The Tennessee Titans franchise, formerly known as the Houston Oilers, was founded by Bud Adams, and the organization began competing in the American League in 1960. The Oilers were a member of the first new AFL.
Lou Rymkus was hired as the first head coach of the Houston Oilers franchise.
The Oilers’ first professional game is in Oakland, California against the Oakland Raiders. The Houston-based franchise opened its professional football season with a 37-22 victory over the Patriots. The victory gave the Oilers the boost they needed to finish their inaugural season with an impressive 10-4 regular season record, good enough to clinch the Eastern Division.
In the first ever AFL championship game, the Oilers defeated the Los Angeles Rockets 24-16. . With that landmark triumph, the Houston Oilers will forever be identified as the first team to capture the AFL championship trophy.
The following season, the Oilers posted a superb regular season record of 10-3-1 to earn a chance to defend their AFL championship against the Rockets. Now the San Diego-based Rockets were once victims of the dominant Oilers of the early 1960s. They outshot the Rockets 10-3.
Capturing the first two AFL Championships, the Oilers had defeated their in-state rivals, the Dallas Texans, for the 1962 title. Their third consecutive field goal ended in overtime to give the Texans a 20-17 field goal victory.
From 1963 to 1966, the Oilers stumbled below mediocrity. Then until 1967, when they posted another winning season, 9-4-1. A 45-7 loss to the Oakland Raiders stood in the way of the Oilers appearing in their first Super Bowl .
In 1968, the Oilers began hosting games at the Astrodome. For the first professional football team to host games in the stadium.
Following the NFL-AFL merger in 1970, the Oilers franchise lingered around the bottom of the NFL standings. They are placed in the AFC Central Division along with the Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers.
In 1975, the Oilers appeared to be returning to the NFL ladder as they won 10 games with only 4 losses. Despite their winning record, they were eliminated from the playoffs due to divisional losses to the Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals.
The Oilers clinched their first playoff berth in over a decade in 1978 with a 10-6 regular season record. In the Wild Card match-up with the Miami Dolphins, the Oilers outscored the team 17-9. A week later, their jubilation came to a screeching halt as they were thrashed by their division foes, the Pittsburgh Steelers, twenty-five, 34-5.
The 1978 season was momentous for Oilers rookie running backs Earl Campbell as he earned Rookie of the Year honors as well as NFL Most Valuable Player.
The Oilers would be cursed by defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers again in the 1979 AFC Championship Game. Once again, the Houston Oilers were devastated by the Super Bowl Houston Steelers with a 27-13 defeat.
After their 27-7 Wild Card loss to the Oakland Raiders in 1980, the Oilers hit a post-season drought that lasted until 1987.
After the postseason drought ended, the Houston franchise would go on a tear, having won a postseason berth in each of the subsequent seven seasons. QB led by Warren-Lun.
In 1991, the Oilers would capture the AFC Central Division title with a respectable 11-5 record. The division title was significant for the franchise because it was the first since 1967. They were the victims of one of John Elway’s remarkable comebacks as Denver Broncos Oilers with 26-24 victory wiped out.
In the 1992 Wild Card match-up, the Oilers faced the Buffalo Bills in what was considered an epic contest. Quarterback Warren Moon threw for 371 yards and 4 touchdown passes in the first half alone, leading the Huskies to a 35-3 halftime lead. Amazingly, the eventual AFC Champion Buffalo called off the Bills to send the game into overtime, and proceeded to kick the game-winning field goal, marking a colossal comeback. 41-38 losses bills arguably the most devastating loss of liberty in long history.
A 12-4 record in 1993 earned the Oilers the AFC Central Division title. However, their post-season struggles continued as Kansas City continued to lead the division 28-20 in the playoffs. match-up
Following a terrible postseason letdown, Oilers owner Bud Adams made his star quarterback, Warren Moon, the Minnesota Vikings.
The post-Luna era began with a 2-14 record in 1994. With the third overall pick in the 1995 NFL draft , The Oilers selected quarterback Steve McNair from Alcorn State. McNair was considered one of the more mobile quarterbacks, somewhat comparable to Steve Young and Randall Cunningham.
On November 16, 1995, Oilers owner Bude Adams revealed his intention to relocate the franchise to Nashville, Tennessee in 1998. It became the second AFC Central team to relocate in as many years. Cleveland recently moved to Baltimore, Maryland.
The backlash from the relocation announcement was evident in 1996 as empty seats were present at almost every home game. Sometimes small crowds of 20,000 will show up in the Astrodome. The city of Houston allowed Adams to relocate for the first year and professional football in Houston was absent for the next five years.
The free agent, now based in Tennessee, retained the nickname ‘Oilers’ for two years before exchanging it for the ‘Titans’ in 1999. They posted 8-8 records in each of their first two years at Tennessee.
Attending the Oilers the game below was a match while they were playing in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis. This prompted Adams to move home games to Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville in hopes of increasing fan support. Meanwhile, a new stadium was built.
The new stadium, originally called the Adelphia Coliseum, was completed during the 1999 NFL season. Sporting a new uniform and logo, the newly named Titans went on to a remarkable 13-3 season record. However, they finished second to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Central Division.
Tennessee’s first playoff home game saw the Buffalo Bills take the field against the Titans. Trailing 16-14 with just 16 seconds left on the clock, the Titans’ Frank Wycheck completed a lateral pass to Kevin Dyson that resulted in a 75-yard touchdown. The story was called the Music City Miracle and it moved the Titans to the divisional round, where they knocked off the Indianapolis Colts. They defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Championship Game. Finally, a franchise that was established before 1960 was tied to the Super Bowl.
With the St. Louis Rams waiting, the Titans took the field for the 34th Super Bowl. Despite trailing 16-0 going into the third quarter, the Titans rallied to tie the score late in the game. The Rams scored a 23-16 touchdown; however, quarterback Steve McNair led his team back onto the field. After completing a pass to receiver Kevin Dyson, the Titans used 18 yards to avoid a possible score. A 23-16 loss was highlighted by the last call.
They returned to the postseason in 2000, but were beaten by a stout Baltimore Ravens defense.
In 2002, the Titans would advance to the AFC Championship Game following their second division title in three years. This season, the Oakland Raiders crushed the Tennessee franchise 41-24, denying the Titans their second Super Bowl campaign. Prior to the 2002 season, the Titans were relocated to the AFC South Division due to NFL realignment. They were joined by the Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans.
A year later, the Titans defeated the Indianapolis Colts for the AFC South crown. However, McNair was awarded co-MVP with Colts quarterback Peyton Manning.
In the postseason, the Baltimore Titans defeated the Ravens 20-17; however, they lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots by a marginal score of 17-14.
In the last two seasons, the Titans posted dismal records of 5-11 and 4-12 and began rebuilding the season.
In the 2005 NFL draft, the Titans selected QB Vince Young from Texas with the third overall pick. This led to the sharp departure of Steve McNair, who was eventually banned from the Tennessee Titans workout facilities.
In 2006, the Titans improved to 8-9; however, they would fail to qualify after the third consecutive season.
Report:
- Tennessee Titans homepage
