| 1981 Houston Oilers season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Bud Adams |
| General manager | Ladd Herzeg |
| Head coach | Ed Biles |
| Home field | Houston Astrodome |
| Results | |
| Record | 7–9 |
| Division place | 3rd AFC Central |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
The 1981 Houston Oilers season was the franchise's 22nd overall and the 12th in the National Football League (NFL). Bum Phillips was fired as head coach during the offseason for failing to reach the Super Bowl, and replaced by Ed Biles. However, the Oilers defensive problems would catch up with them as they finished with a disappointing 7–9 record, as Earl Campbell fought through injuries to rush for 1,376 yards. After a fast 4–2 start, Houston would struggle in the second half, going 3–7 in their final 10 games, including a critical loss to the New Orleans Saints, who finished 4–12 in 1981.
| 1981 Houston Oilers draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 79 | Mike Holston | Wide receiver | Morgan State | |
| 4 | 106 | Nick Eyre | Offensive tackle | BYU | |
| 5 | 133 | Delbert Fowler | Linebacker | West Virginia | |
| 6 | 159 | Bill Kay | Defensive back | Purdue | |
| 7 | 193 | Don Washington | Defensive back | Texas A&M–Kingsville | |
| 8 | 217 | Willie Tullis | Defensive back | Troy | |
| 9 | 243 | Avon Riley | Linebacker | UCLA | |
| 10 | 270 | Larry Jones | Running back | Colorado State | |
| 11 | 297 | Claude Matthews | Guard | Auburn | |
| 12 | 324 | Bill Capece | Placekicker | Florida State | |
| Made roster | |||||
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
| |||||
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
| Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
| Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
| Reserve lists Practice squad
| ||||||
| AFC Central | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Cincinnati Bengals (1) | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 4–2 | 10–2 | 421 | 304 | W2 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 3–3 | 5–7 | 356 | 297 | L3 |
| Houston Oilers | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 4–2 | 6–6 | 281 | 355 | W1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 1–5 | 2–10 | 276 | 375 | L5 |
Harold Warren Moon is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 23 seasons. He spent the majority of his career with the Houston Oilers of the National Football League (NFL) and the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL). In the NFL, Moon also played for the Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks, and Kansas City Chiefs. Moon is considered one of the greatest undrafted players in NFL history.
Michael T. Rozier is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the United States Football League (USFL) for two seasons and the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons during the 1980s and early 1990s. Rozier played college football for the University of Nebraska, and won the Heisman Trophy in 1983. Afterward, he played professionally for the Pittsburgh Maulers and Jacksonville Bulls of the USFL and the Houston Oilers and Atlanta Falcons of the NFL. He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.
Earl Christian Campbell, nicknamed "the Tyler Rose", is an American former professional football player who played as a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints. Known for his aggressive, punishing running style and ability to break tackles, Campbell gained recognition as one of the best power running backs in NFL history.
Matthew Schaub is an American former football quarterback who played for 17 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Virginia Cavaliers, and was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the third round with the 90th pick of the 2004 NFL Draft.
Jeffrey Michael "Jeff" Fisher is an American football coach and former cornerback and return specialist. He served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 22 seasons, primarily with the Houston / Tennessee Oilers / Titans franchise. Fisher coached the Oilers / Titans from 1994 to 2010 and the St. Louis / Los Angeles Rams from 2012 to 2016.
Kevin Bernard Gilbride is an American football head coach. He was a coach for twenty years in the NFL, spending seven of them as the offensive coordinator for the New York Giants, with whom he earned two Super Bowl rings. From 1997 to 1998, he was the head coach for the San Diego Chargers. Most recently, Gilbride served as the head coach for the New York Guardians of the XFL.
Harold E. "Butch" Woolfolk is a former American football running back and kick returner who played in college for the University of Michigan (1978–1981) and in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants (1982–1984), Houston Oilers (1985–1986) and Detroit Lions (1987–1988). Woolfolk attended Westfield Senior High School in Westfield, New Jersey. Woolfolk led Michigan in rushing three straight years and set the school record with 3,850 rushing yards while playing for the Wolverines from 1978 to 1981. As a sophomore in 1979, he was the Big Ten Conference scoring champion, and he went on to become a three-time first-team All-Big Ten selection. He had his best season as a senior at Michigan, winning the 1981 Big Ten rushing title and falling just 10 yards short of Rob Lytle's single-season rushing yards record. He was also selected in 1981 as the Most Valuable Player of both the Rose Bowl played January 1, 1981, and the Bluebonnet Bowl played December 31, 1981, as well as the Wolverines' team MVP for the season.
The 1988 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 39th season with the National Football League.
The 1978 Houston Oilers season was the franchise's 19th overall and the ninth in the National Football League (NFL). Led by Rookie RB Earl Campbell, who won both the Offensive Rookie of the Year, and Offensive Player of the Year, who rushed for 1,450 yards, the Oilers made the playoffs with a 10-6 record, qualifying in the newly created 5th Wild Card spot. The franchise scored 283 points while the defense gave up 298 points. Their record of 10 wins and 6 losses resulted in a second-place finish in the AFC Central Division. In the playoffs, the Oilers would stun the Miami Dolphins, 17-9, in the two teams first playoff meeting, then defeated the New England Patriots 31-14 in New England to advance to their first ever AFC Championship game, but in that game, they would score a mere 5 points in a 34-5 blowout loss to the eventual champion Steelers.
The 1979 Houston Oilers season was the franchise's 20th overall and the tenth in the National Football League. The franchise scored 362 points while the defense gave up 331 points. Their record of 11 wins and 5 losses resulted in a second-place finish in the AFC Central Division. The Oilers appeared once on Monday Night Football on December 10, 1979 where the sports promotion Luv ya Blue was launched and returned to the AFC Championship Game for the second consecutive year. Earl Campbell would lead the NFL in rushing for the second consecutive year and set a franchise record for most touchdowns in a season with 19. The Oilers would make the playoffs again as a wild card. In the wild card game, they beat the Denver Broncos 13-7, and then defeated the San Diego Chargers 17-14 in San Diego to reach their second straight AFC Championship game. They played the Pittsburgh Steelers, who a year earlier had eliminated them 34-5 in the previous AFC Championship game. The Oilers lost the game 27-13. The game included a controversial moment in which wide receiver Mike Renfro had a touchdown called back after the referees of the game took a long time to decide the ruling on the field. The call went down as one of the most controversial calls in NFL history.
The 1988 Houston Oilers season was the franchise's 19th season in the National Football League and the 29th overall. The franchise scored 424 points, which was second in the AFC and second overall in the NFL. The defense gave up 365 points. Their record of 10 wins and 6 losses resulted in a third-place finish in the AFC Central Division. The Oilers appeared once on Monday Night Football and appeared in the playoffs for the second consecutive year. Warren Moon would be selected for the Pro Bowl. In the playoffs, they defeated the Cleveland Browns 24-23 in the Wild Card game. However, in the divisional playoffs, they lost 17-10 to the Bills.
The 1989 Houston Oilers season was the franchise's 30th season and their 20th in the National Football League (NFL). The franchise scored 365 points while the defense gave up 412 points. Their record of 9 wins and 7 losses resulted in a second-place finish in the AFC Central Division. The Oilers appeared once on Monday Night Football and appeared in the playoffs for the third consecutive year. It would be Jerry Glanville’s final year as the Oilers coach. Despite making the playoffs, the Oilers, like their arch rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers, had a negative point differential, making them the first teams since the 1984 Giants with this distinction.
The 1990 Houston Oilers season was the 31st season and their 21st in the National Football League (NFL). The Oilers scored 405 points which ranked second in the AFC and second overall in the NFL. Their defense gave up 307 points. During the season, the Oilers appeared once on Monday Night Football and defeated the Buffalo Bills. On December 16, 1990, Warren Moon threw for 527 yards in a game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Moon was part of the Oilers "Run and shoot" era. The run and shoot offense also incorporated teammates Ernest Givens, Drew Hill, Haywood Jeffires and Curtis Duncan. The 1990 season saw the Oilers appear in the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. They finished tied for first in the AFC Central with the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers, as all three teams finished with identical 9–7 records. The Bengals would be awarded the division title by having a better division record than Houston or Pittsburgh. The Oilers would win the tiebreaker over the Steelers by having a better division record than them. The Oilers finished the season 9–7 and clinched a wild card spot. However, they would have to play their playoff game without Moon, who dislocated his thumb two weeks before the season ended when he hit his thumb on the helmet of defender James Francis. Cody Carlson was tapped to start in what became his only career playoff start. In the wild card game, they were embarrassed by the Bengals 41–14, ending Houston's season in a flash.
The 1991 Houston Oilers season was the 32nd season and their 22nd in the National Football League (NFL). Haywood Jeffires would become the second Oiler to have 100 receptions in a season. The first Oiler to accomplish the feat was Charley Hennigan in 1964. Jeffires would be the fifth receiver in NFL history to have a 100 reception season. The Oilers scored 386 points and gave up 251 points. The franchise earned its first division title since the AFL-NFL merger, having last won a division title in the 1967 American Football League season. The franchise finished the season with 11 wins compared to 5 losses and appeared twice on Monday Night Football.
The 1988 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 29th overall season as a football team and the 19th in the National Football League. The Bills ended a streak of four consecutive losing seasons by winning the AFC East; they finished the NFL's 1988 season with a record of twelve wins and four losses; it was the club's first winning season since 1981, its first 12-win season since the 1964 AFL championship season, and only the fifth double-digit win season in team history. The Bills were 8–0 at home for the first time in their franchise history. On the road, the Bills were 4–4. From an attendance standpoint, the franchise set a record for attendance with 631,818 fans.
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, 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.
The 1994 Houston Oilers season was the 35th season overall the Oilers played and their 25th with the National Football League (NFL), and was part of the 1994 NFL season.
The 1984 Houston Oilers season was the 25th season overall and 15th with the league. The team improved upon their previous season's output of 2–14, winning three games, but failed to qualify for the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. With hopes of improving the offense the Oilers won the bidding war to sign CFL star and future Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon. However, with Earl Campbell in full decline, the Oilers decided to trade him to the Saints after a 1–5 start. The move would leave a gaping hole at running back, but it was the defense that was a greater weak spot as the Oilers finished with a 3–13 record, allowing 457 points on the season.
Milton Jackson was an American football coach for 26 seasons. He had different coaching positions for the California Golden Bears, Oregon Ducks, UCLA Bruins, San Francisco 49ers, Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles, Houston Oilers, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Rams, Atlanta Falcons, New York Giants, Seattle Seahawks, and Baltimore Ravens. Also, he was drafted in the 7th round (170), by the San Francisco 49ers but did not play for them. Instead, he played for the San Jose Apaches, and Sacramento Capitols.
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