2002 Tennessee Titans season

2002 Tennessee Titans season
2002 Tennessee Titans season
Owner	Bud Adams
Head coach	Jeff Fisher
General manager	Floyd Reese
Home field	The Coliseum
Results
Record	11–5
Division place	1st AFC South
Playoff finish	Won Divisional Playoffs (vs. Steelers) 34–31 (OT); Lost AFC Championship (at Raiders) 24–41
	← 2001; Titans seasons; 2003 →;

The 2002 season was the Tennessee Titans' 33rd in the National Football League and 43rd overall. The team improved upon their previous season's output of 7–9, managing 11 victories.^[1] The Titans qualified for the playoffs, but were unable to reach the Super Bowl, losing to the Oakland Raiders in the AFC Championship. The Titans would not return to the AFC Championship again until 2019.

Offseason[]

Signings	Departures
DB Rich Coady (Rams)	DT Josh Evans (Jets)
RB Robert Holcombe (Rams)	DT Jason Fisk (Chargers)
FS Lance Schulters (49ers)	C Bruce Matthews (retired)
	LB Eddie Robinson (Bills)

NFL Draft[]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
2002 Tennessee Titans draft
1	12	Albert Haynesworth *	Defensive tackle	Tennessee	from N. Y. Giants
2	45	Tank Williams	Defensive back	Stanford
3	77	Rocky Calmus	Linebacker	Oklahoma
4	110	Mike Echols	Defensive back	Wisconsin	from N. Y. Giants
4	115	Tony Beckham	Defensive back	UW–Stout
4	133	Rocky Boiman	Linebacker	Notre Dame
5	151	Jake Schifino	Wide Receiver	Akron
6	187	Justin Hartwig	Center	Kansas
7	225	Darrell Hill	Wide Receiver	NIU
7	240	Carlos Hall	Defensive end	Arkansas	from Green Bay
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted free agents[]

2002 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player	Position	College
Brad Kassell	Linebacker	North Texas
John Simon	Running back	Louisiana Tech

Personnel[]

Coaching staff[]

**2002 Tennessee Titans staff**

	Front office Founder/Owner/Chairman of the Board/CEO – Bud Adams President/Chief Operating Officer – Jeff Diamond Executive VP/General Manager/Director of Football Operations – Floyd Reese Director of Player Personnel – Rich Snead Director of College Scouting – Mike Ackerley National Coordinator of College Scouting – C. O. Brocato Head coaches Executive Vice President/Head Coach – Jeff Fisher Assistant Head Coach/Offense – George Henshaw Assistant Head Coach/Linebackers – Gunther Cunningham Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Mike Heimerdinger Quarterbacks – Craig Johnson Running Backs – Sherman Smith Wide Receivers – Steve Walters Offensive Line – Mike Munchak Offensive Assistant/Quality Control – Ned James			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Jim Schwartz Defensive Line – Jim Washburn Defensive Backs – Everett Withers Defensive Assistant/Quality Control – Chuck Cecil Special teams coaches Special Teams – Alan Lowry Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Steve Watterson Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Sammy Cribb

Roster[]

**2002 Tennessee Titans final roster**

	Quarterbacks 9 Steve McNair 14 Neil O'Donnell 12 Billy Volek Running backs 34 Greg Comella FB 27 Eddie George 20 Mike Green 35 Robert Holcombe 45 John Simon KR/PR Wide receivers 82 Eddie Berlin 83 Drew Bennett 80 Darrell Hill 85 Derrick Mason 86 Justin McCareins Tight ends 88 Erron Kinney 84 Shad Meier 89 Frank Wycheck		Offensive linemen 67 Tom Ackerman G 64 Gennaro DiNapoli C 60 Aaron Graham C 77 Justin Hartwig G 72 Brad Hopkins T 68 G 76 Jason Mathews T 71 Fred Miller T 75 Benji Olson G 69 Zach Piller T Defensive linemen 79 Kevin Aldridge DE 93 Kevin Carter DE 92 Henry Ford DT 97 Carlos Hall DE 91 Albert Haynesworth DT 90 Jevon Kearse DE 94 Juqua Parker DE 98 Robaire Smith DE 78 John Thornton DT		Linebackers 50 Rocky Boiman OLB 53 Keith Bulluck OLB 54 Rocky Calmus MLB 57 Frank Chamberlin MLB 56 Randall Godfrey MLB 55 Brad Kassell OLB 59 Peter Sirmon OLB Defensive backs 24 Tony Beckham CB 29 Rich Coady S 22 Andre Dyson CB 36 Mike Echols CB 30 Donald Mitchell CB 21 Samari Rolle CB 31 Lance Schulters FS 37 Dainon Sidney CB 25 Tank Williams SS Special teams 15 Craig Hentrich P 6 Joe Nedney K		Reserve lists 87 Kevin Dyson WR (IR) 36 Mike Echols CB (IR) 99 Kris Kocurek DT (IR) 32 Bobby Myers S (IR) 81 Jake Schifino WR (IR) Practice squad 49 Chad Hayes TE -- Kendall Newson WR Rookies in italics

Preseason[]

Schedule[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record
1	August 10, 2002	St. Louis Rams	W 28–26	1–0
2	August 15, 2002	Oakland Raiders	W 24-14	2–0
3	August 23, 2002	at Minnesota Vikings	L 10–14	2–1
4	August 30, 2002	at Green Bay Packers	L 20–21	2–2

Regular season[]

Schedule[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	TV	Time (CT)	Record	Attendance
1	September 8	Philadelphia Eagles	W 27–24	FOX	12:00 pm	1-0	68,804
2	September 15	at Dallas Cowboys	L 13–21	CBS	12:00 pm	1-1	62,527
3	September 22	Cleveland Browns	L 28–31	CBS	12:00 pm	1-2	68,804
4	September 29	at Oakland Raiders	L 25–52	CBS	3:15 pm	1-3	58,719
5	October 6	Washington Redskins	L 14–31	FOX	12:00 pm	1-4	68,804
6	October 13	Jacksonville Jaguars	W 23–14	CBS	3:15 pm	2-4	68,804
7	Bye
8	October 27	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 30–24	CBS	12:00 pm	3-4	52,822
9	November 3	at Indianapolis Colts	W 23–15	CBS	12:00 pm	4-4	56,752
10	November 10	Houston Texans	W 17–10	CBS	12:00 pm	5-4	68,804
11	November 17	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 31–23	CBS	12:00 pm	6-4	68,804
12	November 24	at Baltimore Ravens	L 12–13	CBS	12:00 pm	6-5	69,365
13	December 1	at New York Giants	W 32–29	CBS	12:00 pm	7-5	78,640
14	December 8	Indianapolis Colts	W 27–17	CBS	12:00 pm	8-5	68,804
15	December 16	New England Patriots	W 24–7	ABC	8:08 pm	9-5	68,809
16	December 22	at Jacksonville Jaguars	W 28–10	CBS	12:00 pm	10-5	51,033
17	December 29	at Houston Texans	W 13–3	CBS	12:00 pm	11-5	70,694

Note: Division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries[]

Week 15: vs. New England Patriots[]

Week 15: New England Patriots at Tennessee Titans

	1	2	3	4	Total
Patriots	0	0	7	0	7
Titans	0	14	7	3	24

at The Coliseum, Nashville, Tennessee

Date: December 16, 2002
Game time: 9:00 pm
Game weather: Cloudy, 57 °F (14 °C)
Game attendance: 68,809
Referee: Ron Winter (14)
TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels, John Madden and Melissa Stark
Recap, Game Book

Game information

Second quarter

TEN – Steve McNair 11-yard run (Joe Nedney kick), 12:16. Titans 7–0. Drive: 12 plays, 78 yards, 6:18.
TEN – Steve McNair 1-yard run (Joe Nedney kick), 0:32. Titans 14–0. Drive: 12 plays, 58 yards, 6:48.

Third quarter

NE – Tom Brady 10-yard run (Adam Vinatieri kick), 13:08. Titans 14–7. Drive: 6 plays, 69 yards, 1:52.
TEN – Rich Coady 24-yard interception return (Joe Nedney kick), 9:58. Titans 21–7.

Fourth quarter

TEN – Joe Nedney 28-yard field goal, 9:22. Titans 24–7. Drive: 15 plays, 69 yards, 9:24.

Top passers

NE – Tom Brady – 14/29, 134 yards, INT
TEN – Steve McNair – 11/24, 136 yards, INT

Top rushers

NE – Antowain Smith – 6 rushes, 31 yards
TEN – Eddie George – 31 rushes, 101 yards

Top receivers

NE – Troy Brown – 8 receptions, 73 yards
TEN – Derrick Mason – 6 receptions, 86 yards

Standings[]

AFC South
view talk	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
⁽²⁾ Tennessee Titans	11	5	0	.688	6–0	9–3	367	324	W5
⁽⁵⁾ Indianapolis Colts	10	6	0	.625	4–2	8–4	349	313	W1
Jacksonville Jaguars	6	10	0	.375	1–5	4–8	328	315	L2
Houston Texans	4	12	0	.250	1–5	2–10	213	356	L3

Playoffs[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
Divisional	January 11, 2003	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 34–31	68,809
Conference Championship	January 19, 2003	at Oakland Raiders	L 24–41	62,544

AFC Divisional Playoff vs Pittsburgh Steelers[]

Tennessee Titans 34, Pittsburgh Steelers 31

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Steelers	0	13	7	11	0	31
Titans	14	0	14	3	3	34

at Adelphia Coliseum, Nashville, Tennessee

Game time: 4:30 pm EST
Game weather: Sunny, 34 °F (1 °C)
Game attendance: 68,809
Referee: Ron Blum
TV announcers (CBS): Dick Enberg, Dan Dierdorf, and Bonnie Bernstein

This was the Titans franchise's first playoff win over the Steelers in four tries, following three losses as the Oilers in 1978, 1979 and 1989, the latter of which was also in overtime.

AFC Championship Game[]

Oakland Raiders 41, Tennessee Titans 24

	1	2	3	4	Total
Titans	7	10	7	0	24
Raiders	14	10	3	14	41

at Network Associates Coliseum, Oakland, California

Game time: 6:30 p.m. EST/3:30 p.m. PST
Game weather: Clear, 52 °F (11 °C)
Game attendance: 62,544
Referee: Ed Hochuli
TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Phil Simms, Armen Keteyian and Bonnie Bernstein

This was the Titans' last appearance at the AFC championship game until 2019.

References[]

^ 2002 Tennessee Titans

[1] 2002 Tennessee Titans

[1]

v t Tennessee Titans
Founded in 1960 Formerly the Houston Oilers (1960–1996) and the Tennessee Oilers (1997–1998) Based and headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee
Franchise	History in Houston Coaches Seasons Players First-round draft picks Starting quarterbacks
Stadiums	Jeppesen Stadium Rice Stadium Houston Astrodome Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Vanderbilt Stadium Nissan Stadium
Culture	Bud Adams Luv Ya Blue T-Rac Cheerleaders
Lore	The Comeback Music City Miracle One Yard Short
Rivalries	Baltimore Ravens Buffalo Bills Dallas Cowboys Houston Texans Jacksonville Jaguars Pittsburgh Steelers
Division championships (10)	1960 1961 1962 1967 1991 1993 2000 2002 2008 2020
Conference championships (1)	1999
League championships (2)	1960 1961
Retired numbers	1 9 27 34 43 63 65 74
Media	Broadcasters Titans All Access Titans Preseason Football Titans Radio Network WKRN-TV WTVF WZTV WGFX-FM WSMV-TV
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League (1970–present) Conference: American Football Conference Division: South Division
Former league affiliation	League: American Football League (1960–1969)
Owners	Bud Adams (1959–2013) KSA Industries (2013–present) Susie Adams Smith Amy Adams Strunk

v t Tennessee Titans seasons
Formerly the Houston Oilers (1960–1996) and the Tennessee Oilers (1997–1998)
1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Bold indicates AFL Championship (1960–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) victory Italics indicates Super Bowl (1966–present) appearance