Ladd Herzeg was general manager of the Houston Oilers in the 1970s and 1980s, under ownership of Bud Adams. [1] In three years, from 1982 to 1984, with the Oilers he drafted and/or signed three Pro Football Hall of Famers; [2] Mike Munchak a 1st round draft choice in 1982, Bruce Matthews another 1st round draft choice in 1983 and Warren Moon a 1984 Canadian Football League signing.
John Perry Pardee was an American football linebacker and the only head coach to helm a team in college football, the National Football League (NFL), the United States Football League (USFL), the World Football League (WFL), and the Canadian Football League (CFL). Pardee was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1986.
Christopher Mark Chandler is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. He played for seven different teams in eight different cities during his NFL career, and is known for leading the Atlanta Falcons to a 14–2 season in 1998 followed by an appearance in Super Bowl XXXIII.
Clifford Lynn Dickey is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. He played college football at Kansas State and was selected in the third round of the 1971 NFL Draft by the Houston Oilers, where he spent his first five seasons. Dickey was a member of the Packers for his remaining 10 seasons, leading them in 1982 to their first playoff appearance since 1972 and victory since 1967. He also led the league in passing touchdowns during the 1983 season. For his accomplishments with the franchise, he was inducted to the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 1992.
Jeffrey Michael 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. He coached the Oilers / Titans from 1994 to 2010 and the St. Louis / Los Angeles Rams from 2012 to 2016.
Earl Roy Gros was an American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons. Born and raised in Louisiana, he played college football at Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge.
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.
Robert Lorenzo Brazile Jr. is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "Dr. Doom", Brazile played from 1975 to 1984 for the Houston Oilers and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.
William Keith Bostic is a former professional American football player who played for seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). During his career he played safety for the Houston Oilers and the Cleveland Browns. Bostic served as the Oiler defensive captain under Jerry Glanville. He earned one Pro Bowl selection and missed another based on a tiebreaker for the last safety chosen. In his Pro Bowl season, he led the American Football Conference in interceptions.
Ralph Eugene Neely was an American professional football player who was an offensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League (NFL). He played 13 seasons and 172 games for the Cowboys from 1965 to 1977.
The Tennessee Titans are the professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the then Houston, Texas, team began play in 1960 as a charter member of the AFL American Football League. The Houston Oilers won two AFL championships before joining the NFL as part of the AFL–NFL merger. In 1999, the Tennessee Titans played their most memorable season since joining the NFL, when they made it all the way to Super Bowl XXXIV, but they fell, at the 1 yard line, to the Kurt Warner-led St. Louis Rams.
Floyd Reese was an American professional football coach and executive in the National Football League (NFL). From 1994 to 2006, he held the position of general manager of the Tennessee Titans. Reese then served as an analyst on ESPN's NFL Live, and as a writer on ESPN.com before joining the New England Patriots as a senior football advisor.
David Wayne Williams is an American former college and professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons during the 1980s and 1990s. Williams played college football for the University of Florida. He was a first-round pick in the 1989 NFL Draft, and played professionally for the Houston Oilers and the New York Jets of the NFL.
Andy Dorris is a retired American professional football player. He was born in Bellaire, Ohio and attended college at New Mexico State University. Dorris played in the National Football League for 10 seasons. He spent most of his professional career with the New Orleans Saints and the Houston Oilers. Dorris is currently a sales representative for Forterra in Houston, Texas.
Bruce Albert Huther is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns, and Chicago Bears. He also was a member of the Pittsburgh Maulers and Denver Gold of the United States Football League. He played college football at the University of New Hampshire.
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.
The Foolish Club were the owners of the eight original franchises of the American Football League (AFL). When Texas oil magnates Lamar Hunt and Bud Adams, Jr. were refused entry to the established NFL in 1959, they contacted other businessmen to form an eight-team professional football league, and called it the American Football League. Though Max Winter had originally committed to fielding a Minneapolis team, he reneged when lured away by the NFL; Winter's group instead joined the NFL as the Minnesota Vikings in 1961. Hunt owned the Dallas Texans, while the Houston Oilers were Adams' franchise. The other six members of the "Original Eight" were Harry Wismer, Bob Howsam, Barron Hilton, Ralph C. Wilson, Jr., Billy Sullivan, and a group of eight investors led primarily by F. Wayne Valley and, briefly, Chet Soda. They called themselves the "Foolish Club" because of their seemingly foolhardy venture in taking on the established NFL.
The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis to become the Tennessee Oilers for the 1997 and 1998 seasons, and later moving operations to Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League (AFL). The team won two AFL championships before joining the NFL as part of the AFL–NFL merger in the late 1960s.
Ron Reeves is a former American football quarterback who played two seasons in the United States Football League with the Denver Gold, Chicago Blitz and New Jersey Generals. He was drafted by the Houston Oilers in the tenth round of the 1982 NFL Draft. He played college football at Texas Tech University and attended Monterey High School in Lubbock, Texas. Reeves was also a member of the Calgary Stampeders and Montreal Concordes of the Canadian Football League.
The Jerome Bettis trade was a trade between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League (NFL). The trade occurred on April 20, 1996, the same day as the first day of the 1996 NFL Draft, as the Rams were trying to transition to more of a passing offense and felt that running back Jerome Bettis was already on the downside of his career while also feeling that Nebraska running back Lawrence Phillips would be a better fit for their offense. Bettis would be traded, along with the Rams' third round pick in 1996, to the Steelers in exchange for their second round pick in 1996 and their fourth round picks in the 1997 NFL Draft.