Tag: Houston Oilers

Former Titans owner Bud Adams semifinalist for Hall of Fame

Former Tennessee Titans owner K.S ‘Bud’ Adams has taken the next step into induction in the NFL Hall of Fame.

Former Titans owner K.S. ‘Bud’ Adams is one step closer to being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He is among nine semifinalists who have taken the next step toward potentially becoming a member of the Contributor Category of the Class of 2025.


Adams joins Ralph Hay, Frank “Bucko” Kilroy, Robert Kraft, Art Modell, Art Rooney Jr., Seymour Siwoff, Doug Williams and John Wooten on that list. 

Adams’ influence on the game is undeniable. Joining former Kansas City owner Lamar Hunt, they founded the original American Football League in 1960 and survived until the merger with the NFL in 1970. In recognition of this achievement, he received the Lamar Hunt Award for Professional Football in 2008 for helping the NFL reach the pinnacle of professional sports. 

Adams, who passed away in 2013, was the founder and owner of the Oilers/Titans from 1960-2012. During his time at the franchise’s helm, he oversaw the transition from Houston to Nashville and cultivated a tremendous fan base. He was also a pivotal figure among the NFL owners, leading the way on many initiatives that helped the game become what it is today. 

The next step in the journey will be when the committee trims down to one finalist for consideration by the full selection committee. The one contributor will be grouped with one coaching candidate and three seniors candidates. Based on getting at least 80% of the votes from the full committee, between one and three of those five finalists will make it to the Hall.

The virtual vote will take place on November 12; check back with Titans Wire for all the coverage on Adams as he takes the next step toward the Hall of Fame. 

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Former Oilers nose tackle Doug Smith dead at 64

Doug Smith, former Houston Oilers defensive tackle, has died of a heart attack at the age of 64.

The Tennessee Titans are mourning the loss of former Houston Oilers defensive tackle Doug Smith, as first reported by former sports director at KRIV Mark Berman. Smith was just 64.

“It was unexpected,” Smith’s wife, Becky, told Berman. “Two months ago, he got a clean bill of health for his heart. He went to his cardiologist and [the tests] came back his heart was good, but you know, we know even healthy people can have a heart attack.”

Smith started his professional career with the Birmingham Stallions of the USFL. The Houston Oilers selected him in the second round of the 1984 draft, but the two sides could not reach a contract agreement. When the USFL folded before the 1985 season, Smith ended up with the Oilers after all.

As a rookie in the USFL, Smith appeared in 17 games and recorded five sacks and one fumble recovery.

As an Oiler, Smith played in 101 games in eight seasons. He started 77 of those games, recording 14 sacks, one interception and five fumble recoveries.

The Titans family sends their condolences to the Smith family during this difficult time.

Warren Moon puzzled by Texans using Oilers color in alternate uniform

Warren Moon thinks it’s time for the Texans to let it go when it comes to using anything related to the Houston Oilers.

The Tennessee Titans announcing they would be donning the Houston Oilers throwbacks in 2023 revived the frustration the Houston Texans and their fans feel about not being able to wear the threads and they simply can’t let it go. Adding fuel to the fire, the Titans wore the uniforms in a game against the Texans last season.

But the Texans don’t have a leg to stand on in the situation. The Titans own the rights to the uniforms and they were literally the Oilers, even after moving to Tennessee.

Oilers greats, including Hall of Famer Warren Moon, have said repeatedly that their own history lies with the Titans, who have honored the franchise and its greats on multiple occasions. Therefore, not even the players who played for the team the Texans are apparently obsessed with want them.

Moon echoed that sentiment during an appearance on “Up & Adams”.

“The Tennessee Titans own that uniform, they own the history of the Houston Oilers,” Moon said. “They had a chance to own it themselves and they didn’t want that ownership, they wanted to create their own identity, which makes sense. They’re the Houston Texans coming in, let’s create our own identity.

“But now because the Houston Oilers uniforms became so popular coming up, they wanted it back. You can’t have it both ways.”

The Texans recently revealed their alternate uniform that will feature a small percentage of “H-Town Blue” on it, which is clearly an homage to the Oilers’ blue, something Houston has permission to use after reaching a compromise with the Titans and NFL.

Moon was puzzled by that design choice, saying that the Texans should “forget about the Houston Oilers” and to stop “harping on that.”

“Why can’t they just stay with what they had?” he asked. “They had a really nice looking uniform the first time. Why do they have to keep harping on that? I don’t understand that, I really don’t. Have your own identity. You have a really good football team right now that won a playoff game last year, they got a chance to maybe go to a Super Bowl this year, just create your own identity. Forget about the Houston Oilers, forget about the Tennessee Titans… I think if they weren’t in the same division, this wouldn’t be as big a deal.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

Clearly the Texans aren’t going to let this go anytime soon. In fact, Hannah McNair, the wife of Texans owner Cal McNair, was quite salty in recent comments she made about Tennessee using the threads.

Meanwhile, Titans fans continue to bathe in the tears of the Texans and their fans, which would stop if they simply let it go.

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Titans’ NFL draft history with No. 252 overall pick

The franchise has owned the No. 252 overall pick just once in its history.

Barring a trade, the Tennessee Titans will make their final pick of the 2024 NFL draft in the seventh round at No. 252 overall, which was acquired in the trade with the Kansas City Chiefs for cornerback L’Jarius Sneed.

The franchise has only owned the pick once, when the Houston Oilers took linebacker Mike Russell out of Toledo. And, as you’d pretty much expect with such a late selection, the Oilers didn’t get anything out of it. Russell never appeared in a game for Houston, or any other team, for that matter.

When looking back at the draft spot over the last 20 years, getting little to nothing out of it is normal. However, there has been one diamond in the rough in that span.

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The New Orleans Saints struck late-round gold when they drafted wide receiver Marques Colston, who was taken out of Hofstra in 2006.

Colston immediately made an impact, finishing second in the Offensive Rookie of the Year voting after breaking 1,000 yards. He would go on to break 1,000 yards six times in his first seven seasons, and he tallied 900 yards or more in eight of 10 campaigns.

Colston currently holds the Saints’ franchise record for receiving yards (9,759), with nearly 2,000 more than the next closest player.

Seeing the kind of success Colston had in his NFL career gives hope that the Titans can find someone who can make an impact, but his case is a certainly an outlier.

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Hannah McNair remains salty about Titans wearing Oilers throwbacks

Hannah McNair, the wife of Texans owner Cal McNair, remains VERY salty about the Titans owning Oilers history.

All you have to do is take one look through Twitter to see how upset Houston Texans fans are that the Tennessee Titans wear Oilers throwbacks and rightly own and celebrate the team’s history, and that’s something that will never change.

We need not look any further for proof of that than Hannah McNair, the wife of Texans owner Cal McNair and the president of the Houston Texans Foundation.

Both recently sat down for an interview in which they were asked about the Texans beating the Titans in Week 15 while the latter was wearing the Oilers throwbacks. Cal tried to take the more diplomatic approach, but Hannah did not hold back on her feelings about things.

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“I think Houston liked that game a lot,” she said. “Especially winning that game there while (the Titans) were wearing something that Houston takes a lot of pride in. And, you know, Tennessee doesn’t care as much. It’s not as meaningful to their fans as we saw in a survey 20 or so years ago when they did change to the Titans. The Oilers didn’t mean as much to the Titans fans. So to win there meant a lot to Houston as they were shoving that in our face.”

The only reason Titans fans have as much fun as they do tormenting Texans fans is because of the ridiculous reaction Houston fans have about the situation.

The fact of the matter is, the Texans have nothing to do with the Oilers, and even Oilers greats have said their history lies with the Titans.

It’s time to let it go.

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Titans’ NFL draft history with No. 242 overall pick

A look back at the Titans’ history with the No. 242 overall pick, a selection the team owns in 2024.

One of their seven selections in the 2024 NFL draft, the Tennessee Titans own the No. 242 overall pick, which is their first of two selections in the seventh round.

The pick, which comes from the Philadelphia Eagles via the Ugo Amadi trade, has been owned by the franchise twice in its history.

The first selection came in 1967, when the Houston Oilers took running back Woody Campbell out of Northwestern in the AFL draft. Campbell actually had an impressive start to his career, earning an AFL All-Star nod after tallying 647 scrimmage yards (511 rushing) and six total scores.

Campbell would top his scrimmage yards from his rookie campaign in Year 2 (670) but saw his rushing yards drop a bit (436). He did, however, finish with a career-high six rushing scores.

In 1969, Campbell was deployed to Vietnam and served as a military policeman with the 1st Infantry Division. He would out-process from the Army in 1970 and resumed his career. He played in 18 more games over the final two seasons of his career before retiring after the 1971 season.

Following his retirement, Campbell became the first Black sportscaster in Houston, and he enjoyed a successful career as a mid-manager in several companies, including Control Data, Digital, Compaq, IBM and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

The first and only No. 242 overall pick in the Titans era was in 2009, when defensive back Nick Schommer was selected out of North Dakota State. He appeared in 13 games during his rookie campaign, recording three tackles. Schommer didn’t see a single snap in the NFL after that.

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Titans plan to wear Oilers throwback and light blue jersey in 2024

The Titans will wear their Oilers throwback again in 2024, while also adding the light blue Titans jersey back into the rotation.

The Tennessee Titans finally brought back their Houston Oilers throwbacks during the 2023 campaign, and the team will do so again in 2024 while also adding a Titans jersey that was recently taken out of the rotation.

According to Jim Wyatt of TennesseeTitans.com in a recent mailbag, not only are the Oilers throwbacks returning for another season, so are the Columbia blue Titans jerseys that were taken out of the rotation in 2023.

When and how many times the jerseys will be worn has yet to be decided, though. From Wyatt:

The Titans will be wearing the light blue Oilers throwback uniforms again in 2024, I can tell you that for starters. Which games, and how many games, is yet to be determined. A year ago, the Titans wore them twice – vs the Texans and Falcons – after considering wearing them three times.

Also, the team plans to bring back the light blue Titans jerseys for at least one game in 2024 as well, as long as there are no manufacturing delays, or a last-minute change of heart. I know a lot of fans enjoyed seeing those, so the plan is to bring them back. So, the planned jerseys for 2024 will be the Titans navy blue, Titans white, Oilers light blue throwbacks, and the Titans Columbia blue.

As for Oilers white away uniforms, nothing is in the works. Maybe down the road.

Unfortunately, the Titans wearing the white Oilers uniform is not on the table for 2024. Here’s to hoping we get them in 2025.

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Mike Vrabel honors Bum Phillips by wearing cowboy hat to Texans game

Titans head coach Mike Vrabel honored former Oilers head coach Bum Phillips by wearing a cowboy hat prior to the game against the Texans.

The Tennessee Titans are wearing their Houston Oilers throwbacks for the Week 15 game against the Houston Texans, but head coach Mike Vrabel is taking it one step further.

During the week, Vrabel was asked if he would wear a cowboy hat to honor former Oilers head coach Bum Phillips. Vrabel wouldn’t say one way or the other if he would, but thankfully he has indeed decided to.

It remains to be seen if Vrabel will actually wear the hat during the game, but he was sporting the legendary head gear upon arriving for the contest against Houston. Check out the video below.

Titans by 50.

As if wearing Oilers throwbacks wasn’t triggering enough for Texans and Houston sports fans in general, seeing Vrabel rock that hat is going to send them through the roof.

The Titans and Texans will meet at Nissan Stadium on Sunday, with kickoff set for 1 p.m. EST.

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Behind Enemy Lines: Previewing Week 15 with Titans Wire

Titans Wire managing editor @MichaelMoraitis stops by to help preview Week 15’s AFC South rivalry.

Much of the focus for the Houston Texans in Week 15 has been starting quarterback. Rookie C.J. Stroud has slowly travailed through concussion protocol, and his doubtful designation on the injury report all but ensures Davis Mills will lead the offense against the Tennessee Titans.

The AFC South rivals may have a 5-8 record, seem more like a spoiler than a team in the playoff hunt, and are sporting Houston Oilers jerseys no less for the second time this season.

To help preview Week 15, Mike Moraitis from the Titans Wire stopped by to field some inquiries and set the stage for Houston vs. Tennessee Sunday at 12:00 p.m. Central Time from Nissan Stadium.

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Former Maryland and Washington TE Frank Wycheck dies

Frank Wycheck played for the University of Maryland and was drafted by Washington. He would become an excellent tight end for the Oilers/Titans.

Ardent Maryland and Washington football fans are saddened to hear Frank Wycheck died suddenly this weekend.

Wycheck residing in Chattanooga, Tenn., apparently fell and hit his head in his home sometime Saturday morning, his family conveyed in a statement released this weekend. Wycheck was found Saturday afternoon. He was 52.

The former Maryland Terrapin was drafted 160th overall by the Redskins in 1993. At tight end, he caught 23 passes in the 8 games he started in his two Washington seasons (1993-94) and was released. Upset he had been released, he voiced his disapproval, and sure enough, Wycheck proved Redskins head coach Norv Turner wrong when he was claimed by the Houston Oilers.

Wycheck proceeded to play nine seasons for the Oilers/Titans, catching 482 passes for 4,958 yards for 27 touchdowns and 264 first downs. Wycheck was a Pro Bowler three consecutive seasons (1998-2000) and was All-Pro 2nd team in 2000.

Playing 137 games for the Titans, Wycheck went from being a Redskins castaway to actually setting a franchise record when in 99 consecutive games he caught at least one pass. Frank also achieved being the team receiving leader for three consecutive seasons (1999-2001).

He is best remembered for a single play in the Jan. 8, 2000 AFC wild-card game. In the closing seconds, Buffalo kicked off to the Titans’ Lorenzo Neal who handed off to Wycheck. Frank, moving to his right, suddenly threw back across the field to his left to Kevin Dyson, who ran down the left sideline for a touchdown and a 22-16 Titans victory. The play became known as the “Music City Miracle.”

After the conclusion of Wycheck’s career, he stated he believed he may have CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy), which sometimes results in those who have been exposed to concussions and repetitive forceful impacts to the head.

Wycheck’s family will reportedly agree to Wycheck’s desire to involve experts in CTE research and ongoing brain injury.

Following his NFL career, Frank was employed in sports talk radio in Nashville. He was also part of the Titans NFL game radio broadcast team through the 2016 season. He relocated to Chattanooga, moving to be closer to his family. He is survived by his two daughters and three grandchildren.