1996 Houston Oilers season

1996 Houston Oilers season
Head coach Jeff Fisher
Home field Astrodome
Results
Record 8–8
Division place 4th AFC Central
Playoff finish did not qualify

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 fans would get a tease as Running Back Eddie George won the Offensive Rookie of the Year with 1,368 yards rushing.

Houston had already established itself as a lame duck franchise; the league had approved the team's relocation to Nashville, Tennessee, 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).

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1996 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

[4]

Personnel

Staff

1996 Houston Oilers staff
Front office
  • Owner/Chairman of the Board/President – Bud Adams
  • Executive Vice President/General Manager – Floyd Reese

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and Conditioning – Steve Watterson

Roster

1996 Houston Oilers roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

 Tight ends

Offensive linemen

 Defensive linemen

Linebackers

 Defensive backs

Special teams


Rookies in italics

[5]

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 1, 1996 Kansas City Chiefs L 20–19
27,725
2 September 8, 1996 at Jacksonville Jaguars W 34–27
66,468
3 September 15, 1996 Baltimore Ravens W 29–13
20,082
4 Bye
5 September 29, 1996 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 30–16
58,608
6 October 6, 1996 at Cincinnati Bengals W 30–27
44,680
7 October 13, 1996 at Atlanta Falcons W 23–13
35,401
8 October 20, 1996 Pittsburgh Steelers W 23–13
50,337
9 October 27, 1996 San Francisco 49ers L 10–9
53,664
10 November 3, 1996 at Seattle Seahawks L 23–16
36,320
11 November 10, 1996 at New Orleans Saints W 31–14
34,121
12 November 17, 1996 Miami Dolphins L 23–20
47,358
13 November 24, 1996 Carolina Panthers L 31–6
20,107
14 December 1, 1996 at New York Jets W 35–10
21,731
15 December 8, 1996 Jacksonville Jaguars L 23–17
20,196
16 December 15, 1996 Cincinnati Bengals L 21–13
15,131
17 December 22, 1996 at Baltimore Ravens W 24–21
52,704

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

  1. ↑ 1996 Houston Oilers
  2. ↑ PRO FOOTBALL;N.F.L. Owners Approve Move To Nashville By the Oilers. The New York Times. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
  3. ↑ Oilers hope to prove lame ducks can soar. The New York Times. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
  4. ↑ "1996 Houston Oilers draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  5. ↑ "1996 Houston Oilers starters, roster, and players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 28, 2014.

External links

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