Tennessee Titans

Tennessee Titans
Current season
Established August 3, 1959; 62 years ago (August 3, 1959)[1] First season: 1960 Play in Nissan Stadium Nashville, Tennessee Headquartered in Saint Thomas Sports Park, Nashville, Tennessee
Logo Wordmark
League/conference affiliations
American Football League Eastern Division (1960–1969) National Football League (1970–present) American Football Conference (1970–present) AFC Central (1970–2001) AFC South (2002–present)
Current uniform
Team colors	Navy, Titans blue, red, silver, white[2][3][4]
Mascot	T-Rac
Personnel
Owner(s)	Amy Adams Strunk[5]
Chairman	Susie Adams Smith Amy Adams Strunk
CEO	Burke Nihill
President	Burke Nihill
Head coach	Mike Vrabel
General manager	Jon Robinson
Team history
Houston Oilers (1960–1996) Tennessee Oilers (1997–1998) Tennessee Titans (1999–present)
Championships
League championships (2) AFL Championships (pre-1970 AFL–NFL merger) (2) 1960, 1961
Conference championships (1) AFC: 1999
Division championships (10) AFL Eastern: 1960, 1961, 1962, 1967 AFC Central: 1991, 1993, 2000 AFC South: 2002, 2008, 2020
Playoff appearances (24)
AFL: 1960, 1961, 1962, 1967, 1969 NFL: 1978, 1979, 1980, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2017, 2019, 2020
Home fields
Jeppesen Stadium (1960–1964) Rice Stadium (1965–1967) Houston Astrodome (1968–1996) Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium (1997) Vanderbilt Stadium (1998) Nissan Stadium (1999–present)

This article is part of series of
Tennessee Titans history
Houston Oilers (1960–1996)
Tennessee Oilers (1997–1998)
Tennessee Titans (1999–present)
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The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division.

Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team was founded by Bud Adams who owned it until his death in 2013 and began play in 1960 in Houston, Texas, as a charter member of the American Football League (AFL). The Oilers won the first two AFL Championships along with four division titles and joined the NFL as part of the AFL–NFL merger in 1970. The Oilers made consecutive playoff appearances from 1978 to 1980 and 1987 to 1993, with Hall of Famers Earl Campbell and Warren Moon, respectively.

The team relocated from Houston to Nashville, Tennessee in 1997, but played at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis for one season while waiting for a stadium to be constructed. Due to low attendance, the team then moved to Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville in 1998. For those two years, they were known as the "Tennessee Oilers", but changed their name to "Tennessee Titans" for the 1999 season. The team currently plays at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, which opened in 1999 as Adelphia Coliseum. The Titans' training facility is at Saint Thomas Sports Park, a 31-acre (13 ha) site at the MetroCenter complex in Nashville.^[6]

Throughout the club's history, the Titans have played in the Super Bowl once (XXXIV, at the end of the 1999 NFL season); the Titans lost 23–16 to the St. Louis Rams. Led by Steve McNair and Eddie George, the Titans made the playoffs in all but one season from 1999 to 2003, but only made the playoffs twice in the next thirteen years. Since 2016, the Titans have had five consecutive winning seasons, the most since they were the Houston Oilers, and made three playoff appearances in that time. The Titans are the only team in the league to have two players rush for 2,000 yards in a season; those players were Chris Johnson (2009) and Derrick Henry (2020).

History[]

Logos and uniforms[]

When the team debuted as the Houston Oilers in 1960, the club's logo was an oil rig derrick. Except for minor color changes throughout the years, this logo remained the same until the team was renamed the Titans in 1999. The logo was originally called "Ol' Riggy", but this was dropped before the start of the 1974 season.

The Oilers' uniforms consisted of blue or white jerseys, red trim, and white pants. From 1966 through 1971, the pants with both the blue and white jerseys were silver, to match the color of the helmets. The team commonly wore light blue pants on the road with the white jerseys from 1972 through 1994, with the exception of the 1980 season, and selected games in the mid-80s, when the team wore an all-white road combination. For selected games in 1973 and 1974, and again from 1981 through 1984, the Oilers wore their white jerseys at home. The light blue pants were discarded by coach Jeff Fisher in 1995.

From 1960 to about 1965 and from 1972 to 1974, they wore blue helmets; from 1966 to 1971, the helmets were silver; and they were white from 1975 to 1998.

During the 1997–98 period, when they were known as the "Tennessee Oilers", the team had an alternate logo that combined elements of the flag of Tennessee with the derrick logo. The team also wore their white uniforms in home games, as opposed to their time in Houston, when their blue uniforms were worn at home – in the two years as the Tennessee Oilers, the team only wore their colored jerseys twice, for road games against the Miami Dolphins and a Thanksgiving Day game against the Dallas Cowboys; they wore all-white exclusively in their last year under the Tennessee Oilers banner.

When the team was renamed the Titans, the club introduced a new logo: a circle with three stars, similar to that found on the flag of Tennessee, containing a large "T" with a trail of flames similar to a comet. The uniforms consisted of white helmets, red trim, and either navy or white jerseys. White pants were normally worn with the navy jerseys, and navy pants were worn with the white jerseys. On both the navy and white jerseys, the outside shoulders and sleeves were light Titans blue. In a game against the Washington Redskins in 2006, the Titans wore their navy jerseys with navy pants for the first time.

Since 2000, the Titans have generally worn their dark uniforms at home throughout the preseason and regular season. They have worn white at home during daytime contests on many occasions for September home games to gain an advantage with the heat except in the 2005, 2006, and 2008 seasons.

The Titans introduced an alternate jersey in 2003 that was light Titans blue, with navy outside shoulders and sleeves. That jersey was usually worn with the road blue pants. When it was the alternate jersey from 2003 to 2007, the Titans wore the jersey twice in each regular-season game (and once in the preseason). They always wore the Titans blue jersey in their annual divisional game against the Houston Texans and for other selected home games which came mostly against a team from the old AFL (American Football League). Their selection in those games was representative of the organization's ties to Houston and the old AFL. In November 2006, the Titans introduced light Titans blue pants in a game at the Philadelphia Eagles. The pants were reminiscent of the ones donned by the Oilers. In December 2006, they combined the Titans blue pants with the Titans blue jersey to create an all Titans blue uniform – Vince Young appeared in this uniform in the cover art for the Madden NFL 08 video game.

During the 2006 season, the Titans wore seven different uniform combinations, pairing the white jersey with all three sets of pants (white, Titans blue, navy blue), the navy jersey with the white and navy pants, and the Titans blue jersey with navy and Titans blue pants. In a 2007 game against the Atlanta Falcons, the Titans paired the navy blue jersey with the Titans blue pants for the first time. They also wore the navy blue jerseys with the light blue pants against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The team paired the Titans blue jerseys with the white pants for the first time on November 14, 2013, in a home game against the Indianapolis Colts.

In 2008, the Titans blue jerseys became the regular home uniforms, with the navy blue jerseys being relegated to alternate status,^[7] but not worn until 2013 — see below.

In 2009, the NFL and the Hall of Fame committee announced that the Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills would begin the 2009 NFL preseason in the Hall of Fame Game. The game, played on Sunday, August 9, 2009, at Canton's Pro Football Hall of Fame Field at Fawcett Stadium, was nationally televised on NBC. The Titans defeated the Bills by a score of 21–18.^[8] In honor of the AFL's 50th anniversary, the Titans wore Oilers' uniforms for this game. Also in 2009, the team honored former quarterback Steve McNair by placing a small, navy blue disc on the back of their helmets with a white number nine inside of it (nine was the number McNair wore during his time with the Oilers/Titans).

From 2009 to 2012, the Titans did not wear an alternate jersey during any regular season games. It was not until 2013 that the team wore the navy blue jerseys twice in honor of the 15th anniversary as the "Titans."^[9] The Titans wore white jerseys for all games in 2014, for the exceptions of two preseason home games, in which the team wore their light Titans blue jerseys, and an October 26, 2014, game against the Houston Texans, in which the Titans wore their navy blue uniforms.^[10]

Beginning in 2015, navy blue became the team's primary home jersey color again, marking the first time since 2007 that the Titans wore navy as their primary home jersey, though the team plans to continue wearing white jerseys for early-season hot-weather home games. The light Titans blue jersey, which was the team's primary jersey color from 2008 to 2014, became the team's alternate jersey for a second time.^[11][12]

The Titans debuted new uniforms on April 4, 2018, at an event attended by over 10,000 fans in downtown Nashville. The uniforms retain the color palette of navy blue, Titans blue, and white; with new red and silver elements being introduced. The new helmets are navy blue with one silver sword-shaped stripe through the center and metallic gray facemasks, a change from the previous white helmets with two navy stripes and black facemasks.^[2][13][14]

Rivals[]

The Titans share rivalries with their three AFC South opponents (Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans, and Indianapolis Colts). They also have historical rivalries with former divisional opponents such as the Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens (formerly the original Cleveland Browns) and Buffalo Bills, and during their time as the Houston Oilers, shared an in-state rivalry with the Dallas Cowboys.

Divisional rivalries[]

Jacksonville Jaguars[]

Since their founding, the Jaguars have been seen from time to time as the Titans' primary rival due to constantly competitive games between the two franchises. The rivalry was heated in the late 1990s and early 2000s due to the success of both franchises at the time, including a season in which Jacksonville went 14-2 and Tennessee went 13–3. That season, all three of Jacksonville's losses (including the playoffs) came against the Titans, who went on to play in Super Bowl XXXIV. The rivalry then cooled with both teams experiencing misfortune in the late 2000s to early 2010s, but both teams ended lengthy playoff droughts in 2017.

Houston Texans[]

The Texans see the Titans as their primary rival due to the Titans' previous history in Houston until their relocation to Tennessee. The Titans dominated the rivalry in the early 2000s, but the series has since evened out in the 2010s.

Indianapolis Colts[]

The Colts have been very dominant in their rivalry with the Titans since the creation of the AFC South, with quarterbacks Peyton Manning and later Andrew Luck leading the Colts to consistent success against the Titans and the rest of the division. However, the series has become more even as of late, with the Titans sweeping the Colts in 2017 after 11 straight losses.^[15] In the recent years, the rivalry has picked up steam as both the Titans and the Colts have got playoff teams and compete for the AFC South title. The Titans came out as the 2020 AFC South champions over the Colts due to tiebreaking measures as both finished 11-5.

Other rivalries[]

Buffalo Bills[]

As the Houston Oilers, the team was first in the same division as the Buffalo Bills in the days of the AFL, but were moved to the AFC Central division following the NFL-AFL merger. Even after the Bills and Oilers were placed in separate divisions following the merger, their rivalry remained strong into the 1980s and 1990s with Warren Moon leading the Oilers up against Jim Kelly and the Bills. Two of the most iconic playoff moments in Oilers/Titans history have occurred against the Bills: the Comeback (known as "the Choke" in Houston due to the team's historic collapse against the Bills) and the Music City Miracle, which occurred after the team moved to Nashville to become the Titans.^[16] The Bills and Titans were later featured in an "AFL legacy" game in 2009, as part of festivities commemorating the 50th anniversary of the AFL's foundation. Titans owner Bud Adams was fined $250,000 by the league following the 41-17 Titans win in which he obscenely gestured towards the Bills sideline, as he and Bills owner Ralph Wilson had maintained a friendly rivalry and were the last living original AFL owners at that time (Adams and Wilson would die in 2013 and 2014, respectively).^[17]

Pittsburgh Steelers[]

After the move to the AFC Central division, they developed a strong rivalry with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers were the Oilers' primary divisional rival and to this date, the Titans have played them more than any other NFL team.^[18] The Steelers and Oilers were competitive in the 1970s, facing off in back-to-back AFC championship games towards the end of the decade. The teams both underwent hard times in the 1980s before re-emerging in the 1990s. After the Oilers' move to Tennessee and the re-alignment of the NFL's divisions in 2002, the Steelers-Titans rivalry has cooled somewhat.

Baltimore Ravens[]

In the late 1990s and early 2000s after becoming the Titans, they had a briefly intense rivalry with the Baltimore Ravens, which flared up again when former Titans quarterback Steve McNair went to the Ravens. Following the realignment of the NFL's divisions in 2002, the rivalry with the Ravens cooled off somewhat,^[19] though the Titans have faced off against Baltimore five times in the postseason,^[20] most recently in the 2020–21 NFL playoffs, in which they lost to the 5th seeded Ravens 20–13.

Season-by-season records[]

Player information[]

Current roster[]

Tennessee Titans roster

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Quarterbacks 17 Ryan Tannehill  5 Logan Woodside Running backs 41 Khari Blasingame FB 22 Derrick Henry 28 Jeremy McNichols 38 Mekhi Sargent Wide receivers 13 Cameron Batson 11 A. J. Brown  2 Julio Jones 81 Racey McMath 18 Josh Reynolds 80 Chester Rogers 15 Nick Westbrook-Ikhine Tight ends 86 Anthony Firkser 89 Tommy Hudson 87 Geoff Swaim

Offensive linemen 62 Aaron Brewer C 64 Nate Davis G 60 Ben Jones C 71 Kendall Lamm T 77 Taylor Lewan T 72 David Quessenberry G 75 Dillon Radunz T 76 Rodger Saffold G 70 Ty Sambrailo T Defensive linemen 96 Denico Autry DE 91 Larrell Murchison DE 95 Anthony Rush NT 98 Jeffery Simmons DE 93 Teair Tart NT

Linebackers 92 Ola Adeniyi OLB 55 Jayon Brown ILB 48 Bud Dupree OLB 49 Nick Dzubnar ILB 54 Rashaan Evans ILB 58 Harold Landry OLB 51 David Long Jr. ILB 56 Monty Rice ILB 50 Derick Roberson OLB 99 Rashad Weaver OLB Defensive backs 39 Breon Borders CB 31 Kevin Byard FS 29 Dane Cruikshank FS  3 Caleb Farley CB 21 Matthias Farley S 26 Kristian Fulton CB 37 Amani Hooker FS 35 Chris Jackson CB 20 Janoris Jenkins CB 24 Elijah Molden CB Special teams 46 Morgan Cox LS  4 Sam Ficken K  6 Brett Kern P

Reserve lists 67 G (COVID-19) 53 B. J. Bello ILB (IR) 33 Brady Breeze S (COVID-19) 97 Trevon Coley DE (IR) 32 Darrynton Evans RB (IR) 88 Marcus Johnson WR (IR) 66 OT (IR)  7 Tucker McCann K (IR) 52 Daniel Munyer C (IR) 49 TE (IR) Practice squad  7 Matt Barkley QB 94 Amani Bledsoe DE 36 Briean Boddy-Calhoun CB 25 Jamal Carter S 44 FB 69 Christian DiLauro OT 10 Dez Fitzpatrick WR 78 Woodrow Hamilton NT 47 LB 23 Chris Jones CB 90 DE 12 WR 61 Corey Levin C 30 Bradley McDougald FS 85 MyCole Pruitt TE 57 Jordan Roos G Rookies in italics Roster updated September 8, 2021 Depth chart Transactions 53 active, 10 inactive, 16 practice squad → AFC rosters → NFC rosters

Retired numbers[]

Houston / Tennessee Oilers / Titans retired numbers
No.	Player	Position	Years played	Retired
1	Warren Moon	QB	1984–93	October 1, 2006
9	Steve McNair	QB	1995-2005	September 15, 2019
27	Eddie George	RB	1996-2003	September 15, 2019
34	Earl Campbell	RB	1978–84	August 13, 1987
43	Jim Norton	S/P	1960–68	1968
63	Mike Munchak	OG	1982–93	November 6, 1994
65	Elvin Bethea	DE	1968–83	August 4, 1983
74	Bruce Matthews	OT	1983–2001	December 8, 2002

^[21]

Pro Football Hall of Fame members[]

Houston Oilers / Tennessee Oilers/Titans Hall of Famers
Players
No.	Inductee	Class	Position	Seasons
65	Elvin Bethea	2003	DE	1968–83
16	George Blanda	1981	QB/K	1960–66
52	Robert Brazile	2018	LB	1975-84
34	Earl Campbell	1991	RB	1978–84
87	Dave Casper	2002	TE	1980–83
78	Curley Culp	2013	DT	1974–80
29	Ken Houston	1986	S	1967–72
73	Steve Hutchinson	2020	OG	2012
35	John Henry Johnson	1987	FB	1966
18/40	Charlie Joiner	1996	WR	1969–72
74	Matthews, BruceBruce Matthews	2007	OT	1983–2001
68	Kevin Mawae	2019	C	2006–09
1	Warren Moon	2006	QB	1984–93
84	Randy Moss	2018	WR	2010
63	Mike Munchak	2001	OG	1982–93
12	Ken Stabler	2016	QB	1980–81
Coaches and Executives
Inductee		Class	Position	Seasons
Sammy Baugh		1963	Coach	1964
Sid Gillman		1983	Coach	1973–74
Dick LeBeau		2010	Ass. Coach	2015-17

Texas Sports Hall of Fame[]

Titans/Oilers Hall of Fame[]

Bud Adams established the Titans/Oilers Hall of Fame after the 40th season of the franchise to honor past players and management^[21]

Elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Houston / Tennessee Oilers / Titans Hall of Fame
No.	Name	Position	Years	Inducted
65	Elvin Bethea	DE	1968–83	December 9, 1999
16	George Blanda	QB/K	1960–66
52	Robert Brazile	LB	1975-1984	October 14, 2018
34	Earl Campbell	RB	1978–84	December 9, 1999
—	Mike Holovak	GM	1989–93
29	Ken Houston	S	1967–72
63	Mike Munchak	G	1982–93
43	Jim Norton	P	1960–68
74	Bruce Matthews	OL	1983–2001	December 8, 2002
1	Warren Moon	QB	1984–93	October 1, 2007
—	Bud Adams	Owner/founder	1959–2013	September 7, 2008
27	Eddie George	RB	1996–2003	October 27, 2008
9	Steve McNair	QB	1995–2005
41/89	Frank Wycheck	TE	1995–2003

Franchise leaders[]

Bold denotes still active with team

Italics denote still active but not with team

Passing yards (regular season) (as of end of 2020 season)^[22]

Rushing yards (regular season) (as of end of 2020 season)^[22]

Receiving yards (regular season) (as of end of 2020 season)^[22]

Coaching staff[]

Head coaches[]

Current staff[]

Tennessee Titans staff

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	Front office Owner – KSA Industries Controlling owner – Amy Adams Strunk President/CEO – Executive vice president/general manager – Jon Robinson Vice president of football administration – Vice president of player personnel – Director of player personnel – Director of college scouting – Director of pro scouting – Assistant director of pro scouting – Pro scout – Blaise Taylor College scout – Matt Miller Head coaches Head coach – Mike Vrabel Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Todd Downing Quarterbacks – Pat O'Hara Running backs – Tony Dews Wide receivers – Rob Moore Tight ends – Luke Steckel Offensive line – Keith Carter Assistant offensive line – Mike Sullivan Assistant offensive line – Jason Houghtaling Offensive assistant – Offensive fellowship –			Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Shane Bowen Defensive line – Terrell Williams Assistant defensive line – Kenechi Udeze Outside linebackers – Inside linebackers – Jim Haslett Assistant linebackers – Secondary − Anthony Midget Safeties – Senior defensive assistant – Jim Schwartz Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator – Craig Aukerman Assistant special teams – Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Strength and conditioning assistant – Brian Bell Strength and conditioning assistant – → Coaching staff → Management → More NFL staffs
AFC East BUF MIA NE NYJ North BAL CIN CLE PIT South HOU IND JAX TEN West DEN KC LV LAC NFC East DAL NYG PHI WAS North CHI DET GB MIN South ATL CAR NO TB West ARI LAR SF SEA

Radio and television[]

The flagship radio station of the Titans Radio Network for several years was WKDF 103.3-FM. However WGFX 104.5-FM, the original Tennessee Oilers/Titans Radio flagship station, again serves as the Titans Radio flagship station since the 2010 season. Mike Keith is the team's play-by-play announcer, and former Titans coach Dave McGinnis provides color commentary during games. Previous to McGinnis, former Titans tight end Frank Wycheck provided the color commentary. Larry Stone is also a part of the team, providing injury and scoring updates. The Titans Radio Network is broadcast on some 70 other stations.^[23]

The team had long resisted placing any of its games on Sirius XM Radio.^[24] According to the Titans Radio Network, this was because the Titans' contract with Citadel Broadcasting (parent of both WKDF and WGFX) predated the arrival of satellite radio, thus there was no provision for the NFL to reserve satellite-radio rights.^[25] In 2011, the Titans were able to extend their agreement with existing radio partners while creating a provision allowing home games to be broadcast on SiriusXM. They were the final team in the NFL to reach such a deal.^[26]

Most preseason games are televised on WKRN-TV, the ABC affiliate in Nashville. WKRN-TV also airs a weekly show on Tuesday nights. The show, called Titans on 2, was most recently hosted by head coach Ken Whisenhunt and WKRN-TV anchors Cory Curtis and Audra Martin. The show is an opportunity for the coach to talk about the team's latest matchup and looks forward to the upcoming game.

For regular season games, WTVF, the CBS affiliate for Nashville is the main station airing them. WZTV, Fox affiliate if they host an NFC team, WSMV-TV, NBC for Sunday Night Football broadcasts, and WKRN-TV, ABC for simulcasts of ESPN's Monday Night Football.

Radio affiliates[]

See also[]

• List of American Football League players
• NFL Cheerleading

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tennessee Titans.

• Official website
• Tennessee Titans at the National Football League official website