The 2001 Green Bay Packers and their future Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre came into the season with something to prove. For all their success in the 1990s—three straight MVP awards for Favre and a Super Bowl title in 1996, the Packers had failed to make the postseason the last two years. Not coincidentally, […]
The first year of the post-Mike Holmgren era didn’t go well in 1999 for Green Bay. After seven straight winning seasons and six consecutive playoff years, the Pack slipped to 8-8 and home for January in ’99. The organization didn’t wait around to see if new head coach Ray Rhodes could turn it around, firing […]
The 1999 Green Bay Packers represented a key turning point in the Brett Favre era of franchise history. Mike Holmgren departed as head coach following 1998, after having come up with Favre onto the national stage over the previous seven seasons. The new man in charge was Ray Rhodes, who had previously taken the Philadelphia […]
The 1998 Green Bay Packers were the last edition for Mike Holmgren’s successful seven-year run in Lambeau Field. In 1992, the head coach inherited a franchise that had been desolate for the better part of twenty years. Holmgren found Brett Favre as his quarterback and promptly posted a winning season. A year later, the Pack […]
The 1991 New England Patriots represented the opportunity for a fresh start. The franchise hadn’t made the playoffs since 1986 and hadn’t produced a winning season since 1988. The 1990 season was a 1-15 disaster in Foxboro. The Patriots went into the college ranks to tap a new head coach, Dick MacPherson from Syracuse. They […]
From 1990 through 1997, Marty Schottenheimer led the Chiefs into the playoffs seven times. The one exception was 1996. It didn’t start out that way—right up until the end, the 1996 Kansas City Chiefs were well-positioned to continue the string of postseason appearances. But a late collapse left them out of the dance. READ ABOUT […]
Expectations weren’t off the charts in 1997, and the Chiefs hoped to just get back to the playoffs. They would have a season that proved to be much more, but an unfortunately familiar ending.
The 1995 Kansas City Chiefs came into the season looking for a new leader. Joe Montana had given them a taste of not just making it into the postseason, but winning games in January. But the legendary quarterback retired after the 1994 season, and the new quarterback would be Steve Bono.
The Kansas City Chiefs had made big moves before 1993. They signed two veteran legends in quarterback Joe Montana and running back Marcus Allen. And the moves paid off in spades. The Chiefs went from a nice playoff team to one that made it all the way to the AFC Championship Game. The 1994 Kansas […]
Marty Schottenheimer had brought winning football back to Kansas City. After close to two decades of irrelevance, the Chiefs promptly posted winning seasons in each of Schottenheimer’s first four years from 1989-92. What they had not been able to do was advance past the divisional round of the playoffs. The 1993 Kansas City Chiefs made […]
The 1997 Green Bay Packers were coming off a dominant Super Bowl championship season and had all the pieces in place for a repeat. They did indeed make it back to the Super Bowl, but an upset cost them their chance at a dynasty. READ GREAT 1980s SPORTS MOMENTS Brett Favre was the straw that […]
The coaching of Mike Holmgren, the quarterback play of Brett Favre and the leadership of defensive tackle Reggie White was leading the Packers on a gradual upward tilt. They made the playoffs in 1993 and 1994. In 1995, they went deep into the postseason and reached the NFC Championship Game. All that was left was […]