
TheTennessee Titans are a professionalAmerican football team based inNashville, Tennessee. They compete in theAFC South division of theAmerican Football Conference (AFC) in theNational Football League (NFL). The team was originally established as theHouston Oilers in 1959 by businessmanBud Adams, and began play in1960 as a charter member of theAmerican Football League (AFL).[1][2] The Oilers were successful in the early years of the AFL, winning the league's first two championships in1960 and1961.[3][4]
Following theAFL–NFL merger in1970, the Oilers became part of the NFL'sAFC Central division.[4][5][6] In1997, Adams relocated the franchise fromHouston toTennessee, where it played its inaugural season as the Tennessee Oilers at theLiberty Bowl Memorial Stadium inMemphis.[7][8] The team relocated toVanderbilt Stadium in Nashville in1998.[9] The following year, it was rebranded as the Tennessee Titans to coincide with the opening of its new current home stadium, originally named Adelphia Coliseum, now known asNissan Stadium.[8][10] The Titans made an immediate impact under their new identity, reachingSuper Bowl XXXIV in their first season with the new name, narrowly losing to theSt. Louis Rams.[10][11]
The Titans were placed in the AFC South division following the2002 NFL realignment.[12] Since 2002, they have made the AFC Championship twice, in the2002 and2019 seasons, losing both times.[13][14] Throughout their history, including their time as the Oilers, the franchise has experienced periods of both success and struggle. Over 65 combined seasons in the AFL and NFL, the team has posted an overall record of 479 wins, 515 losses, and 6 ties.[15] They have qualified for theplayoffs 25 times, winning two AFL Championships (1960 and1961), oneAFC Championship (1999), and eleven division titles.[16][17]
| AFL Champions (1960–1969)§ | Super Bowl Champions (1966–present)† | Conference Champions* | Division Champions^ | Wild Card Berth# |
| Season | Team | League | Conference | Division | Regular season | Postseason results | Awards | Head coaches | Refs | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | W | L | T | |||||||||
| Houston Oilers | ||||||||||||
| 1960 | 1960 | AFL§ | — | East^ | 1st^ | 10 | 4 | 0 | WonAFL Championship(1) (Chargers) 24–16 | Lou Rymkus | [18] | |
| 1961 | 1961 | AFL§ | East^ | 1st^ | 10 | 3 | 1 | WonAFL Championship(2) (atChargers) 10–3 | George Blanda(MVPTooltip American Football League Most Valuable Player award) | Lou Rymkus (1–3–1) Wally Lemm (9–0) | [19][20] | |
| 1962 | 1962 | AFL | East'^ | 1st^ | 11 | 3 | 0 | LostAFL Championship (Dallas Texans) 17–20(2 OT) | Pop Ivy | [21][22] | ||
| 1963 | 1963 | AFL | East | 3rd | 6 | 8 | 0 | [23] | ||||
| 1964 | 1964 | AFL | East | 4th | 4 | 10 | 0 | Sammy Baugh | [24] | |||
| 1965 | 1965 | AFL | East | 4th | 4 | 10 | 0 | Hugh Taylor | [25] | |||
| 1966 | 1966 | AFL | East | 4th | 3 | 11 | 0 | Wally Lemm | [26] | |||
| 1967 | 1967 | AFL | East | 1st^ | 9 | 4 | 1 | LostAFL Championship (atRaiders) 7–40 | [27] | |||
| 1968 | 1968 | AFL | East | 2nd | 7 | 7 | 0 | [28] | ||||
| 1969 | 1969 | AFL | East | 2nd# | 6 | 6 | 2 | LostDivisional playoffs (atRaiders) 7–56 | [29] | |||
| 1970 | 1970 | NFL | AFC | Central | 4th | 3 | 10 | 1 | [6] | |||
| 1971 | 1971 | NFL | AFC | Central | 3rd | 4 | 9 | 1 | Ed Hughes | [30] | ||
| 1972 | 1972 | NFL | AFC | Central | 4th | 1 | 13 | 0 | Bill Peterson | [31] | ||
| 1973 | 1973 | NFL | AFC | Central | 4th | 1 | 13 | 0 | Bill Peterson (0–5) Sid Gillman (1–8) | [32] | ||
| 1974 | 1974 | NFL | AFC | Central | 2nd | 7 | 7 | 0 | Sid Gillman | [33] | ||
| 1975 | 1975 | NFL | AFC | Central | 3rd | 10 | 4 | 0 | Robert Brazile(DROYTooltip NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award) | Bum Phillips | [34][35] | |
| 1976 | 1976 | NFL | AFC | Central | 4th | 5 | 9 | 0 | [36] | |||
| 1977 | 1977 | NFL | AFC | Central | 3rd | 8 | 6 | 0 | [37] | |||
| 1978[a] | 1978 | NFL | AFC | Central | 2nd# | 10 | 6 | 0 | WonWild Card playoffs (atDolphins) 17–9 WonDivisional playoffs (atPatriots) 31–14 LostAFC Championship (atSteelers) 5–34 | Earl Campbell(OPOYTooltip NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award,OROYTooltip NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award) | [39][40] | |
| 1979 | 1979 | NFL | AFC | Central | 2nd# | 11 | 5 | 0 | WonWild Card playoffs (Broncos) 13–7 WonDivisional playoffs (atChargers) 17–14 LostAFC Championship (atSteelers) 13–27 | Earl Campbell(MVPTooltip NFL Most Valuable Player award,OPOYTooltip NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award) | [41][42] | |
| 1980 | 1980 | NFL | AFC | Central | 2nd# | 11 | 5 | 0 | LostWild Card playoffs (atRaiders) 7–27 | Earl Campbell(OPOYTooltip NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award) | [43][44] | |
| 1981 | 1981 | NFL | AFC | Central | 3rd | 7 | 9 | 0 | Ed Biles | [45] | ||
| 1982 | 1982 | NFL | AFC | —[b] | 13th[b] | 1 | 8 | 0 | [47][48] | |||
| 1983 | 1983 | NFL | AFC | Central | 4th | 2 | 14 | 0 | Ed Biles (0–6) Chuck Studley (2–8) | [49] | ||
| 1984 | 1984 | NFL | AFC | Central | 4th | 3 | 13 | 0 | Hugh Campbell | [50] | ||
| 1985 | 1985 | NFL | AFC | Central | 4th | 5 | 11 | 0 | Hugh Campbell (5–9) Jerry Glanville (0–2) | [51] | ||
| 1986 | 1986 | NFL | AFC | Central | 4th | 5 | 11 | 0 | Jerry Glanville | [52] | ||
| 1987[c] | 1987 | NFL | AFC | Central | 2nd# | 9 | 6 | 0 | WonWild Card playoffs (Seahawks) 23–20(OT) LostDivisional playoffs (atBroncos) 10–34 | [54] | ||
| 1988 | 1988 | NFL | AFC | Central | 3rd# | 10 | 6 | 0 | WonWild Card playoffs (atBrowns) 24–23 LostDivisional playoffs (atBills) 10–17 | [55] | ||
| 1989 | 1989 | NFL | AFC | Central | 2nd# | 9 | 7 | 0 | LostWild Card playoffs (Steelers) 23–26(OT) | Warren Moon(WPMOYTooltip Walter Payton Man of the Year award) | [56][57] | |
| 1990 | 1990 | NFL | AFC | Central | 2nd# | 9 | 7 | 0 | LostWild Card playoffs (atBengals) 14–41 | Warren Moon(OPOYTooltip NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award) | Jack Pardee | [58][59] |
| 1991 | 1991 | NFL | AFC | Central^ | 1st^ | 11 | 5 | 0 | WonWild Card playoffs (Jets) 17–10 LostDivisional playoffs (atBroncos) 24–26 | [60] | ||
| 1992 | 1992 | NFL | AFC | Central | 2nd# | 10 | 6 | 0 | LostWild Card playoffs (atBills)38–41(OT) | [61] | ||
| 1993 | 1993 | NFL | AFC | Central^ | 1st^ | 12 | 4 | 0 | LostDivisional playoffs (Chiefs) 20–28 | [62] | ||
| 1994 | 1994 | NFL | AFC | Central | 4th | 2 | 14 | 0 | Jack Pardee (1–9) Jeff Fisher (1–5) | [63] | ||
| 1995 | 1995 | NFL | AFC | Central | 2nd | 7 | 9 | 0 | Jeff Fisher | [64] | ||
| 1996 | 1996 | NFL | AFC | Central | 4th | 8 | 8 | 0 | Eddie George(OROYTooltip NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award) | [65][66] | ||
| Tennessee Oilers | ||||||||||||
| 1997 | 1997 | NFL | AFC | Central | 3rd | 8 | 8 | 0 | Jeff Fisher | [67] | ||
| 1998 | 1998 | NFL | AFC | Central | 2nd | 8 | 8 | 0 | [68] | |||
| Tennessee Titans | ||||||||||||
| 1999 | 1999 | NFL | AFC* | Central | 2nd# | 13 | 3 | 0 | WonWild Card playoffs (Bills)22–16 WonDivisional playoffs (atColts) 19–16 WonAFC Championship (atJaguars) 33–14 LostSuper Bowl XXXIV (vs.Rams) 16–23 | Jevon Kearse(DROYTooltip NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award) | Jeff Fisher | [16][69] |
| 2000 | 2000 | NFL | AFC | Central^ | 1st^ | 13 | 3 | 0 | LostDivisional playoffs (Ravens) 10–24 | [70] | ||
| 2001 | 2001 | NFL | AFC | Central | 4th | 7 | 9 | 0 | [71] | |||
| 2002 | 2002 | NFL | AFC | South^[d] | 1st^ | 11 | 5 | 0 | WonDivisional playoffs (Steelers) 34–31(OT) LostAFC Championship (atRaiders) 24–41 | [72] | ||
| 2003 | 2003 | NFL | AFC | South | 2nd# | 12 | 4 | 0 | WonWild Card playoffs (atRavens) 20–17 LostDivisional playoffs (atPatriots) 14–17 | Steve McNair(Co-MVPTooltip NFL Most Valuable Player award[e]) | [73][74] | |
| 2004 | 2004 | NFL | AFC | South | 4th | 5 | 11 | 0 | [75] | |||
| 2005 | 2005 | NFL | AFC | South | 3rd | 4 | 12 | 0 | [76] | |||
| 2006 | 2006 | NFL | AFC | South | 2nd | 8 | 8 | 0 | Vince Young(OROYTooltip NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award) | [77][78] | ||
| 2007 | 2007 | NFL | AFC | South | 3rd# | 10 | 6 | 0 | LostWild Card playoffs (atChargers) 6–17 | [79] | ||
| 2008 | 2008 | NFL | AFC | South^ | 1st^ | 13 | 3 | 0 | LostDivisional playoffs (Ravens) 10–13 | [80] | ||
| 2009 | 2009 | NFL | AFC | South | 3rd | 8 | 8 | 0 | Chris Johnson(OPOYTooltip NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award) | [81][82] | ||
| 2010 | 2010 | NFL | AFC | South | 4th | 6 | 10 | 0 | [83] | |||
| 2011 | 2011 | NFL | AFC | South | 2nd | 9 | 7 | 0 | Mike Munchak | [84] | ||
| 2012 | 2012 | NFL | AFC | South | 3rd | 6 | 10 | 0 | [85] | |||
| 2013 | 2013 | NFL | AFC | South | 2nd | 7 | 9 | 0 | [86] | |||
| 2014 | 2014 | NFL | AFC | South | 4th | 2 | 14 | 0 | Ken Whisenhunt | [87] | ||
| 2015 | 2015 | NFL | AFC | South | 4th | 3 | 13 | 0 | Ken Whisenhunt (1–6) Mike Mularkey (2–7) | [88] | ||
| 2016 | 2016 | NFL | AFC | South | 2nd | 9 | 7 | 0 | Mike Mularkey | [89] | ||
| 2017 | 2017 | NFL | AFC | South | 2nd# | 9 | 7 | 0 | WonWild Card playoffs (atChiefs) 22–21 LostDivisional playoffs (atPatriots) 14–35 | [90] | ||
| 2018 | 2018 | NFL | AFC | South | 3rd | 9 | 7 | 0 | Mike Vrabel | [91] | ||
| 2019 | 2019 | NFL | AFC | South | 2nd# | 9 | 7 | 0 | WonWild Card playoffs (atPatriots) 20–13 WonDivisional playoffs (atRavens) 28–12 LostAFC Championship (atChiefs) 24–35 | Ryan Tannehill(CPOYTooltip NFL Comeback Player of the Year award) | [92][93] | |
| 2020 | 2020 | NFL | AFC | South^ | 1st^ | 11 | 5 | 0 | LostWild Card playoffs (Ravens) 13–20 | Derrick Henry(OPOYTooltip NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award) | [94][95] | |
| 2021[f] | 2021 | NFL | AFC | South^ | 1st^ | 12 | 5 | 0 | LostDivisional playoffs (Bengals) 16–19 | Mike Vrabel(COYTooltip NFL Coach of the Year Award) | [97][98] | |
| 2022 | 2022 | NFL | AFC | South | 2nd | 7 | 10 | 0 | [99] | |||
| 2023 | 2023 | NFL | AFC | South | 4th | 6 | 11 | 0 | [100] | |||
| 2024 | 2024 | NFL | AFC | South | 4th | 3 | 14 | 0 | Brian Callahan | [101] | ||
| Statistic[102] | Wins | Losses | Ties | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston Oilers regular season record (1960–1996) | 251 | 291 | 6 | .464 |
| Tennessee Oilers regular season record (1997–1998) | 16 | 16 | 0 | .500 |
| Tennessee Titans regular season record (1999–2024) | 212 | 208 | 0 | .505 |
| All-time regular season record (1960–2024) | 479 | 515 | 6 | .482 |
| Houston Oilers post-season record (1960–1996) | 9 | 13 | — | .409 |
| Tennessee Oilers post-season record (1997–1998) | 0 | 0 | — | .000 |
| Tennessee Titans post-season record (1999–2024) | 8 | 10 | — | .444 |
| All-time post-season record (1960–2024) | 17 | 23 | — | .425 |
| All-time regular and post-season record (1960–2024) | 496 | 538 | 6 | .480 |