Oakland Raiders announce future move to Los Angeles in defiance of NFL vote
In 1979, Raider owner Al Davis announced his intention to move the Raiders to Los Angeles. Negotiations between Davis and the Oakland Coliseum regarding potential improvements to the facility came to an end in February 1980. At the NFL's annual meeting on March 10, 1980, team owners voted 22-0 against allowing the move, with the Raiders not participating and five teams abstaining. Davis announced he would ignore the vote and move the team anyway. The Raiders played the entire 1980 season in Oakland. At a Monday Night Football game against the Denver Broncos on December 1, 1980, Raider fans protested by entering the Oakland Coliseum five minutes after the start of the game and holding up signs stating "Save Our Raiders" at each half's 2-minute warning. By some estimates, “almost two-thirds” of the Coliseum's seats had been empty at the game's kickoff. The announced move was involved in four lawsuits: the Los Angeles Coliseum Commission sued the NFL charging antitrust violations, the NFL sued the Raiders charging breach of contract, Raider season ticket holders filed a class-action lawsuit, and the City of Oakland filed for eminent domain of the team. In May 1982, a jury ruled that the NFL had violated antitrust law by attempting to prevent the move. In April 1983, after the team's first season in Los Angeles, a separate jury awarded the Raiders $35 million in damages.
The league added a 15th officiating crew, promoting Bob McElwee to referee. The league previously had 15 crews in 1976 and 1977. After referee Bernie Ulman retired after the 1977 season, the league used only 14 crews for the 1978 and 1979 seasons, requiring all 14 of them to be on hand for the weekly workload of 14 games.
Major rule changes
A ten-second runoff will be implemented when a team commits the following actions to conserve time within the last minute of either half or overtime :
*Spiking or throwing the ball in the field of play after a down has ended, except after a touchdown
*Any other intentional foul that causes the clock to stop.
*Any excess time-out taken for injuries by either team.
Teams can take a time-out to prevent the runoff.
Players are prohibited from striking, swinging, or clubbing to the head, face, or neck. The personal foul could be called whether or not the initial contact was made below the neck.
A "Guidelines for Captains" section was added to the rules.
Division Races
From 1978 to 1989, ten teams qualified for the playoffs: the winners of each of the divisions, and two wild-card teams in each conference. These are the leaders for each playoff slot, week by week. Teams listed in Week 16 indicate playoff participants.
St. Louis Cardinals: Jim Hanifan became the Cardinals' new head coach. Bud Wilkinson was fired after the team started the 1979 season at 3–10, and the team's personal director Larry Wilson served as interim for the last three games.
In-season
New Orleans Saints: Dick Nolan was fired after a 0–12 start. Dick Stanfel took over as interim.
The Cincinnati Bengals switched from gray to black face masks. The Bengals also added TV numbers to the sleeves of their jerseys, becoming the last NFL team to do so.
The Denver Broncos discontinued wearing orange pants with their white jerseys.
The Houston Oilers dropped the blue pants worn with their white jerseys for this season only.
The Los Angeles Rams switched from gray to blue face masks
