1996 Houston Oilers season
1996 Houston Oilers season | |
---|---|
Owner | Bud Adams |
Head coach | Jeff Fisher |
General manager | Floyd Reese |
Home field | Houston Astrodome |
Results | |
Record | 8–8 |
Division place | 4th AFC Central |
Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Uniform | |
The 1996 Houston Oilers season was the 37th season overall and 27th with the National Football League (NFL) and their final season in Houston. The team bested their previous season's output of 7–9,[1] but failed to qualify for the playoffs for the third consecutive season. The Oilers only won two out of their eight games at home. However, on the road they won six out of eight games as the Oilers finish with an 8-8 record. Houston running back Eddie George won the Offensive Rookie of the Year with 1,368 yards rushing.
The Oilers had already established itself as a lame duck franchise; the league had approved the team's relocation to Nashville, Tennessee a year ahead of schedule, although it was not originally scheduled to take place until 1998.[2] With the team having given up on Houston, the city responded in kind: fan support and attendance dropped to negligible levels for the 1996 season, the team's radio network was all but disbanded, and the local broadcasts were being cut off in favor of preseason NBA basketball.[3] The Oilers, unwilling to continue in Houston after such a debacle, quickly moved to Memphis, Tennessee's Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in 1997, becoming the Tennessee Oilers (Memphis, too, would reject the "temporary" housing of the Oilers, forcing the team to move to Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville until the new Nashville stadium was finished in 1999).
Offseason[]
NFL Draft[]
1996 Houston Oilers draft | |||||
Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 14 | Eddie George * | Running back | Ohio State | |
2 | 38 | Bryant Mix | Defensive end | Alcorn State | |
2 | 48 | Jason Layman | Offensive tackle | Tennessee | |
3 | 74 | Terry Killens | Linebacker | Penn State | |
4 | 107 | Kendrick Burton | Defensive end | Alabama | |
4 | 109 | Jon Runyan * | Offensive tackle | Michigan | |
5 | 143 | Rayna Stewart | Safety | Northern Arizona | |
6 | 177 | Anthony Dorsett | Cornerback | Pittsburgh | |
7 | 218 | Mike Archie | Running back | Penn State | |
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career |
Personnel[]
Staff[]
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
Roster[]
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
|
Reserve lists
Practice squad
|
Regular season[]
Schedule[]
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 1 | Kansas City Chiefs | L 19–20 | 0–1 | Astrodome | 27,725 |
2 | September 8 | at Jacksonville Jaguars | W 34–27 | 1–1 | Jacksonville Municipal Stadium | 66,468 |
3 | September 15 | Baltimore Ravens | W 29–13 | 2–1 | Astrodome | 20,082 |
4 | Bye | |||||
5 | September 29 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 16–30 | 2–2 | Three Rivers Stadium | 58,608 |
6 | October 6 | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 30–27 | 3–2 | Riverfront Stadium | 44,680 |
7 | October 13 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 23–13 | 4–2 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 35,401 |
8 | October 20 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 23–13 | 5–2 | Astrodome | 50,337 |
9 | October 27 | San Francisco 49ers | L 9–10 | 5–3 | Astrodome | 53,664 |
10 | November 3 | at Seattle Seahawks | L 16–23 | 5–4 | Kingdome | 36,320 |
11 | November 10 | at New Orleans Saints | W 31–14 | 6–4 | Louisiana Superdome | 34,121 |
12 | November 17 | Miami Dolphins | L 20–23 | 6–5 | Astrodome | 47,358 |
13 | November 24 | Carolina Panthers | L 6–31 | 6–6 | Astrodome | 20,107 |
14 | December 1 | at New York Jets | W 35–10 | 7–6 | Giants Stadium | 21,731 |
15 | December 8 | Jacksonville Jaguars | L 17–23 | 7-7 | Astrodome | 20,196 |
16 | December 15 | Cincinnati Bengals | L 13–21 | 7-8 | Astrodome | 15,131 |
17 | December 22 | at Baltimore Ravens | W 24–21 | 8-8 | Memorial Stadium | 52,704 |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Standings[]
AFC Central | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |
(3) Pittsburgh Steelers | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 344 | 257 | L2 |
(5) Jacksonville Jaguars | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 325 | 335 | W5 |
Cincinnati Bengals | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 372 | 369 | W3 |
Houston Oilers | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 345 | 319 | W1 |
Baltimore Ravens | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 371 | 441 | L3 |
References[]
- ^ 1996 Houston Oilers
- ^ PRO FOOTBALL;N.F.L. Owners Approve Move To Nashville By the Oilers. The New York Times. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
- ^ Oilers hope to prove lame ducks can soar. The New York Times. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
- ^ "1996 Houston Oilers draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
- ^ "1996 Houston Oilers starters, roster, and players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
External links[]
- Tennessee Titans seasons
- 1996 National Football League season by team
- 1996 in sports in Texas
- 1996 in Houston