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 Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 3, 1978	at Cleveland Browns	L 24–7	68,973
2	September 10, 1978	Chicago Bears	L 16–13	49,502
3	September 17, 1978	at Houston Oilers	L 20–19	46,161
4	September 24, 1978	at New York Giants	L 27–10	71,536
5	October 1, 1978	Cincinnati Bengals	W 28–12	41,107
6	October 8, 1978	at Los Angeles Rams	L 27–10	59,337
7	October 15, 1978	New Orleans Saints	L 14–7	37,671
8	October 22, 1978	Atlanta Falcons	L 20–17	44,235
9	October 29, 1978	at Washington Redskins	L 38–20	53,706
10	November 5, 1978	at Atlanta Falcons	L 21–10	55,468
11	November 12, 1978	St. Louis Cardinals	L 16–10	33,155
12	November 19, 1978	Los Angeles Rams	L 31–28	45,022
13	November 27, 1978	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 24–7	51,657
14	December 3, 1978	at New Orleans Saints	L 24–13	50,068
15	December 10, 1978	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 6–3	30,931
16	December 17, 1978	at Detroit Lions	L 33–14	56,674

Standings

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