1993 Houston Oilers

1993 Houston Oilers season
Owner	Bud Adams
Head Coach	Jack Pardee
General Manager	Mike Holovak
Offensive Coordinator	Kevin Gilbride
Defensive Coordinator	Buddy Ryan
Home Field	Astrodome
Results
Record	12–4
Place	1st AFC Central
Playoff Finish	Lost Divisional Playoffs (vs. Chiefs) 20–28
Pro Bowlers	QB Warren Moon WR Haywood Jeffires WR Webster Slaughter G Mike Munchak C Bruce Matthews DE Sean Jones DT Ray Childress P Greg Montgomery
Uniform
Timeline
Previous Season	Next Season
1992	1994

The 1993 season Houston Oilers season was the team's 34th, and their 24th in the National Football League.

The 1993 Oilers season is widely regarded as one of the most notorious and turbulent seasons in NFL history, both on and off the field. Before the season began, owner Bud Adams told the team that unless the Oilers made the Super Bowl, he would break up the team in the off-season.

Despite their poor start (four losses in their first five games), the Oilers went on a remarkable 11-0 run to finish the 1993 season, ending up tied for the best record in the NFL, at 12-4. Houston earned the #2 seed in the playoffs, and a first round bye. The 11-game winning streak was the longest in the NFL since 1972.

Statistics site Football Outsiders calculates that the Oilers were the hottest team in the NFL heading into the playoffs at the end of the 1993 season.

The Oilers were upset by Joe Montana and the Kansas City Chiefs in the Astrodome during the Divisional Round of the playoffs.

The 2006 edition of Pro Football Prospectus , listed the 1993 Oilers as one of their "Heartbreak Seasons," in which teams "dominated the entire regular season only to falter in the playoffs, unable to close the deal." Said Pro Football Prospectus, "Early in 1993, the Oilers seemed unable to put ["The Comeback"] behind them, dropping four of their first five games. But Houston righted the ship and ran the table, winning its final 11 contests. ... The Oilers allowed 20 points only once during the streak, and in one game held the league-leading 49ers offense to 7 points.

"In their first playoff game," Pro Football Prospectus continued, "they faced Joe Montana's Kansas City Chiefs, a team Houston had beaten 30-0 during the regular season. The Oilers jumped out to an early 10-0 lead, but stalled; leading 13-7 in the fourth quarter, they collapsed, losing 28-20. The team that had played eight straight games while holding opponents to 20 points or less gave up 21 in the fourth quarter of a playoff game. True to his word, Bud Adams dismantled the team that off-season. Quarterback Warren Moon was shipped to the Minnesota Vikings, and the Oilers fell to 2-14 the following year.

By 1995, there was talk of the team leaving Houston for Nashville. The 1993 season was later covered in the "Houston '93" episode of the NFL Films documentary series A Football Life.

Notable incidents

The 1993 Oilers season is widely regarded as one of the most notorious and turbulent seasons in NFL history, both on and off the field. Internal conflict plagued the team, as numerous incidents defined the team's tumultuous season.

"Babygate"

One bizarre sidelight to the season for Houston came just before the October 17 game vs. the New England Patriots. The day before, Oilers offensive tackle David Williams' wife Debi went into labor that Saturday but the baby was not born yet and Williams was unable to catch a flight, causing him to miss the game. Williams was fined $111,111 by the Oilers for missing the game and criticized by owner Bud Adams for "misplaced priorities", a move that led to intense criticism of the Oilers from fans and even players such as defensive end Sean Jones.

Buddy Ryan, Kevin Gilbride Conflict

Conflict had arisen between defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan and offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride. Ryan had been criticizing Gilbride's "run and shoot" offense, referring to it as the "chuck and duck." Ryan felt that last-minute stands cost him two players to injury when the offense could have simply just run the ball and killed the clock.

At the end of the first half in the final game of the season, a national broadcast against the New York Jets, Gilbride called a pass play, and when Cody Carlson fumbled the snap, Ryan started yelling at Gilbride, who started walking towards Ryan, yelling back. When they were in arms length, Ryan punched Gilbride and two players quickly separated them.

Gay teammates

In 2013, former teammates on the 1993 team said that at least two key players on their roster were generally known by the team to be gay, and were accepted by the team. It confirmed a rumor that had been hinted since that season. Teammate Bubba McDowell said showering with the gay teammates was "no big deal." Lamar Lathon added that he had "never seen tougher guys than those guys."

Jeff Alm's suicide

Late in the season, the Oilers suffered the loss of reserve defensive lineman Jeff Alm, who had played two games earlier in the season. On December 13, 1993, Alm and his best friend, Sean P. Lynch, were in an accident that consisted of Alm losing control of his Cadillac Eldorado, sending Lynch flying out of the car and killing him near the 610 and Highway 59 interchange. After seeing his friend was dead, Alm committed suicide.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Pick #	NFL Team	Player	Position	College
13	Houston Oilers	Brad Hopkins	Tackle	Illinois

Personnel

Staff

1993 Houston Oilers final staff
	Front Office Owner/Chairman of the Board/President – Bud Adams Executive Vice President/General Manager – Mike Holovak Assistant General Manager – Floyd Reese Head Coaches Head Coach – Jack Pardee Offensive Coaches Offensive Coordinator – Kevin Gilbride Running Backs – Frank Novak Receivers – Charlie Baggett Offensive Line – Bob Young			Defensive Coaches Defensive Coordinator – Buddy Ryan Defensive Line – Jim Stanley Linebackers – Ronnie Jones Defensive Backs – Tom Bettis Quality Control – Frank Bush Special Teams Coaches Special Teams – Gregg Williams Strength and Conditioning Strength and Rehabilitation – Steve Watterson

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 5, 1993	at New Orleans Saints	L 33–21	69,029
2	September 12, 1993	Kansas City Chiefs	W 30–0	59,780
3	September 19, 1993	at San Diego Chargers	L 18–17	58,519
4	September 26, 1993	Los Angeles Rams	L 28–13	53,072
5	Bye week
6	October 11, 1993	at Buffalo Bills	L 35–7	79,613
7	October 17, 1993	at New England Patriots	W 28–14	51,037
8	October 24, 1993	Cincinnati Bengals	W 28–12	50,039
9	Bye week
10	November 7, 1993	Seattle Seahawks	W 24–14	50,447
11	November 14, 1993	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 38–3	42,347
12	November 21, 1993	at Cleveland Browns	W 27–20	71,668
13	November 28, 1993	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 23–3	61,238
14	December 5, 1993	Atlanta Falcons	W 33–17	58,186
15	December 12, 1993	Cleveland Browns	W 19–17	58,720
16	December 19, 1993	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 26–17	57,592
17	December 25, 1993	at San Francisco 49ers	W 10–7	61,744
18	January 2, 1994	New York Jets	W 24–0	61,040

Standings

AFC Central
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
Houston Oilers	12	4	0	.750	368	238
Pittsburgh Steelers	9	7	0	.563	308	281
Cleveland Browns	7	9	0	.438	304	307
Cincinnati Bengals	3	13	0	.188	187	319

Playoffs

AFC Divisional Playoff

AFC: Kansas City Chiefs 28, Houston Oilers 20

1 2 3 4 Total Chiefs 0 0 7 21 28 Oilers 10 0 0 10 20 at Astrodome, Houston, Texas Date: January 16,1994 Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST/1:00 p.m. PST Game weather: Played indoors, domed stadium Game attendance: 64,011 Referee: Gerald Austin TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Bob Trumpy

Chiefs quarterback Joe Montana threw three touchdown passes in the second half to give his team a 28–20 win. The Oilers jumped to a 10–0 lead in the first quarter with kicker Al Del Greco's 49-yard field goal and running back Gary Brown's 2-yard touchdown. Then after a scoreless second period, Montana threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to tight end Keith Cash in the third quarter. In the fourth period, Del Greco kicked a 43-yard field goal to give Houston a 13–7 lead. But aided by a 38-yard pass interference penalty, the Chiefs advanced 71 yards to score on wide receiver J.J. Birden's 11-yard touchdown reception form Montana. On the Oilers' next possession, Kansas City defensive lineman Dan Saleaumua recovered a fumble by Houston quarterback Warren Moon, setting up Montana's 18-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Willie Davis. The Oilers then drove 80 yards to score on wide receiver Ernest Givins' 7-yard touchdown catch, but the Chiefs responded with running back Marcus Allen's game-clinching 21-yard touchdown that capped off a 79-yard drive.

Awards and records

• Haywood Jeffires, Pro Bowl Selection
• Warren Moon, Pro Bowl Selection

Milestones

This was the last time a NFL Team from Houston, Texas participated in the NFL Playoffs until the 2011 Houston Texans.

References

• Oilers on Pro Football Reference
• Oilers on jt-sw.com