The AFL’s merger with the NFL in 1970 had not been kind to the Houston Oilers. A franchise that had won the first two AFL titles in 1960-61, and contended consistently throughout the decade, fell on hard times after the merger. In the first five seasons of the 1970s, the Oilers went 16-52-2. But a […]
The Houston Oilers came into existence in 1960 with the rest of the old American Football League. They won the first two AFL championships. In the late 1970s, they had the “Luv Ya Blue” teams of Earl Campbell that reached a pair of AFC Championship Games. In the late 1980s and early 1990s there was […]
The 1993 Houston Oilers had spent the previous six seasons as a consistent playoff team that always seemed just ready to break through to the league’s elite. But postseason success was missing. They had not even made the AFC Championship Game during this time period, much less gotten to a Super Bowl. The ’93 Oilers, […]
The 1989 Houston Oilers came into the season looking for more. In both 1987 and 1988, they made the postseason and advanced to the divisional round. The Oilers had clearly arrived as a playoff contender under the coaching regime of Jerry Glanville. Now it was time for more—like a division championship and deeper advancement into […]
The city of Houston saw good football in the seven-year stretch from 1987-93. The Oilers made the playoffs each season. There were also some tough playoff losses, like the endings to 1989 and 1991. But the 1992 Houston Oilers edition took the cake, getting into the postseason with real prospects of reaching a Super Bowl…and […]
The Houston Oilers were on a nice run from 1987-90 of producing good football teams, but losing in the playoffs. The 1991 Houston Oilers took it to the next level—no, they didn’t break through and get to a Super Bowl. In this case the next level means even better regular seasons, finally winning division titles…and […]
The Houston Oilers decided to change horses in midstream coming into the 1990 season. Even though Jerry Glanville led the franchise to the playoffs each year from 1987-89, postseason disappointments cost him his job. The 1990 Houston Oilers were entrusted to Jack Pardee, who started a four-year run that was—for better and for worse—more of […]
Jerry Glanville & Warren Moon had returned playoff football to the city of Houston in 1987 after a six-year absence. Lest anyone think that was a fluke, a byproduct of the strike-torn year of 1987, the 1988 Houston Oilers validated the franchise’s rise to the status of a contender and returned to the postseason. GREAT […]
The 1980s hadn’t been kind to the Houston Oilers. After a three-year stretch from 1978-80 where they made the playoffs each year and reached two AFC Championship Games, the Oilers fell hard. They hired a colorful new coach in Jerry Glanville for the 1986 season and the result was a 5-11 season. But Glanville and […]
Houston made a big trade in the offseason, swapping quarterbacks with the Oakland Raiders. The Oilers gave up Dan Pastorini in exchange for Ken Stabler. In the mid-1970s, Stabler had lost two straight AFC Championship Games to Pittsburgh before getting over the top against the Steelers in 1976 and winning in the Super Bowl. The Oilers wanted the veteran lefty to bring that same know-how to the rest of the time.
The Houston Oilers reached the AFC Championship Game for the first time in the Super Bowl era in 1978. The Pittsburgh Steelers were all that stood in their way. The 1979 Houston Oilers saw the same ending, but they seemed to be an inching just a little bit closer to the ultimate goal.
The 1978 Houston Oilers came into the season looking to break dry spell for their franchise and they moved aggressively draft Heisman Trophy-winning running back Earl Campbell, a hero of the University of Texas. The Oilers, one of the most successful teams in the first years of the AFL when it was founded in 1960, had never made the playoffs since the merger with the NFL in 1970. Campbell made the difference in 1978’s success.