History of the Tennessee Titans 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 American Football League . The Oilers won two AFL championships before joining the NFL as part of the AFL – NFL Merger . Franchise history . Houston Oilers ( 1960 – 96 ) . 1960s . The Houston Oilers began in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League . They were owned by Bud Adams , a Houston oilman , who had made several previous unsuccessful bids for an NFL expansion team in Houston . Adams was an influential member of the eight original AFL owners , since he and Dallas Texans / Kansas City Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt were more financially stable than the others . The Oilers appeared in the first three AFL championships . They scored an important victory over the NFL when they signed LSU ' s Heisman Trophy winner , All - America running back Billy Cannon . Cannon joined other Oiler offensive stars such as quarterback George Blanda , flanker Charlie Hennigan , running back Charlie Tolar , and guard Bob Talamini . After winning the first - ever AFL championship over the Los Angeles Chargers in 1960 , they repeated over the same team ( then in San Diego ) in 1961 . They lost to the Dallas Texans in the classic 1962 double - overtime AFL championship game , at the time the longest professional football championship game ever played . In 1962 , the Oilers were the first AFL team to sign an active NFL player away from the other league , when wide receiver Willard Dewveall left the Bears to join the champion Oilers . Dewveall that year caught the longest pass reception for a touchdown in professional American football history , 99 yd , from Jacky Lee , against the San Diego Chargers . In Canadian football , paid players have caught passes for touchdowns in excess of 100 yards since the playing field is 110 yards long . The Oilers won the AFL Eastern Division title again in 1967 , then became the first professional football team to play in a domed stadium , when they moved into Houston ' s Astrodome for the 1968 season . Previously , the Oilers had played at Jeppesen Stadium at the University of Houston ( now called Robertson Stadium ) from 1960 to 1964 , and Rice University ' s stadium from 1965 to 1967 . Adams had intended the team play at Rice from the first , but Rice ' s board of regents initially rejected the move . After the Astrodome opened for business , Adams attempted to move there , but could not negotiate an acceptable lease with the Houston Sports Association ( owners of the Houston Astros ) from whom he would sublease the Dome . The 1969 season , the last as an AFL team , saw Houston begin 3 - 1 , but tumble afterwards . They qualified for the playoffs , but were defeated by the Raiders 56 - 7 , to finish the year with a record of 6 - 6 - 1 . 1970s . The years immediately after the AFL - NFL merger were not as kind to the Oilers , who sank to the bottom of the AFC Central division . After going 3 - 10 - 1 in 1970 , they went 4 - 9 - 1 in 1971 , and then suffered back - to - back 1 - 13 seasons in 1972 - 73 . But by 1974 , the Oilers led by Hall of Fame coach Sid Gilman brought the team back to respectability by reaching . 500 at season ' s end . The next year , Bum Phillips arrived and with talented stars like Elvin Bethea and Billy " White Shoes " Johnson , the Oilers had their first winning season of the decade . Inadequate offense doomed them to a 5 - 9 season in 1976 , but the team improved to 8 - 6 the following year , and in 1978 , the Oilers ' fortunes improved when they draft ed University of Texas football star Earl Campbell , who was Rookie of the Year that year and led the Oilers to their first playoff appearance since the merger . Defeating Miami in the wild - card round , they then trumped New England , who would not lose another home playoff game until 2009 . But in the AFC Championship , the Steelers routed them 34 - 5 . The 1979 season was a near rerun of 1978 as the Oilers finished 11 - 5 in the regular season and again earned a wild card spot . Passing the Broncos , they edged by San Diego in the divisional round . Despite this , several of their starters had been taken out of commission by injuries and for the second year in a row the AFC Championship witnessed the team go down to defeat in Pittsburgh 27 - 13 . A controversial out - of - bounds call nullified a touchdown by wide receiver Mike Renfro . 1980s . The team suffered through more lean years in the early 1980s . 1980 saw the Oilers go 11 - 5 and achieve a wild card spot for the third year in a row , but they were quickly vanquished by Oakland 27 - 7 . A frustrated Bud Adams fired Bum Phillips , who was succeeded by Ed Biles . Afterwards began a long playoff drought as the Oilers fell to 7 - 8 in 1981 , and 1 - 8 in the strike - shorted 1982 season . Another miserable year followed in 1983 , as Houston went 2 - 14 . Biles resigned in Week 6 and was succeeded by Chuck Studley , who served merely as an interim coach until Hugh Campbell was hired in the offseason . In 1984 , the Oilers won a bidding war for CFL legend Warren Moon but didn ' t return to the playoffs that year either , with two wins and fourteen losses . The aging Earl Campbell was traded to New Orleans during the offseason and replaced by Mike Rozier from University of Nebraska . In week 14 of the 1985 season , Hugh Campbell was replaced by Jerry Glanville , who saw the team through the last two games to finish 5 - 9 . A 31 - 3 rout of Green Bay on the 1986 season opener looked promising , but in the end Houston only managed another 5 - 11 record . Another strike in 1987 reduced the season to 15 games , three by substitute players . After ending 9 - 6 , the team achieved its first winning record and playoff berth in seven years . After beating the Seahawks in overtime , they fell to Denver in the divisional round . Going 10 - 6 in 1988 , the Oilers again got into the playoffs as a wild card , beat Cleveland in a snowy 24 - 23 match , and then lost to Buffalo a week later . 1989 saw a 9 - 7 regular season , but as always the team could only manage a wild card . In a messy , penalty - ridden game , they were beaten by Pittsburgh . Renovation to the Astrodome . The Oilers ' resurgence came in the midst of a battle for the franchise ' s survival . In 1987 , Adams threatened to move the team to Jacksonville , Florida ( later the home of one of the team ' s division rivals ) unless the Astrodome was " brought up to date . " At the time the Astrodome only seated about 50 , 000 fans , the smallest capacity in the NFL . Not willing to lose the Oilers , Harris County responded with $ 67 million in improvements to the Astrodome that included new Astroturf , 10 , 000 additional seats and 65 luxury boxes . These improvements were funded by increases in property taxes and the doubling of the hotel tax , as well as bonds to be paid over 30 years . However , Adams ' increasing demands for greater and more expensive accommodations to be funded at taxpayer expense sowed seeds of tension that assisted the team ' s departure ( some would say expulsion ) from Houston . 1990s . The Oilers briefly rose to become a league power once again in the first half of the 1990s . In 1991 , the Oilers won their first division title in 25 years , and their first as an NFL team . However , only two minutes away from their first conference title game in 13 years , they were the victims of a 80 - yard march by John Elway and the Denver Broncos before David Treadwell kicked a 28 - yard field goal to win the game 26 - 24 . In 1992 , the Oilers compiled a 10 – 6 regular season record , but made history against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Wild Card playoffs by blowing an NFL record 35 – 3 lead and eventually losing 41 – 38 in overtime , a game now known simply as " The Comeback . " Adams had been blamed for the team ' s previous spells of incompetence , largely because he had overly micromanaged the Oilers ( for instance , all expenditures over $ 200 required his personal approval ) . He displayed this tendency again before the 1993 season . After three losses in the wild card playoffs and three losses in the divisional playoffs , he gave the Oilers an ultimatum – unless they made the Super Bowl in 1993 , he would break up the team . While the Oilers responded with a 12 – 4 record , their best record ever in Texas , and another AFC Central title , they lost in the second round to the Chiefs . Adams made good on his threat to hold a fire sale , most significantly trading Moon to the Minnesota Vikings . Without Moon , the Oilers appeared to be a rudderless team . They finished the next season 2 – 14 , the third - worst record for a full season in franchise history . The Oilers managed to get back to respectability over the next two years , but would never make the playoffs again in Texas . However , they did manage to establish the future cornerstone of the offense by drafting Steve McNair in 1995 . Final years in Houston . At the same time , Adams again lobbied the city for a new stadium , one with club seating and other revenue generators present in recently – built NFL stadiums . However , mayor Bob Lanier turned him down almost out of hand . Although Houstonians wanted to keep the Oilers , they were leery of investing more money on a stadium so soon after the Astrodome improvements . The city was also still struggling to recover from the oil collapse of the 1980s . Adams , sensing that he was not going to get the stadium he wanted , began shopping the Oilers to other cities . He was particularly intrigued by Nashville , and opened secret talks with mayor Phil Bredesen . At the end of the 1995 season , Adams announced that the Oilers would be moving to Nashville for the 1998 season . City officials there promised to contribute $ 144 million toward a new stadium , as well as $ 70 million in ticket sales . At that point , support for the Oilers in the Houston area all but disappeared . The 1996 season was a disaster for the Oilers ; they played before crowds of less than 20 , 000 and games were so quiet that it was possible to hear conversations on the field from the grandstand . Meanwhile , the team ' s radio network , which once stretched across the state , was reduced to the flagship station in Houston and a few affiliates in Tennessee . The team went 8 – 8 , finishing 6 – 2 in road games and finishing only 2 – 6 in home games . Adams , the city and the league were unwilling to see this continue for another season , so a deal was reached to let the Oilers out of their lease a year early and move to Tennessee . Tennessee Oilers era ( 1997 – 98 ) . The Oilers ' new stadium would not be ready until 1999 , however , and the largest stadium in Nashville at the time , Vanderbilt Stadium on the campus of Vanderbilt University , seated only 41 , 000 and would not allow for alcohol sales . At first , Adams rejected Vanderbilt Stadium even as a temporary facility and announced that the renamed Tennessee Oilers would play the next two seasons at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis . The team would be based in Nashville , commuting to Memphis only for games — in effect , consigning the Oilers to 32 road games for the next two years . Even though this arrangement was acceptable to the NFL and the Oilers at the time , few people in either Memphis or Nashville were happy about it . Memphis had made numerous attempts to get an NFL team , and many people in the area wanted nothing to do with a team that would be lost in only two years — especially to longtime rival Nashville . Conversely , Nashvillians showed little inclination to drive over to see " their " team . In a case of exceptionally bad timing , Interstate 40 was in the midst of major reconstruction in the Memphis area , lengthening the normal three - hour drive between Nashville and Memphis to five hours . In Memphis , the CPAC Oilers played before some of the smallest NFL crowds since the 1950s , with no crowd bigger than 27 , 000 ( in a 62 , 000 - seat stadium ) . The few fans there were usually indifferent , and often those that attended were fans of the opposing team . Oddly enough , the Oilers went 6 - 2 in Memphis while going 2 - 6 on the road . Despite this , Adams had every intention of playing in Memphis the next season . That changed after the final game of the 1997 season . The Oilers faced the Pittsburgh Steelers in front of 50 , 677 fans — the only crowd that could not have been reasonably accommodated in Vanderbilt . However , by at least one estimate , three - fourths of the crowd was Steeler fans . Adams was so embarrassed that he abandoned plans to play the 1998 season in Memphis and ended up moving to Vanderbilt after all . The team rebounded that season , and was in playoff contention until losing their last two games for another 8 – 8 record . Tennessee Titans era ( 1999 - present ) . Name change . During the 1998 season , Adams announced that in response to fan requests , he was changing the Oilers ' name to coincide with the opening of their new stadium and to better connect with Nashville . He also declared that the renamed team would retain the Oilers ' heritage ( including team records ) , as had all other relocated teams except the Browns / Ravens , and that there would be a Hall of Fame honoring the greatest players from both eras . Adams appointed an advisory committee to decide on a new name . He let it be known that the new name should reflect power , strength , leadership and other heroic qualities . On December 22 , Adams announced that the Oilers would be known as the Tennessee Titans starting in 1999 . The new name met all of Adams ' requirements , and also served as a nod to Nashville ' s nickname of " The Athens of the South " ( for its large number of higher - learning institutions , Classical architecture , and its full scale replica of the Parthenon ) . 1999 Super Bowl run . In 1999 , Adelphia Coliseum , now known as LP Field , was completed and the newly christened Titans had a grand season , finishing with a 13 – 3 record — the best season in franchise history . They won their first game as the " Titans , " defeating the Bengals before a sold out stadium ( Every game since the Titans moved to Nashville has been sold out ) . They finished one game behind the Jacksonville Jaguars for the AFC Central title . The Titans did not lose a game at home . Tennessee then won their first round playoff game over the Buffalo Bills on a designed play , known as " Home Run Throwback " in the Titans playbook , that is commonly referred to as the " Music City Miracle " : Tight - end Frank Wycheck made a lateral pass to Kevin Dyson on a kickoff return with 16 seconds left in the game and the Titans trailing by 1 point ; Dyson returned the pass 75 yds for a touchdown to win the game . After replay review , the call on the field was upheld as a touchdown . The original play did not call for Kevin Dyson to be on the field and he was only involved due to an injury of another player . The Titans went on to defeat the Indianapolis Colts in Indy , and then defeated the Jaguars in Jacksonville in the AFC Championship Game . The Titans ' magnificent season led to a trip to Super Bowl XXXIV , where they lost a heartbreaker to the St . Louis Rams when Kevin Dyson was tackled one yard short of the end zone ( preserving a 23 - 16 Rams ' lead ) as regulation time expired , in a play known as " The Tackle " . 2000 – 2003 . In 2000 , the Titans finished with an NFL - best 13 – 3 record and won their third AFC Central title — their first division title as the Tennessee Titans . They won Central division titles in ' 91 and ' 93 while still in Houston as the Oilers . The Titans would go on to lose their home Divisonal playoff game to the eventual Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens . In 2002 , despite starting the season 1 – 4 the Titans finished the season 11 - 5 and made it to the AFC Championship Game but lost to Oakland . In 2003 , quarterback Steve McNair won the MVP award , sharing it with Peyton Manning . The Titans went 12 - 4 and made the 2003 playoffs , winning their wild card game over the Baltimore Ravens and losing in the AFC divisionals to the New England Patriots who went on to win the Super Bowl . 2004 – 05 . The 2004 season created an unusual number of injuries to key players for the Titans and a 5 – 11 record . Their 5 – 11 record turned out to be their second - worst record ever since the Houston / Tennessee Oilers became the Tennessee Titans . Numerous key players were cut or traded by the Titans front office during the off season , including Eddie George , Derrick Mason , Samari Rolle , Kevin Carter , and others . This was done due to the Titans being well over the salary cap . In 2005 , the Titans took the field with the youngest team in the NFL . Several rookies made the 2005 team including 1st round pick , cornerback Adam " Pacman " Jones , offensive tackle Michael Roos , and three wide receivers , Brandon Jones , Courtney Roby , and Roydell Williams . After losing their first game of the season on the road to the Pittsburgh Steelers 34 – 7 and then winning their Week 2 home - opener against the Baltimore Ravens 25 – 10 , the Titans began the season 1 – 1 , but quickly fell out of contention . They lost on the road to the St . Louis Rams 31 – 27 and lost to their division rival , the Indianapolis Colts 31 – 10 . After getting some redemption on the road against their new division rival , the Houston Texans 34 – 20 , they lost five - straight games to the Cincinnati Bengals ( 31 – 23 ) , the Arizona Cardinals ( 20 – 10 ) , the Oakland Raiders ( 34 – 25 ) , the Cleveland Browns ( 20 – 14 ) , and then ( coming off of their Week 10 Bye ) , their division rival , the Jacksonville Jaguars 31 – 28 . The Titans would win at home against the San Francisco 49ers 33 – 22 , but then , they went on the road and got swept by the Colts 35 – 3 . The Titans would sweep the luckless Texans 13 – 10 at home , but that would be their last win of the year , as they lost their remaining three games to the Seattle Seahawks ( 28 – 24 ) , the Miami Dolphins ( 24 – 10 ) , and the Jacksonville Jaguars ( 40 – 13 ) . Their record for the season was 4 – 12 . 2006 – 2007 . In 2006 , The team finished at 8 – 8 , a definite improvement over the previous year ' s mark of 4 – 12 . The year saw Vince Young lead the team to an 8 – 5 record as the starting quarterback . That span also included 6 straight victories . The team ' s chances of making the postseason at 9 – 7 ended at the hands of the New England Patriots in a 40 – 23 defeat . Floyd Reese resigned as the franchise ' s Executive Vice President / General Manager on January 5 , 2007 after thirteen seasons at the helm . He was replaced by Mike Reinfeldt on February 12 of the same year . After starting a promising 6 – 2 , the Titans lost 4 of their next 5 games to fall to 7 – 6 . They then won their next 3 games including a must - win game against the Indianapolis Colts . They were tied for the final playoff spot with the Cleveland Browns , but they had the tiebreaker and the Titans made the playoffs at 10 – 6 . In the wild card round they lost to the San Diego Chargers , 17 – 6 . 2008 . The year began with the Titans selecting Chris Johnson out of East Carolina University in the first round of the NFL draft , and subsequently acquired former Titan ( most recently Eagle ) DE Jevon Kearse and former Falcons TE Alge Crumpler . After a Week 1 injury to Vince Young , Kerry Collins took over the starting quarterback position and led the Titans to a 10 - 0 record before their first defeat at the hands of the New York Jets on November 23 . The Titans followed up the 34 - 13 loss by defeating the winless Lions on Thanksgiving by a score of 47 – 10 . In week 14 , Tennessee clinched its second AFC South title with a 28 - 9 victory over the Cleveland Browns . In the week 14 game against the Browns , Rookie Chris Johnson rushed 19 times for 136 yards and 1 touchdown and Lendale White rushed for 99 yards and 1 touchdown . They later clinched a first round playoff bye with a loss of the New York Jets in San Francisco . On December 21 , 2008 , the Titans played the Pittsburgh Steelers in a contest to decide the number one seed in the AFC . The Titans won 31 - 14 and clinched home field advantage throughout the playoffs . Their final record was 13 – 3 , which ties their franchise record for most wins . On Saturday , January 10 , they lost their home playoff game 13 – 10 to the Baltimore Ravens , who had previously won their Wildcard game at Miami on January 4 . The playoff game against Baltimore included 3 red zone turnovers and 12 penalties by the Titans . 2009 . After their successful 2008 season , the Titans looked to be very promising in 2009 . However , the opening game against Pittsburgh resulted in a 13 - 10 overtime loss and things disintegrated from there as they dropped the next five matches . This losing streak culminated in a catastrophic 59 - 0 defeat at the hands of New England . After the bye week , it was decided that Vince Young would succeed Kerry Collins as the starting Quarterback . The team began recovering and won five in a row including a game against the defending NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals , on a 99 yard game winning drive by Vince Young , culminating in a touchdown pass on 4th down with 6 seconds left from the 10 yard line . During the Week 10 game in Buffalo , Bud Adams was seen making an obscene gesture towards Bills fans , and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell ( who was also attending the game ) fined him $ 250 , 000 . Afterwards , the Titans sustained a defeat against Indianapolis , wins over St . Louis and Miami , a loss to San Diego , and finally a victory in Seattle to end the season at 8 - 8 . Not only did the Tennessee Titans have a great 8 - 2 finish , but along the way , Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson became only the 6th player in NFL history to rush for over 2000 yards , surpassing Marshall Faulk ' s record for the most yards from scrimmage during a season with over 2 , 500 total yards . 2010 . The Titans started 2010 with alternating wins and losses . They crushed Oakland at home in Week 1 and then were beaten 19 - 11 by the Steelers in Week 2 . In Week 3 , Tennessee beat the Giants 29 - 10 in the New Meadowlands . In week 4 , Tennessee lost 26 - 20 to Denver , and finally won 34 - 27 in Dallas to reach a 3 - 2 record by Week 5 . The following game was a MNF rout of Jacksonville ( 30 - 3 ) . In Week 7 , they beat Philadelphia 37 - 19 in a come - from - behind win that included scoring 27 points in the fourth quarter . Wide Receiver Kenny Britt had his break out performance with 225 reception yards , 3 touchdowns , and 7 receptions . However , after a loss to the Chargers in Week 8 , they were the only team to submit in a claim for the recently - waived Randy Moss . Even after this widely - publicized claim , the team was still unable to beat the Dolphins after their bye week , 29 - 17 . In Week 11 , at home against the Washington Redskins , the Titans lost Young to a thumb injury in - game and they snapped their NFL - leading interconference win streak at 14 games , losing to Washington 19 - 16 in overtime . After the game , Young had a highly - publicized meltdown in the locker room and walked out on Fisher , causing him to not only be promptly put on injured reserve , but also essentially guaranteeing his release from the team in the offseason . Losses continued to mount for the Titans , until a week 15 win against the Houston Texans kept their season alive at 6 - 8 . Needing a miracle to get into the playoffs , this nonetheless happened with consequent losses against the Chiefs and Colts . The Titans ' season ended at 6 - 10 . 2011 . In the week following the Titans ' final loss to the Colts , the generally pro - Young Bud Adams agreed that it would be best for the team to release or trade Young . Later that week , on January 7 , 2011 , Adams released a statement in which he would bring Coach Jeff Fisher back for his last season in Tennessee . On January 27 , 2011 the Titans announced that Jeff Fisher would not return for his 18th and final season under contract as Head Coach in Tennessee . Following former head coach Jeff Fisher ' s departure , on February 7 , 2011 , Mike Munchak was named head coach of the Titans . During the 2011 NFL Draft the Titans took Washington QB Jake Locker with the 8th pick overall . Meanwhile , 15 - year veteran Kerry Collins retired from the NFL in July ( Unretiring a month later to join the Indianapolis Colts ) . On July 29 , 2011 veteran Seahawks QB Matt Hasselbeck signed a 3 - year , $ 21 million deal to play for the Tennessee Titans . During the summer training camp prior to the 2011 season , Chris Johnson did not show up to camp , pending contract negotiations . Johnson felt he was due a considerably larger sum of money . As the leading rusher since 2008 ( 4 , 598 yards ) he was set to make $ 1 . 065 million in 2011 , under current contract terms . On September 1 , Johnson became the highest paid running back , agreeing to a four - year , $ 53 . 5 million contract extension , including $ 30 million guaranteed , with the Titans , ending his holdout .