Tennessee Titans

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Tennessee Titans
Founded in 1960
playing in Nashville , Tennessee
Tennessee Titans helmet
Logo of the Tennessee Titans
league

American Football League (1960-1969)

  • Eastern Division (1960–1969)

National Football League (1970-present)

Current uniforms
Tennessee titans unif.png
Team colors navy, titans -blue, white, red, silver
mascot T-Rac
staff
owner KSA Industries
General manager Jon Robinson
Head coach Mike Vrabel
Team history
  • Houston Oilers (1960-1996)
  • Tennessee Oilers (1997-1998)
  • Tennessee Titans (1999-present)
successes
NFL Champion (2) * AFL 1960 , 1961


Conference winner (1)
Division Winner (9)
Play-off appearances (23)
Stages

The Tennessee Titans are a American football -Mannschaft the National Football League (NFL) from Nashville in the US state of Tennessee . You play in the American Football Conference (AFC) Southern Division , along with the Houston Texans , Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars . From the founding in 1959 or the first league operation in 1960 to the move from the Reliant Astrodome in 1996, they were called Houston Oilers , until the move to the current stadium, the Nissan Stadium , in 1998 Tennessee Oilers .

The Houston Oilers were a founding member of the American Football League (AFL) in 1959 and joined the NFL with the 1970 merger. In the first two years of the AFL, the team was able to win the final, which to date are their only successes in terms of won finals. They were able to play their first Super Bowl in 2000 , but lost it to the St. Louis Rams .

Team history

1959 to 1970 - Foundation and time in the AFL

On August 3, 1959, Bud Adams was awarded the sixth of eight licenses for a team in the American Football League . He named the team Oilers on October 31 of the same year for "sentimental and social reasons" . On December 11, 1960, the Oilers were able to achieve the first of their two final successes: They first won the AFL Eastern Division with 31:23 against the Buffalo Bills and then their first AFL title with 24:16 over the Los Angeles Chargers . The team was able to celebrate the second and last AFL championship just a year later with a 10: 3 win over the newly resident San Diego Chargers .

The 1970s - athletic failure and the birth of a star

From 1970 the Oilers played in the newly united National Football League (NFL), more precisely in the American Football Conference (AFC) in the Central Division . The team could hardly show itself off in terms of sport. In 1972 and 1973, the Oilers only achieved one win of the season. Head Coach Bill Peterson was fired with the record of 1-18 in October 1973, making him the most unsuccessful coach in the club's history.

Earl Campbell signs autographs.

In 1978, the Oilers first drafted running back Earl Campbell , who was voted NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player (MVP) in his first season . The Oilers won on December 24, 1978 for the first time in 17 years a play-off game and were only stopped in the AFC Championship Game by the eventual Super Bowl winner Pittsburgh Steelers .

A year later, the Oilers, also after a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, narrowly missed the Super Bowl again.

The 1980s

Between 1982 and 1983 Archie Manning played for the Houston Oilers, who had previously been with the New Orleans Saints for eleven years . Manning only came to two games for the Oilers before he left the club. Also in 1982, offensive lineman Mike Munchak came to the Oilers. The future Hall of Fame player spent his twelve seasons in the NFL exclusively with the Oilers. He later remained loyal to the organization and worked as an offensive line coach from 1994 to 2010 and was appointed the new head coach in 2011.

Earl Campbell played for the Oilers until 1984, was elected to the Pro Bowl five times and set a record in the NFL in 1980 with 1,934 yards , just behind OJ Simpson's 2,003-yard record from 1973.

Warren Moon at the Madden07 Release Party.

In 1984 Campbell moved to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for a first-round pick in the NFL Draft . In the same year the Oilers signed the quarterback Warren Moon , who was not one of the "classic quarterbacks" due to his black skin color and initially earned his money in Canada . For the next ten years, Moon led the Oilers as a playmaker on the field. In the years 1987-1989, the Oilers reached the play-offs three times but failed in the divisional play-offs, in 1989 even in the wild card round.

The 1990s - an era begins, but a yard is missing!

In 1990 Warren Moon was able to prove his class again: Moon threw 4,689 yards and 33  touchdowns in just 15 games of the season. For this he received the NFL Offensive Player of the Year award and his third of a total of nine Pro Bowl nominations. Against the Kansas City Chiefs , Moon threw 527 yards, an achievement that to date (December 2017) has only been surpassed by Norm Van Brocklin (554 yards in 1951) in NFL history .

In 1993 they separated and Moon continued his career with the Minnesota Vikings . He played in the NFL until 2000 and made the third most yards in his career by passing in the NFL. After the end of his career, he was overtaken by Brett Favre , Peyton Manning , Tom Brady and Drew Brees , but at the end of 2015 he still ranks 7th in this statistic. In addition, Moon was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006 as the first black quarterback . In terms of sport, the Oilers were also able to qualify for the play-offs in 1990-1993. Thus, the team was able to move into the play-offs seven times in a row, (the longest series to date) without celebrating any major successes.

In November 1994, the Oilers separated after a 1-9 start from Jack Pardee and appointed the previous defensive coordinator Jeff Fisher as the new head coach, who was to lead the team for 16 years. Fisher celebrated his first NFL win with the Oilers with a 24:10 win over the New York Jets .

Eddie George

On April 22, 1995, the Houston Oilers drafted quarterback Steve McNair in third place . The following year, Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George joined the team in the NFL Draft . While the team strengthened and developed in terms of sport, there was a lot of rumbling behind the scenes. Owner Bud Adams wanted a new stadium for his team. Previously, the Oilers shared the Astrodome with the Houston Astros baseball team . The Astrodome was therefore not a pure American football stadium and with a capacity of 50,000 seats, it was also quite small compared to other stadiums. As early as 1987, Adams threatened the city of Houston with the Oilers moving to Jacksonville if the Astrodome was not rebuilt. The city submitted, allowed itself to be persuaded to add another 10,000 seats and 65 “Luxury Boxes” and thus secured the Oilers' whereabouts for another ten years. After this period and no further agreement, Bud Adams became aware of an offer from Nashville . There the construction of a new arena was planned (the Adelphia Coliseum, today's Nissan Stadium ). First, the city tried unsuccessfully to lure the New Jersey Devils from the National Hockey League (NHL) to Nashville before Bud Adams offered his Oilers.

The news of the Oilers' move was received with horror in Houston. The last season at Astrodome in 1996 was a disaster for the Oilers. Viewers refused to support the team and radio stations stopped broadcasting and reporting. On December 15, 1996, the Oilers made their last game in Houston and lost 13:21 to the Cincinnati Bengals .

From 1997, the Tennessee Oilers played temporarily at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis , as the planned stadium needed two years to complete. This decision was again extremely controversial, as Memphis would have liked to have an NFL team itself and should now only temporarily accommodate the Oilers. The people of Memphis showed little interest in the Oilers. For the fans from Nashville, however, the long journey was a problem. So it happened that the Oilers had to play a season before the smallest audience since 1950. Due to the low attendance, Bud Adams decided to move the home ground for the 1998 season to Nashville, where the Oilers could fill the smaller Vanderbilt Stadium with home fans. In both transition seasons, the "Tennessee Oilers" missed the play-offs.

To symbolize the new beginning in Nashville , Bud Adams decided to change the team name and the jersey colors. On November 14, 1998, the new name Tennessee Titans and the new logo were introduced.

View into the LP field.

The first season in the new home should be the most successful and most dramatic of the old club history: The Titans finished the season with an outstanding record of 13-3, still qualified behind the Jacksonville Jaguars (14-2) only via the wild card for the Play-offs.

In the AFC wild card game at home in the Adelphia Coliseum against the Buffalo Bills , the so-called Music City Miracle occurred on the last move . With only 16 seconds remaining and a 15:16 point deficit, Lorenzo Neal handed the captured kickoff over to Titan's tight end Frank Wycheck , who threw the ball almost parallel to Kevin Dyson across the field . Dyson then managed to cover 75 yards and score the game- winning touchdown . This move is one of the most spectacular and controversial in NFL history. Even today, experts argue about the fact whether Wycheck's pass was really thrown back or took a straight line. In the case of a kickoff return , only passes backwards are allowed.

The second play-off round (AFC Divisional) won the Titans against the Indianapolis Colts with their quarterback Peyton Manning 19:16. Eddie George ran a team record with 162 yards.

The AFC Championship Game should take the Titans to Florida , to the Jacksonville Jaguars , who ended the season with a 14-2 draw. But both defeats came in the games against the Titans. And also in this meeting, the men from Music City USA were clearly ahead with 33:14 and made it into the Super Bowl for the first time in their club history .

Super Bowl XXXIV

The final play of Super Bowl XXXIV, Dyson lying on the floor and stretching the ball towards the end zone

On January 30, 2000, the Titans met the St. Louis Rams at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta . The game was relatively even up to halftime, only Rams kicker Jeff Wilkins gave his team a 9-0 lead with three field goals . In the second half, the Rams took the lead 16-0 with the first touchdown of the game by Torry Holt before the Titans started a big chase. Two touchdowns by Eddie George and a field goal by Al Del Greco brought the interim equalization of 16:16. But a subsequent 73-yard touchdown pass by Rams quarterback Kurt Warner brought the 23:16 and the renewed deficit.

The last attack of the Titans followed with a remaining playing time of 1:48 min. Titans quarterback Steve McNair made successful passes to Derrick Mason , Frank Wycheck and Kevin Dyson . Two more penalties for the Rams finally brought the Titans to the 10-yard line in front of the opposing end zone with six seconds remaining. After using the last time out, the Titans only had one last move, which should go down in the history of the NFL in a very dramatic way.

The final play - one yard short

The Rams defense focused on covering Frank Wycheck, which was how Steve McNair found the detached Kevin Dyson with his passport. Dyson caught the ball about five yards from the end zone. Defenseman Mike Jones managed the tackle by grabbing Dyson's legs and knocking him down. Dyson, however, was now lying on Jones, not yet touching the ground and trying to get the ball into the end zone with an outstretched arm. But it wasn't enough, the St. Louis Rams won the Super Bowl .

Since 2000

In 2000 the Titans moved into the play-offs with a 13-3 record , but failed at the eventual Super Bowl winner Baltimore Ravens . In 2002 the Pittsburgh Steelers were defeated in the first play-off round, then the Titans lost to the Oakland Raiders in the AFC Championship Game. In 2003 won Steve McNair the NFL Most Valuable Player Award (along with Peyton Manning ). Before he failed in the play-offs with his team at the eventual Super Bowl winner New England Patriots , McNair and the Titans won the AFC Wild Card Play-off game at the Baltimore Ravens with 20:17.

In 2004 and 2005 , the Titans achieved a total of only nine wins of the season with 23 defeats. Many stars were injured for a long time, so a big cut was dared. Players like Eddie George and Derrick Mason left the club. Steve McNair was also traded to Baltimore. The team was joined by young players such as cornerback Adam Jones , offensive tackle Michael Roos and, in April 2006, quarterback Vince Young . But first Kerry Collins should take over the role of the starting quarterback .

Vince Young in 2008

After five losses in a row (mostly under veteran Kerry Collins), Vince Young led the Titans to an 8-8 record (including six wins in a row). Young was named NFL Rookie of the Year that year . In the following season, Young was even able to lead the team back into the play-offs, but the first game against the San Diego Chargers was the final destination.

Plagued by injuries, Vince Young had to sit out several games and his substitute Kerry Collins step in. Coach Jeff Fisher relied on the veteran as a starter again in 2008 . In the 2008 NFL Draft , Titans selected running back Chris Johnson in 24th place in the first round. The team had a good season with a record of 13-3 wins. However, it was over again in the first play-off round. Three Red Zone ball losses and twelve penalties put the Titans on the losing side against the Baltimore Ravens .

After a disappointing start with a 0: 6 record in the 2009 season , the pressure on coach Jeff Fisher and his decision for Collins grew. Probably on the instructions of club owner Bud Adams Fisher again designated Vince Young as the starter, who then won eight of his ten games with his team, including five wins in a row after the quarterback change. Against the Arizona Cardinals , Young managed to contribute 99 yards to victory in 2:30 min. He threw passes for 94 yards and ran for five yards, the decisive touchdown pass being caught by rookie Kenny Britt as the final seconds of the game ran out. After running 134 yards in the final game of the season, running back Chris Johnson became the sixth player in NFL history to run more than 2,000 yards in one season.

Chris Johnson in the game against the Eagles

In the 2010 season , Vince Young and the Titans started with a 5-5 record before the quarterback injured himself again during the game against the Washington Redskins . The player himself wanted to go back to the field after treatment, but Jeff Fisher refused to return. Furious, he tossed his shoulder pads and jersey into the stands before Young left the field. After another argument in the locker room, Fisher decided to make rookie Rusty Smith his new quarterback. Young's injury was of secondary importance in this decision. Except for one game, the Titans lost all remaining games of the season with Smith and later again with Kerry Collins as the starter. After the season, owners Bud Adams and Jeff Fisher decided not to rely on Vince Young anymore. Vince Young's Titans era ended with a 30:17 balance (63.8%) after five years. During that time, he missed 33 games, of which the Titans won 15 (45.5%). Coach Jeff Fisher's future at the Titans should be secured after the decision against Young, but surprisingly Fisher announced his departure in late January 2011. After 16 years as head coach of the Oilers / Titans, Mike Munchak took over the position of head coach of the Titans.

In the first five games of the 2012 season, the Titans allowed 30 points or more each time. Only the 1954 Chicago Cardinals were equally unsuccessful in NFL history.

The Titans ended the 2017 season with a 9-7 record. This qualified them for the wildcard game against the Kansas City Chiefs , which they won 22:21 despite being 18 points behind. That was the first win in the play-offs since 2003. The subsequent game against the New England Patriots lost the Titans with 14:35.

The Titans ended the 2018 season again with a 9-7 record. The play-offs were missed.

The Titans ended the 2019 season for the third time in a row with a 9-7 record. Running back Derrick Henry ran 1,540 yards in the regular season, more than any other player. Another important part of the offense was quarterback Ryan Tannehill . Tannehill was signed before the season as a replacement for Marcus Mariota , who had been a playmaker for the Titans since 2015, and had taken over the position as starting quarterback from the 6th game week of the season. He was one of the best quarterbacks of the season and got the best quarterback rating . The Titans qualified as the second-best team that couldn't win their division for the wildcard game against the New England Patriots , the defending champions, against whom they prevailed away 20:13. In the Divisional Round, Tennessee met the Baltimore Ravens . The game was won 28:12 and resulted in participation in the AFC Championship Game against the Kansas City Chiefs , which they lost 24:35.

Members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Jersey number Surname position
Active for Houston / Tennessee
Year of admission
- Sammy Baugh Trainer 1964 1963
65 Elvin Bethea DE 1968-83 2003
16 George Blanda QB , K 1960-66 1981
52 Robert Brazile LB 1975-1984 2018
34 Earl Campbell RB 1978-84 1991
87 Dave Casper TE 1980-83 2002
78 Curley Culp DT 1974-80 2013
- Sid Gillman Trainer 1973-74 1983
29 Ken Houston S. 1967-72 1986
35 John Henry Johnson FB 1966 1987
18th Charles Joiner WR 1969-72 1996
74 Bruce Matthews OIL 1983-2001 2007
68 Kevin Mawae C. 2006-2009 2019
1 Warren Moon QB 1984-93 2006
84 Randy Moss WR 2010 2018
63 Mike Munchak G 1982-93 2001
12 Ken Stabler QB 1980-1981 2016

Blocked shirt numbers

Retired Numbers of the Tennessee Titans
No. player position Period Withdrawn
1 Warren Moon QB 1984-1993 2006
9 Steve McNair QB 1995-2007 2019
27 Eddie George RB 1996-2004 2019
34 Earl Campbell RB 1978-1984 1987
43 Jim Norton S , P 1960-1968 1968
63 Mike Munchak G 1982-1993 1994
65 Elvin Bethea DE 1968-1983 1983
74 Bruce Matthews OIL 1983-2001 2002

Members of the Titans / Oilers Hall of Fame

Surname position Years of play Year of admission
Elvin Bethea Defensive end 1968-1983 1999
George Blanda Quarterback / kicker 1960-1966 1999
Earl Campbell Running back 1978-1984 1999
Mike Holovak General manager 1989-1993 1999
Ken Houston Safety 1967-1972 1999
Mike Munchak Guard 1982-1993 1999
Jim Norton Punter 1960-1968 1999
Bruce Matthews Offensive line 1983-2002 2002
Warren Moon Quarterback 1984-1993 2006
Bud Adams Founder and owner 1959-2013 2008
Eddie George Running back 1996-2003 2008
Steve McNair Quarterback 1995-2005 2008
Frank Wycheck Tight end 1995-2003 2008
Robert Brazile Linebacker 1975-1984 2018

Current squad

Squad of the Tennessee Titans

Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receiver

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebacker

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve List

Practice Squad

Rookies in italics

Roster as of January 3, 2020
Depth ChartTransactions

53 active, 9 inactive, 10 (+1 lost) Practice Squad

Trainer (Head Coaches)

Bum Phillips won over 60% of his games with the Oilers (1975-1980).
Jeff Fisher was Head Coach of the Titans for over 16 years (1994 to 2010).
Mike Mularkey was Head Coach of the Titans from 2015 to early 2018.
# Surname Period Regular season Play-offs Achievements / Awards reference
Games S. N UE Won% Games S. N
Houston Oilers
1 Lou Rymkus * 1960-1971 19th 11 7th 1 .611 1 1 0 AFL Championship (1960)
UPI AFL Trainer of the Year (1960)
2 Wally Lemm 1961 9 9 0 2 1,000 1 1 0 AFL Championship (1961)
UPI AFL Trainer of the Year (1961)
3 Pop ivy 1962-1963 28 17th 11 0 .607 1 0 1
4th Sammy Baugh 1964 14th 4th 10 0 .286 - - -
5 Hugh Taylor * 1965 14th 4th 10 0 .286 - - -
- Wally Lemm 1966-1970 70 28 38 4th .428 2 0 2
6th Ed Hughes * 1971 14th 4th 9 1 .308 - - -
7th Bill Peterson * 1972-1973 19th 1 18th 0 .053 - - -
8th Sid Gillman 1973-1974 23 8th 15th 0 .348 - - - UPI AFL Trainer of the Year (1974)
9 Bum Phillips 1975-1980 90 55 35 0 .611 7th 4th 3
10 Ed Biles * 1981-1983 31 8th 23 0 .258 - - -
11 Chuck Studley * 1983 10 8th 8th 0 .200 - - -
12 Hugh Campbell * 1984-1985 30th 8th 22nd 0 .267 - - -
13 Jerry Glanville 1985-1989 65 33 32 0 .508 5 2 3
14th Jack Pardee 1990-1994 74 43 31 0 .581 5 1 4th
15th Jeff Fisher 1994-1996 38 16 22nd 0 .368 - - -
Tennessee Oilers / Tennessee Titans
- Jeff Fisher 1997-2010 224 126 98 0 .563 11 5 6th
16 Mike Munchak * 2011-2013 48 22nd 26th 0 .458 - - -
17th Ken Whisenhunt 2014-2015 23 3 20th 0 .130 - - -
18th Mike Mularkey 2015-2018 41 20th 21st 0 .488 2 1 1
19th Mike Vrabel * 2018– 32 18th 14th 0 .563 3 2 1
# Order of trainers
Games Play as a coach
S. Victories
N Defeats
UE draw
Won% Win rate
* Exclusively active as Head Coach for the Oilers / Titans

Web links

Commons : Tennessee Titans  - collection of images, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. a b c d Archived copy ( memento from October 2, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Official team history 1959–1970 (English) Accessed March 9, 2019.
  2. a b Archived copy ( Memento from August 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Official team history 1970s (English) Accessed March 9, 2019.
  3. Archived copy ( Memento of January 6, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Earl Campbell (English) Accessed March 9, 2019
  4. Archived copy ( Memento of November 10, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Mike Munchak (English) Accessed March 9, 2019
  5. Archived copy ( Memento from August 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Official team history 1980s (English) Accessed March 9, 2019.
  6. ^ NFL Passing Yards Single Game Leaders. In: pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved January 9, 2018 .
  7. ^ NFL Career Passing Yards Leaders. Retrieved November 28, 2015 .
  8. Archived copy ( Memento of December 28, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Warren Moon (English) Accessed March 9, 2019
  9. a b c d e Archived copy ( Memento from August 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Official team history 1990s (English) Accessed on March 9, 2019.
  10. a b c d e f Archived copy ( Memento from June 27, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Official team history 2000-present (English) Accessed March 9, 2019.
  11. ^ [1] Titans on Pro Football Reference (English), accessed February 10, 2011.
  12. [2] Improbable hero saved Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV (English) USA Today from January 31, 2002.
  13. ^ NFL single-season Rushing Yards Leaders. Retrieved November 28, 2015 .
  14. a b Redskins win in OT as Titans' Young loses job (English) , accessed on February 10, 2011.
  15. ^ [3] Time to let Yince Young go (English) Accessed February 10, 2011.
  16. [4] Titans owner chooses to part ways with Quarterback Vince Young (English) Accessed February 10, 2011.
  17. ^ [5] Statistics from Yince Young, accessed February 10, 2011.
  18. [6] Fisher: "It's time to move on" (English), accessed on February 10, 2011.
  19. ^ ESPN: Elias says ... October 8, 2012. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
  20. Tennessee Titans: Derrick Henry and the irresistible run on ran.de. January 3, 2020, accessed January 7, 2020.
  21. Jan Dafeld Ryan Tannehill with the Tennessee Titans: From backup to savior - and patriots conqueror? on ran.de. January 1, 2020, accessed January 7, 2020.
  22. Retired Jersey Numbers . Tennessee Titans. Archived from the original on July 8, 2017. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  23. statistics Lou Rymkus . Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  24. ^ A b Statistics by Wally Lemm . Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  25. Statistics from Pop Ivy . Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  26. Statistics by Sammy Baugh . Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  27. ^ Statistics by Hugh Taylor . Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  28. Statistics by Ed Hughes . Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  29. ^ Statistics from Bill Peterson . Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  30. Statistics by Sid Gillman . Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  31. ^ Statistics from Bum Phillips . Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  32. Statistics by Ed Biles . Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  33. ^ Statistics by Chuck Studley . Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  34. ^ Statistics by Hugh Campbell . Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  35. Statistics by Jerry Glanville . Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  36. ^ Statistics from Jack Pardee . Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  37. ^ A b Statistics by Jeff Fisher . Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  38. ^ Statistics by Mike Munchak . Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  39. Statistics by Ken Whisenhunt . Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  40. ^ Statistics by Mike Mularkey . Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  41. Tennessee Titans introduce Mike Vrabel as new head coach . In: spox.de . Retrieved January 22, 2018.
  42. ^ Statistics by Mike Vrabel . Retrieved February 6, 2020.