Tag: Bud Adams

Not The Onion: Texans could play Oilers in 2023

Get ready for the possibility of the Houston Texans facing the Tennessee Titans masquerading in Oilers throwbacks in 2023.

Fans who aren’t fully aware of franchise rights in the NFL and why the Houston Texans can’t wear Houston Oilers jerseys will be even more confused when they see the Tennessee Titans sport them in 2023.

According to Mike Moraitis from the Titans Wire, Tennessee is looking at wearing the Oilers throwbacks for the 2023 season thanks to the NFL’s easing of helmet restrictions — the same rules that provided for the Texans to introduce their Battle Red Helmets.

The genesis for the article is Jim Wyatt from Titans Online answering fan questions and states the plan is for Tennessee to wear the Oilers throwbacks for a game at Nissan Stadium, and indicates it would “make the most sense” to wear them when the Texans visit.

Bud Adams, founder and owner of the AFC South franchise in Nashville until his death in 2013, held the rights to the Oilers’ jerseys, logos, franchise records. Unlike Art Modell, who left the Browns in Cleveland while moving the football infrastructure to Baltimore, Adams took it all with him to Nashville. The club played as the “Tennessee Oilers” from 1997-98 until becoming the Titans for the 1999 season.

NFL divorces can be as divisive and strange. Take the Indianapolis Colts. Virtually none of the inductees in the Colts Ring of Honor played in Baltimore. The Baltimore Colts were an institution. “The Greatest Game Ever Played,” the 1958 NFL Championship Game, featured the Colts beating the New York Giants in overtime. None of those players from that championship team are in the Colts Ring of Honor at Lucas Oil Stadium.

You can find Johnny Unitas’ name in a Ring of Honor at M&T Bank Stadium, home of the Baltimore Ravens. Unitas stated numerous times he didn’t play for the Colts; he played for Baltimore.

As a counter to Unitas’ thinking, Oilers legends have sided with the Adams family, showing they played for a franchise and not a city. At least Unitas’ motivation of playing for a city won championships; hard to say about the other philosophy.

The fascinating aspect of the Texans-Oilers-Titans situationship is the media never associates any of the Oilers’ ignominious moments with the Titans. Instead it is left to the Texans to bear. When the Buffalo Bills visited NRG Stadium for the 2019 AFC wild-card, the Houston Chronicle ran stories about the 1993 AFC wild-card and the Bills’ impossible comeback against the Oilers.

Texans Wire had an adequate rebuttal: if the Titans want to own Oilers history so bad, they can take the losses with them, not the highlights and happy memories.

What does that have to do with the Texans? Isn’t that as much “Titans history” as Luv Ya Blue?

The Adams’ franchise in Tennessee has been there for 26 years, and have produced enough of their own history as the Titans that they don’t need to keep throwing back to the Oilers. Wouldn’t Tennessee fans have more fun reminiscing about the late Steve McNair, Eddie George, Jeff Fisher, Chris Johnson, or their own shocking comeback against the Bills, the “Music City Miracle”?

Having the Titans wear the Oilers throwbacks, especially against the Texans, would be nothing more than sticking it in the eye of Houston, which would be a nice reminder of Adams did when he moved the team to Tennessee in the first place.

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Chiefs owner: Lamar Hunt would ‘100 percent’ want Bud Adams in Hall of Fame

Clark Hunt says his father and co-founder of the AFL with Adams, Lamar Hunt, would “100 percent” want the former Titans owner in the Hall of Fame.

Houston Oilers founder and former Tennessee Titans owner, the late Bud Adams, was undoubtedly an integral piece of what the league has become over its history.

It was Kansas City’s Lamar Hunt and Adams that co-founded the AFL to rival the NFL before the two leagues eventually merged into one.

Knowing that, even the most casual fan can see why it’s a shocking reality that Adams has yet to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Clark Hunt, son of Lamar Hunt and current owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, certainly agrees that it’s time to give Bud his long overdue flowers. Clark also added that he believes that his father would agree with this obvious stance.

“Dad 100 percent would want Bud in,” Hunt said while down at the Super Bowl this week, per Jim Wyatt of Titans Online. “I think [Bud] is very deserving. I am probably a little biased because I come from an AFL perspective. But next to my dad, there was really no one else in the early days of the AFL who was more influential than Bud in getting that league off the ground and sustaining it through the tough years so that it was successful.”

Adams, who died in October of 2013, has consistently been up for Hall of Fame consideration in the past. Unfortunately, he did not make last year’s cut from semifinalist to finalist for the coach/contributor category.

Only time will tell how all this plays out over the coming years, but we can all probably agree that Adams deserves much stronger consideration going forward.

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Warren Moon: Amy Adams Strunk reminded me of Bud Adams with GM firing

Warren Moon says Amy Adams Strunk firing Jon Robinson reminded him of something Bud Adams would do.

Tennessee Titans owner Amy Adam Strunk shocked the entire football world when she decided to fire general manager Jon Robinson in the middle of the 2022 campaign.

After three consecutive offseasons that were mostly filled with lackluster draft classes and questionable veteran acquisitions, the move truthfully needed to be made.

The part that especially threw everyone off was the timing of it all. One person who was admittedly shocked by the move was franchise legend, Warren Moon.

The Hall of Fame quarterback and Houston Oilers legend even went as far as to compare the move to something her father and original owner Bud Adams would have done.

“I don’t know what caused [the firing of Robinson] to happen,” Moon said, per Paul Kuharsky. “I’m sure it’s probably a couple major things that we’ll never know about. But I’m sure having one of your [former] top players have that type of game against you did not help. And the fact that it seemed like the head coach wasn’t very happy about that move, either. It’s really hard to say why it happened. But yeah, she reminded me of her old man as far as that move. I think she’s done a tremendous job for the organization and all he things she’s got planned. But yeah, that one shocked me a little bit.”

Like her dad, Adams Strunk has made some surprise firings during her tenure as owner, so it’s easy to see where Moon is coming from when he compares her to his former boss.

On top of Robinson getting the boot recently, the firing of former head coach Mike Mularkey is another example.

In fact, Adams Strunk even threw her support behind Mularkey before letting him go not long after, something Bud did with Jeff Fisher before firing him in 2011.

There are still far more differences than similarities between Adams Strunk and her dad, but she’s definitely got at least a little Bud in her.

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Bud Adams, 2 Oilers miss cut for Pro Football Hall of Fame

None of the Oilers/Titans up for nomination were among the finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2023.

Founder and longtime owner of the Houston Oilers and Tennessee Titans, the late Bud Adams, has missed out on the Pro Football Hall of Fame yet again.

According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Adams, who was one of the semifinalists in the coach/contributor category, was not among the 12 finalists for the honor.

Also missing the cut was longtime Oilers scout C.O. Brocato and wide receiver and returner Billy “White Shoes” Johnson, who was up for nomination in the seniors category.

“If Bud doesn’t go in, now that’s a travesty,” Johnson stated last week, via Jim Wyatt of Titans Online. “Here’s a guy who founded the old AFL, which parlayed into the old AFC, which parlayed into one of the better conferences in the NFL. I mean, c’mon, he was one of the guys who really got it started. If he doesn’t go in, there’s something wrong.”

We couldn’t agree more.

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Billy ‘White Shoes’ Johnson: Bud Adams not making Hall of Fame would be ‘a travesty’

Billy “White Shoes” Johnson is one of three Oilers who are semifinalists for Hall of Fame induction in 2023.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced its nominees for the 2023 class earlier this month, and former Houston Oilers wide receiver and returner Billy “White Shoes” Johnson was one of 25 semifinalists in the Seniors category.

A 15th-round pick of the Oilers in 1974, Johnson spent seven seasons with the team and is one the best returners in NFL history, ranking in the top 10 in punt return yards, yards per return and touchdowns.

Johnson also led the NFL in punt return touchdowns three times, punt return average twice, and he was a three-time Pro Bowler and once a First-Team All-Pro.

While he would obviously like to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, Johnson says the fact that he’s being mentioned at all is enough for him.

“Being mentioned as a Hall of Famer, that’s big-time, I think,” Johnson said to Jim Wyatt of Titans Online. “For me, I am just glad to be mentioned. I look at it as: The league doesn’t owe me anything. When I played, I played to have fun, and I enjoyed it. But it is good to be recognized among your peers.”

Johnson’s play on the field made him memorable enough, but his “Funky Chicken” touchdown dance cemented him as one of the most unforgettable players in franchise history.

“Hopefully, as a punt returner and a guy who enjoyed the game, I did something,” Johnson said. “They always want to talk about end zone dancing, for entertainment purposes. I just enjoyed it, and I am thankful that I was able to have the career I had and thankful I was able to play with the guys I played with. Those are the guys who helped make it happen, and I would be remiss if I didn’t say that.”

On top of his impressive return numbers and legendary touchdown celebration, Johnson also contributed as a wide receiver.

While he was fairly productive with the Oilers in that area, Johnson’s two best seasons as a receiver came during his time with the Atlanta Falcons, where posted 709 yards and four scores in 1983, and then career-highs with 830 yards and five touchdowns in 1985.

Before putting together a successful career, Johnson had plenty of doubters because of his size. In fact, the 5-foot-9 Johnson says he was even lighter than the 170 pounds teams had him listed at.

“There were some naysayers, because of my size, and because of where I went to school (Widener). But there were also people pulling for me because I was an underdog. I kind of looked at it as: I had everything to gain and nothing to lose. And I was willing to do whatever it took to stay around.

“Sometimes I played around 156 pounds,” Johnson added. “I tried to come into camp around 160-165, but in training camp [you lose weight]. But I was around big guys all the time, so I didn’t think of myself as a small guy.”

Johnson isn’t the only Oiler up for induction. He joins founder and long-time owner Bud Adams and former scout C.O. Brocato, both of whom are semifinalists in the Coach/Contributor category.

When speaking on Adams specifically, Johnson says it would be “a travesty” if he doesn’t get in.

“[Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk’s] dad, if Bud doesn’t go in, now that’s a travesty,” Johnson stated. “Here’s a guy who founded the old AFL, which parlayed into the old AFC, which parlayed into one of the better conferences in the NFL. I mean, c’mon, he was one of the guys who really got it started. If he doesn’t go in, there’s something wrong.

“For me, it would be fantastic if it happened. And don’t get me wrong – if it doesn’t, I am going to live life and enjoy myself, but boy, it would be nice to have that label. But make sure you give a plug for Bud, because I think he really deserves it also. Not just for Amy, but because what he did speaks for itself.”

In 1994, Johnson was named to the NFL’s 75th Anniversary All-Time Team as a punt returner, and interestingly enough, he remains the only player on that team that isn’t in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Hopefully Johnson shakes that distinction with an induction in 2023, and hopefully that induction comes in tandem with Adams’.

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Bud Adams, Billy ‘White Shoes’ Johnson semifinalists for Pro Football Hall of Fame

Long-time Oilers/Titans scout C.O. Brocato is also a semifinalist in the coach/contributor category.

Long-time Houston Oilers and Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams and long-time scout C.O. Brocato are two of 54 semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the Coach/Contributor category.

In addition to Adams and Brocato, former Oilers wide receiver and returner Billy “White Shoes” Johnson is one of 25 former players who are semifinalists in the Seniors category.

Adams, who was the founder and owner of the Oilers/Titans for over 53 years, played a role in the formation of the AFL, which rivaled the NFL before the two leagues merged in 1966.

Under Adams, the franchise won a pair of AFL Championships and appeared in four AFC Championship games and one Super Bowl.

“Besides the playoffs, one thing I would like to accomplish is to be considered in the Pro Football Hall of Fame,” Adams said before his passing in 2013. “I realize there may be some hard feelings about me moving the team to Nashville, but I truly feel my body of work… I don’t like tooting my own horn. But at my age, and now being the senior NFL owner, there is no one from back in those days than can really speak up for me now.”

Brocato spent 45 years as a scout for the franchise and had a hand in scouting franchise greats like Earl Campbell, Bruce Matthews and Steve McNair.

Johnson spent seven years with the Oilers, six with the Atlanta Falcons and one with Washington. He was perennially one of the best returners in the NFL and was voted to three Pro Bowls and one First-Team All-Pro.

Selection committees for both the Seniors and coach/contributor categories will choose 12 finalists each, to be announced on July 27.

From there, the Seniors committee will meet August 16 to select up to three for final consideration, while the Coach/Contributor Committee will meet August 23 to choose one for final consideration.

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Twitter reacts to the Tennessee Titans’ ‘Oilers tribute week’

The Tennessee Titans decided to honor the Oilers for NFL Week 3, and Houston sports fans reminded them where their franchise’s history was forged.

The Tennessee Titans franchise has the rights to the records and uniforms of the Houston Oilers, who played in the Bayou City from 1960-96.

Founder Bud Adams was unhappy that the city of Houston wouldn’t acquiesce and build a new stadium for the Oilers and decided to leave town. Interestingly, Adams pulled the same move in 1985 to get Harris County taxpayers to approve a bond election that funded upgrades to the Astrodome just so the Oilers wouldn’t leave.

The Titans decided to pay tribute to the Oilers — curiously not specifying whether they were honoring the Houston or Tennessee version — on Twitter Wednesday, and it drew the ire of Houston sports fans. After all “Luv ya Blue” was a part of Houston sports history, not anything associated with the Oilers’ back-and-forth trips between Memphis and Nashville before becoming the Titans in 1999.

Is Texans chairman and CEO Cal McNair the new Bud Adams?

With the turmoil that has hit the Houston sports scene recently, is Texans chairman and CEO Cal McNair becoming the new Bud Adams?

When it came to the Houston Oilers, Bud Adams only thought of himself.

In the late 1980s, Adams demanded renovations to the Astrodome, or else he would be moving the team to Jacksonville. After a bond election, which Harris County residents had to pay off for the next 30 years, Adams got his upgrades to the Eighth Wonder of the World.

However, it wouldn’t stop Adams from moving the Oilers. In 1995, Adams wanted a brand new stadium, not even 10 years after putting Harris County voters on the hook to upgrade the Astrodome. Adams got mad, shopped the Oilers once again, and ultimately announced the team’s departure for Nashville in 1998.

The crowds at the Astrodome were sparse in 1996. Though the Oilers started 5-2, Houston sports fans were incensed; they didn’t care. Even local media knew who to please and allegedly aired Houston Rockets preseason games ahead of Oilers games. Adams had made such a mess out of the situation that the league and the city of Houston reached an agreement to let the Oilers out of their Astrodome lease a year early, which is why the team moved to Tennessee in 1997.

As late as a 2012 interview with the Houston Chronicle, Houston Texans chairman and CEO Cal McNair couldn’t understand why Houston sports fans reviled Adams.

“It was interesting because the fans loved the team, but for whatever reason, they didn’t love the owner,” McNair said. “In this case, the fans love the team and the fans love the owner. I know Bud Adams, and he’s a nice guy. I don’t know exactly what he did to get people mad at him.”

This tone-deafness is precisely why the Texans are in the trouble they are in nine years later.

Jim Mora, coach of the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts, said that if you listen too much to the fans, you end up sitting in the stands with them. McNair can’t reasonably acquiesce every fan request, whether expressed individually or collectively.

Texans fans have zeroed in on executive vice president of football operations Jack Easterby as the problem that ails the franchise. Of course, these were the same people who said Bill O’Brien, who won the most AFC South titles in club history, was the problem. Understandably, Houston sports fans just wanted to see their pro football team win, and whoever wasn’t getting the job done was the problem.

Strange coincidences have occurred since the introduction of Easterby into the franchise, and the fans and media can’t help but notice them. And are fans actually over the target when Andre Johnson, Mr. Texan, calls out Easterby as the problem?

Johnson isn’t a fan in the stands; he is actually former coaching/front office/scouting personnel that left the team in August 2020 after spending a year in his utility role. Of all the angry tweets about Easterby, Johnson’s proscribing carries the most weight.

One could argue that Deshaun Watson is the greatest Houston quarterback since the late Steve McNair, but the former Oilers first-round pick never developed as a starter while in Houston, which makes Watson’s comparisons to Warren Moon all the more apt. Houston sports fans know Watson can throw a ball through a car wash and not get it wet. They also know he can make plays with his feet and catalyze the team to pull out improbable wins. For the first time since the Texans’ 2002 inception, they have their franchise quarterback.

And, for whatever reasons, Watson is upset. When did it start? Moments after McNair hired Nick Caserio as general manager. Who is Caserio friends with going back to the New England Patriots? Easterby.

Adams fired Bum Phillips, Jerry Glanville, and Jack Pardee, all playoff-winning coaches, because they weren’t getting the job done. Even Adams would have fired a former character coach, who meandered his way through the organization and allowed a playoff contender to finish 4-12 and fray the relationship with the star quarterback.

If anything, contrasted with Adams, McNair is too nice and not selfish enough, and fans are beginning to focus their indignation on the son of the man who brought the NFL back to the Bayou City.

Adams made a mess out of the NFL in Houston. He took the Oilers records, uniforms, and history and grafted it onto an expansion team, the Tennessee Titans. However, any time the Texans play the Buffalo Bills, or get into the playoffs, what is technically the Titans’ ignominy gets brought up in relation to the Texans.

McNair has a chance with Watson to memory hole the bad memories Adams left with Houston sports fans. If the Texans ever crack the NFL’s final four or even qualify for the Super Bowl, let alone with the thing, it will be much more difficult to compare the Texans and Oilers, Watson and Moon, Adams and McNair. If McNair doesn’t build around his franchise quarterback, he will be remembered as unfavorably as Adams.

4 Tennessee Titans named to The Athletic’s Nashville Sports Hall of Fame

Four former Titans made the cut for The Athletic’s Nashville Sports Hall of Fame.

The staff over at The Athletic compiled a list of 25 Nashville athletes for its Nashville Sports Hall of Fame, and four former Tennessee Titans made the list.

In descending order, here’s where the Titans who made the cut were ranked:

22. Bud Adams

Adams brought the NFL to the city, and while it took a lot of work from folks here to make this an attractive landing spot, it was Adams’ decision to move the Houston Oilers and take Nashville to a different level as a sports city. Before that, he was a football trailblazer. He started the American Football League with Lamar Hunt in 1959. Competing with the NFL seemed an unwise strategy at the time, but the leagues merged in 1966.

Titans fans love their football team in Nashville and have Adams to thank for making it happen. His daughter, Amy Adams Strunk, is the current controlling owner of the team and has done a sensational job.

13. Bruce Matthews

Matthews was an integral part of the rock-solid offensive line that characterized the Houston Oilers when they moved to Tennessee in 1997. Primarily used at guard, Matthews played 19 seasons in the NFL, starting 293 of the 296 games he played in. He made 14 straight Pro Bowls and was named first-team All-Pro nine times. Matthews played so long in the NFL that his former college teammate at USC — Jeff Fisher — eventually became his head coach. The North Carolina native was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007.

Matthews stands among some of the great offensive lineman to ever play the game. He spent his entire 19-year career with the organization and was a 14-time Pro Bowler and a seven-time First-Team All-Pro. Matthews was rightfully elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007.

5. Eddie George

George won the Heisman Trophy in 1995 — his senior season at Ohio State — and became the first-round pick (No. 14 overall) of the Houston Oilers in the ensuing spring. When the Oilers moved to Tennessee a year later, George and quarterback Steve McNair emerged as the faces of the franchise. George topped 1,000 yards in seven of eight seasons with the Oilers/Titans, making four Pro Bowls and twice earning All-Pro status. George was a workhorse in the Super Bowl run of 1999, rushing 108 times for 449 yards and three touchdowns in four postseason games. He started 128 straight regular-season games with the franchise, finishing with 10,009 yards and 64 touchdowns.

To this day, George remains a leader for the Titans organization. His voice is still well-respected among the team’s current players and the mark he left on the franchise will never fade. The four-time Pro Bowler and one-time First-Team All-Pro had his number retired in 2019 and is the greatest running back of the Titans era.

1. Steve McNair

The NFL’s arrival in Nashville coincided with the ascension of McNair, who led the newly christened Tennessee Titans to Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000. McNair and Eddie George embodied the Titans’ hard-nosed brand of football, and McNair shared the MVP award with Peyton Manning in 2003, throwing 24 touchdowns and rushing for four. McNair, who died in 2009, had his No. 9 retired by the Titans last season.

What can you say about the greatest quarterback in Titans history?

Since his departure in 2006, Tennessee has never found another quarterback who made the kind of impact McNair did during his time with the team.

The former No. 3 overall pick of the Titans took them to their only Super Bowl appearance, and a pair of AFC Championship Games. The former co-MVP and three-time Pro Bowler had his number retired in 2019.