1986 Indianapolis Colts season

Last updated

1986 Indianapolis Colts season
Owner Robert Irsay
General manager Jim Irsay
Head coach Rod Dowhower (fired on December 1, 0-13 record)
Ron Meyer (interim, 3-0 record)
Home field Hoosier Dome
Results
Record3–13
Division place5th AFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers

The 1986 Indianapolis Colts season was the 34th season for the team in the National Football League (NFL) and third in Indianapolis. The team finished the year with a record of 3 wins and 13 losses, placing last in AFC East division.

Contents

The Colts did not win a game until week 14, when they defeated the Atlanta Falcons. [1] Prior to that, at least one sportswriter had theorized that the Colts wanted to finish with an 0–16 record, believing that they needed a franchise quarterback; as it turned out, Miami quarterback Vinny Testaverde was the consensus overall top pick in the forthcoming draft [2] (although there were fears that he, like John Elway in 1983, would refuse to play for the team if they drafted him). [3] The Colts’ record, which included wins in their final two games, ended up not being the worst in the league; the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished with a 2–14 record and got the first pick (which they would eventually use on Testaverde).

Rod Dowhower entered the season in his second year as head coach, after having replaced Frank Kush in 1985. After the 0–13 start for the team, he was fired and replaced by Ron Meyer, who had himself been fired by the New England Patriots in 1984 and had not coached since. Meyer would lead the Colts to all three of their victories in 1986.

Offseason

Draft

1986 Indianapolis Colts draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
14 Jon Hand   Defensive end Alabama
247 Jack Trudeau   Quarterback Illinois
486 Bill Brooks   Wide receiver Boston University
5117 Scott Kellar   Nose tackle Northern Illinois
5124 Gary Walker   Center Boston University
7171Steve O'Malley  Defensive tackle Northern Illinois
7172Chris White  Placekicker Illinois
7190 Tommy Sims   Defensive back Tennessee
8198 Trell Hooper  Defensive back Memphis State
9228 Bob Brotzki   Tackle Syracuse
10266 Peter Anderson   Guard Georgia
12309Steve Wade Defensive tackle Vanderbilt
12326Isaac Williams Defensive tackle Florida State
      Made roster        Pro Football Hall of Fame     *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

1986 Indianapolis Colts staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

  • Offensive coordinator/Running Backs – Billie Matthews
  • Quarterbacks – John Becker
  • Receivers – Chip Myers
  • Offensive Line – Tom Lovat
  • Assistant Offensive Line – Keith Rowen
Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special Teams – Keith Rowen

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and Conditioning – Tom Zupancic


Roster

1986 Indianapolis Colts roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Reserve


Rookies in italics

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1September 7at New England Patriots L 3–330–1 Sullivan Stadium 55,208
2September 14at Miami Dolphins L 10–300–2 Miami Orange Bowl 51,848
3September 21 Los Angeles Rams L 7–240–3 Hoosier Dome 59,012
4September 28 New York Jets L 7–260–4Hoosier Dome56,075
5October 5at San Francisco 49ers L 14–350–5 Candlestick Park 57,252
6October 12 New Orleans Saints L 14–170–6Hoosier Dome53,512
7October 19at Buffalo Bills L 13–240–7 Rich Stadium 50,050
8October 26 Miami Dolphins L 13–170–8Hoosier Dome58,350
9November 2 Cleveland Browns L 9–240–9Hoosier Dome57,962
10November 9 New England Patriots L 21–300–10Hoosier Dome56,890
11November 16at New York Jets L 16–310–11 Giants Stadium 65,149
12November 23at Houston Oilers L 17–310–12 Astrodome 31,792
13November 30 San Diego Chargers L 3–170–13Hoosier Dome47,950
14December 7at Atlanta Falcons W 28–231–13 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 30,397
15December 14 Buffalo Bills W 24–142–13Hoosier Dome52,783
16December 21at Los Angeles Raiders W 30–243–13 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 41,349
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFC East
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
New England Patriots (3)1150.6887–18–4412307W1
New York Jets (4)1060.6256–28–4364386L5
Miami Dolphins 880.5005–36–6430405L1
Buffalo Bills 4120.2501–73–11287348L3
Indianapolis Colts 3130.1881–72–10229400W3

References

  1. Sheeley, Glenn; ‘Rope-a-dope: Falcon blunders give Indianapolis first victory’; Atlanta Constitution ; December 8, 1986, p. D1
  2. Vierria, Dan; ‘Colts May Need a Win, but They Need Vinnie Even More’; Sacramento Bee , November 16, 1986, p. C4
  3. Kaufman, Ira; ‘Will Testaverde, like Elway, Spurn Colts’; Seattle Times , November 23, 1986, p. C5

See also