American Football Wiki
1996 Houston Oilers season
Owner Bud Adams
Head Coach Jeff Fisher
General Manager Floyd Reese
Offensive Coordinator Jerry Rhome
Defensive Coordinator Steve Sidwell
Home Field Astrodome
Results
Record 8–8
Place 4th AFC Central
Playoff Finish did not qualify
Timeline
Previous Season Next Season
1995 1997 (Tennessee)

The 1996 Houston Oilers season was the 37th season overall and 27th with the league 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 finished with an 8-8 record. Houston running back Eddie George won the Offensive Rookie of the Year with 1,368 yards rushing. Despite finishing 8–8 record, the Oilers failed to sell out any of its home games at the Houston Astrodome for the second consecutive season.

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 in 1997, becoming the Tennessee Oilers (Memphis, too, would reject the "temporary" housing of the Oilers, forcing the team to move to tiny Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville until the new Nashville stadium was finished).

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

  • Offensive Coordinator – Jerry Rhome
  • Offensive Assistant/Passing Game – Dick Coury
  • Running Backs – Sherman Smith
  • Wide Receivers/Tight Ends – Les Steckel
  • Offensive Line – Rennie Simmons
  • Offensive Assistant/Quality Control – Mike Munchak
 

Defensive Coaches

  • Defensive Coordinator – Steve Sidwell
  • Defensive Line – Rex Norris
  • Linebackers – Gregg Williams
  • Defensive Backs – Rod Perry
  • Defensive Assistant/Quality Control – Alan Lowry

Special Teams Coaches

  • Special Teams – Russ Purnell

Strength and Conditioning

  • Strength and Conditioning – Steve Watterson

Regular season[]

Schedule[]

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

Standings[]

Template:1996 AFC Central standings

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.