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AFC teams: West, Central, East

Cowboys

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NFC teams: West, Central, East

The1996 NFL season was the 77thregular season of theNational Football League (NFL) and the season was marked by notable controversies from beginning to end. Most significantly, theCleveland Browns relocation controversy resulted in a then-unique legal settlement where theCleveland Browns franchise, history, records, and intellectual property remained in Cleveland (with the Browns officially deactivated), while its players and personnel transferred toBaltimore, technically to a new league franchise that was named theBaltimore Ravens.^[1]

The season ended withSuper Bowl XXXI when theGreen Bay Packers defeated theNew England Patriots 35–21 at theLouisiana Superdome.

• January 9, 1996: Rams offensive linemanJackie Slater announced his retirement.^[2]

The1996 NFL draft was held from April 20 to 21, 1996, atNew York City'sParamount Theater. With the first pick, theNew York Jets selected wide receiverKeyshawn Johnson from theUniversity of Southern California.

Gordon McCarter retired during the 1996 off-season. He joined the NFL in 1967, serving as a line judge and back judge, before being promoted to referee in 1974.Dale Hamer, who had to sit out the 1995 season to recover from open heart surgery, took over McCarter's officiating crew.

Future Vice President of OfficiatingMike Pereira was hired as a side judge. He left the field after two seasons to join the league office and succeededJerry Seeman in2001.

• In order to reduce injuries, hits with the helmet or to the head will be personal fouls and subject to fines.

A series ofNational Football Leaguepre-season exhibition games that were held at sites outside the United States. Two games were contested in 1996.

Date	Winning team	Score	Losing team	Score	Stadium	City
July 28, 1996	San Diego Chargers	20	Pittsburgh Steelers	10	Tokyo Dome	Tokyo
August 5, 1996	Kansas City Chiefs	32	Dallas Cowboys	6	Estadio Universitario	Monterrey

ThePro Football Hall of Fame Game, in which theIndianapolis Colts defeated theNew Orleans Saints 10–3, was played on July 27, and held atFawcett Stadium inCanton, Ohio, the same city wherethe league was founded. The 1996 Hall of Fame Class included Lou Creekmur, Dan Dierdorf, a former offensive lineman with the St. Louis Cardinals and a member of theMonday Night Football broadcast team, Joe Gibbs, a three-time Super Bowl winning coach with Washington, Charlie Joiner and Mel Renfro.

Highlights of the 1996 season included:

• Thanksgiving: Two games were played on Thursday, November 28, featuring Kansas City atDetroit and Washington atDallas, with Kansas City and Dallas winning.

• Jacksonville was the second AFC Wild Card ahead of Indianapolis and Kansas City based on better conference record (7–5 to Colts' 6–6 and Chiefs' 5–7).
• Indianapolis was the third AFC Wild Card based on head-to-head victory over Kansas City (1–0).
• Cincinnati finished ahead of Houston in the AFC Central based on better net division points (19 to Oilers' 11).
• Oakland finished ahead of Seattle in the AFC West based on better division record (3–5 to Seahawks' 2–6).
• Dallas finished ahead of Philadelphia in the NFC East based on better record against common opponents (7–4 to Eagles' 6–5.)
• Minnesota was the third NFC Wild Card based on better conference record than Washington (8–4 to Redskins' 6–6).
• Carolina finished ahead of San Francisco in the NFC West based on head-to-head sweep (2–0).
• Atlanta finished ahead of New Orleans in the NFC West based on head-to-head sweep (2–0).

WhenArt Modell, owner of theCleveland Browns, wanted to relocate his team to Baltimore in a surprise move first reported byThe Boston Globe on November 4, 1995, the ensuing press furor and public relations mess forced the league to intercede and make an agreement with him and the cities ofCleveland andBaltimore before the new season began. In the agreement, the name, colors and history of the Browns were to remain in Cleveland, while the relocated club would technically be a new league franchise; the Browns would return to play in Cleveland at a new stadium no later than 1999 by way of an expansion or another franchise relocation. Either way, the Cleveland Browns would continue, officially suspended for the 1996 through 1998 seasons, while the Baltimore Ravens' history begins with the 1996 season.^[1]

The season was also the final season for theHouston Oilers before leaving Texas forMemphis for thefollowing season, and then toNashville in1998. This move left Houston with no professional football team until the2002 debut of the Texans.

One of the most memorable aspects of the 1996 season was thatthe Carolina Panthers andJacksonville Jaguars, each in just their second year of existence, both advanced to their respective conference championship games. 1996 marked the third year theNFL salary cap was in force and also marked the end of multiple "dynasties" in the NFL as it was the first season since 1991 (and only the second since 1987) in which neitherthe Dallas Cowboys northe San Francisco 49ers played in theNFC Championship Game. It was also the first NFC Championship Game ever that did not feature either the Cowboys, 49ers, Washington Redskins, or Los Angeles Rams.

The season ended withSuper Bowl XXXI whenthe Green Bay Packers defeatedthe New England Patriots in a game ultimately decided when a third-quarter kick-off was returned 99 yards for a touchdown by Packers' kick returner,Desmond Howard. For that, and his excellent performance on kick-off and punt returns throughout the game, Howard was namedSuper Bowl MVP, the first and only time that a special teams player has earned that award.

All that was nearly overshadowed by the press feeding frenzy reporting and commenting on the rumor, between the AFC championship game up to and into the broadcast coverage ofSuper Bowl XXXI itself, that iconic coachBill Parcells was planning on breaking his contract with theNew England Patriots because he did not get along well with ownerRobert Kraft, who had helped turn around New England's image after years of ownership that was either dismal or absent. In the event, Parcells did not even return with the players, and telephone records showed he was talking to the Jets in the days before and the day of the Super Bowl itself. This documentary evidence led to the league awarding the Patriots multiple draft picks in compensation for the "tampering" by the Jets,^[3] which is but a continuation of one-upmanship that has gone on for years between the heated rivals.

• Arizona Cardinals –Vince Tobin new head coach. ReplacedBuddy Ryan, who was fired after the 1995 season.
• Baltimore Ravens –Ted Marchibroda new head coach. ReplacedBill Belichick, who was fired in February 1996 shortly after the franchise was officially formed following theCleveland Browns relocation controversy.
• Indianapolis Colts –Lindy Infante new head coach. ReplacedTed Marchibroda who was offered a job from the Baltimore Ravens.
• Miami Dolphins –Jimmy Johnson new head coach. ReplacedDon Shula who retired after the 1995 season.
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers –Tony Dungy new head coach. ReplacedSam Wyche who was fired after the 1995 season.

• Cincinnati Bengals –Dave Shula was fired by mid season and was replaced by interim head coachBruce Coslet.
• New Orleans Saints –Jim Mora resigned at mid season and was replaced by interim head coachRick Venturi.

• Baltimore Ravens: The new Ravens team moved into Baltimore'sMemorial Stadium
• Carolina Panthers: The Panthers moved fromMemorial Stadium inClemson, South Carolina toEricsson Stadium inCharlotte, North Carolina, with the telecommunications companyEricsson acquiring the naming rights
• Cincinnati Bengals:Riverfront Stadium was renamed Cinergy Field after the energy companyCinergy acquires the naming rights
• Miami Dolphins:Joe Robbie Stadium was renamed Pro Player Stadium after Pro Player, the sports apparel division ofFruit of the Loom, acquired the naming rights
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers:Tampa Stadium was renamed Houlihan's Stadium after theHoulihan's restaurant chain acquired the naming rights

• TheArizona Cardinals modified their white jerseys, removing the black trim from numbers, removing the Cardinals logo from the sleeves, and moving the Arizona state flag above the sleeve stripes to where the logo was; the striping was truncated to one thin stripe with the flag above it. The striping on the white jerseys and socks worn with those jerseys changed to a wide red stripe surrounded by narrow copper and blue stripes to match the colors of the state flag.
• The inauguralBaltimore Ravens uniforms featured purple jerseys with white numbers trimmed in black and gold at home, and white jerseys with purple numbers trimmed in black and white on the road. Black pants worn with both jerseys. The team's original logo featured raven wings outspread from a shield displaying a letter "B".
• TheDallas Cowboys introduced new blue jerseys with white lettering and numbers, and placed their star logo upon the sleeve stripes.
• TheMinnesota Vikings added their Norseman logo to the jersey sleeves, in addition to paring down the sleeve striping on the purple jersey. This moved the TV numbers from the sleeves to the shoulders.
• TheNew Orleans Saints switched to gold numbers on both their black and white jerseys, similar to their original 1960s design. The secondary logo on the jersey sleeves, that featured and outline of the state of Louisiana, was replaced with another fleur-de-lis.
• ThePhiladelphia Eagles introduced new uniforms, changing their primary color from kelly green to a darker shade described as "midnight green". The gray pants were replaced by white pants with the green jerseys, and green pants with the white jerseys. A new logo featuring a white eagle head with silver and black accents was placed on the green jersey sleeves, and the eagle wings on the helmets were redesigned to match.
• TheSan Francisco 49ers introduced new uniforms featuring a darker shade of red, a black dropshadow effect added to the numbers, and switching from gold to white pants.

This was the third year under the league's four-year broadcast contracts withABC,Fox,NBC,TNT, and ESPN. ABC, Fox, and NBC continued to televiseMonday Night Football, the NFC package, the AFC package, respectively. Sunday night games aired on TNT during the first half of the season, and ESPN during the second half of the season.

WithJimmy Johnson leavingFox NFL Sunday to become the head coach of the Miami Dolphins,Ronnie Lott was brought in to replace him.

Cris Collinsworth replacedJoe Montana as one of the analysts onThe NFL on NBC pregame show, alongsideGreg Gumbel,Mike Ditka, andJoe Gibbs.

• Football Outsiders DVOA Ratings and Commentary

• NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
• NFL History 1991–2000 (Last accessed October 17, 2005)
• Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)
• Steelers Fever – History of NFL Rules (Last accessed October 17, 2005)

• NFL seasons
• 1996 NFL season
• 1996 in American football

• Articles with short description
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• Use mdy dates from November 2018