1993 Houston Oilers season

The 1993 Houston Oilers season was the team's 34th, and their 24th in the National Football League (NFL).

1993 Houston Oilers season
OwnerBud Adams
Head coachJack Pardee
General managerMike Holovak
Home fieldHouston Astrodome
Results
Record12–4
Division place1st AFC Central
Playoff finishLost Divisional Playoffs (Chiefs) 28–20
Uniform

The 1993 Oilers season is widely regarded as one of the most notorious and turbulent seasons in NFL history, both on and off the field. Before the season began, owner Bud Adams told the team that unless the Oilers made the Super Bowl, he would break up the team. Despite their poor start (four losses in their first five games), the Oilers went on a remarkable 11–0 run to finish the 1993 season, ending up tied for the best record in the NFL, at 12–4. Houston earned the #2 seed in the playoffs, and a first round bye. The 11-game winning streak was the longest in the NFL since 1972.[1]

Statistics site Football Outsiders calculates that the Oilers were the hottest team in the NFL heading into the playoffs at the end of the 1993 season.[2]

Despite the winning streak, first-round bye and playing in front of the home crowd, the Oilers were upset by Joe Montana and the Kansas City Chiefs at the Astrodome during the Divisional Round of the playoffs.

The 2006 edition of Pro Football Prospectus,[3] listed the 1993 Oilers as one of their "Heartbreak Seasons", in which teams "dominated the entire regular season only to falter in the playoffs, unable to close the deal." Said Pro Football Prospectus, "Early in 1993, the Oilers seemed unable to put "The Comeback" behind them, dropping four of their first five games. But Houston righted the ship and ran the table, winning its final 11 contests. ... The Oilers allowed 20 points only once during the streak, and in one game held the league-leading 49ers offense to 7 points.

"In their first playoff game", Pro Football Prospectus continued, "they faced Joe Montana's Kansas City Chiefs, a team Houston had beaten 30–0 during the regular season. The Oilers jumped out to an early 10–0 lead, but stalled; leading 13–7 in the fourth quarter, they collapsed, losing 28–20. The team that had played eight straight games while holding opponents to 20 points or less gave up 21 in the fourth quarter of a playoff game." True to his word, Bud Adams dismantled the team that off-season. Quarterback Warren Moon was shipped to Minnesota, and the Oilers fell to 2–14 the following year. By 1995, there was talk of the team leaving Houston for Nashville. The 1993 season was later covered in the "Houston '93" episode of the NFL Films documentary series A Football Life.[4]

Season Review

"Babygate"

One bizarre sidelight to the season for Houston came just before the October 17 game vs. the New England Patriots. The day before, Oilers offensive tackle David Williams' wife Debi went into labor that Saturday but the baby was not born yet and Williams was unable to catch a flight, causing him to miss the game. Williams was fined $111,111 by the Oilers for missing the game and criticized by owner Bud Adams for "misplaced priorities", a move that led to intense criticism of the Oilers from fans and even players such as defensive end Sean Jones.[5]

Buddy Ryan, Kevin Gilbride Conflict

New defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan and offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride did not get along at all; Ryan's autonomy with the defense as promised by head coach Jack Pardee (granted in the aftermath of Houston's historic collapse in the previous season playoff loss in Buffalo) and loyalty amongst his players and coaches led to clashes with Gilbride, who was angered by cheap shots the defense regularly inflicted on the offense during practices. Ryan had been criticizing Gilbride's "run and shoot" offense, referring to it as the "chuck and duck." Ryan's own rage grew when two of his players were hurt after going back into games when the offense could have simply just run the ball and killed the clock, but were not able to because of problems the Oilers had using conventional running plays.

At the end of the first half in the final game of the season, a national broadcast against the New York Jets, Gilbride called a pass play, and when Cody Carlson was sacked and fumbled, Ryan started yelling at Gilbride, who started walking towards Ryan, yelling back. When they were in arms length, Ryan threw a glancing punch at Gilbride, who was ready to hit Ryan in return but slightly lost his balance and was then blocked from doing so as two players quickly separated them.[6] Gilbride wanted to physically pay Buddy back for the cheap shot but several players on both offense and defense begged him to not do so because they were winning a key game. Gilbride reluctantly agreed, and ignored Buddy for the rest of the season and reportedly never spoke to him again.

Gay teammates

In 2013, former teammates on the 1993 team said that at least two key players on their roster were generally known by the team to be gay, and were accepted by the team. It confirmed a rumor that had been hinted since that season. Teammate Bubba McDowell said showering with the gay teammates was "no big deal."[7] Lamar Lathon added that he had "never seen tougher guys than those guys."[7]

Jeff Alm's suicide

Late in the season, the Oilers suffered the loss of reserve defensive lineman Jeff Alm, who had played two games earlier in the season.[8] On December 13, 1993, Alm and his best friend, Sean P. Lynch, were in an accident that consisted of Alm losing control of his Cadillac Eldorado, sending Lynch flying out of the car and killing him near the 610 and Highway 59 interchange. After seeing his friend was dead, Alm committed suicide.[9]

Offseason

NFL Draft
Main article: 1993 NFL Draft
1993 Houston Oilers draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 13 Brad Hopkins *  Offensive tackle Illinois
2 47 Micheal Barrow  Linebacker Miami (FL)
4 102 Travis Hannah  Wide receiver USC
5 131 John Henry Mills *  Linebacker Wake Forest
6 158 Chuck Bradley  Offensive tackle Kentucky
7 187 Patrick Robinson  Wide receiver Tennessee State
8 214 Blaine Bishop *  Safety Ball State
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[10]

Personnel

Staff
1993 Houston Oilers staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and Rehabilitation – Steve Watterson

Roster
1993 Houston Oilers roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad (5) Gerald Benton


Rookies in italics

[11]

Regular season

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 5, 1993 at New Orleans Saints L 33–21
69,029
2 September 12, 1993 Kansas City Chiefs W 30–0
59,780
3 September 19, 1993 at San Diego Chargers L 18–17
58,519
4 September 26, 1993 Los Angeles Rams L 28–13
53,072
5 Bye
6 October 11, 1993 at Buffalo Bills L 35–7
79,613
7 October 17, 1993 at New England Patriots W 28–14
51,037
8 October 24, 1993 Cincinnati Bengals W 28–12
50,039
9 Bye
10 November 7, 1993 Seattle Seahawks W 24–14
50,447
11 November 14, 1993 at Cincinnati Bengals W 38–3
42,347
12 November 21, 1993 at Cleveland Browns W 27–20
71,668
13 November 28, 1993 Pittsburgh Steelers W 23–3
61,238
14 December 5, 1993 Atlanta Falcons W 33–17
58,186
15 December 12, 1993 Cleveland Browns W 19–17
58,720
16 December 19, 1993 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 26–17
57,592
17 December 25, 1993 at San Francisco 49ers W 10–7
61,744
18 January 2, 1994 New York Jets W 24–0
61,040

Standings
AFC Central
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(2) Houston Oilers 12 4 0 .750 368 238 W11
(6) Pittsburgh Steelers 9 7 0 .563 308 281 W1
Cleveland Browns 7 9 0 .438 304 307 L1
Cincinnati Bengals 3 13 0 .188 187 319 L1

Playoffs

AFC Divisional Playoff

AFC: Kansas City Chiefs 28, Houston Oilers 20

1 2 34Total
Chiefs 0 0 72128
Oilers 10 0 01020

at Astrodome, Houston, Texas

Chiefs quarterback Joe Montana threw three touchdown passes in the second half to give his team a 28–20 win. The Oilers jumped to a 10–0 lead in the first quarter with kicker Al Del Greco's 49-yard field goal and running back Gary Brown's 2-yard touchdown. Then after a scoreless second period, Montana threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to tight end Keith Cash in the third quarter. In the fourth period, Del Greco kicked a 43-yard field goal to give Houston a 13–7 lead. But aided by a 38-yard pass interference penalty, the Chiefs advanced 71 yards to score on wide receiver J. J. Birden's 11-yard touchdown reception from Montana. On the Oilers' next possession, Kansas City defensive lineman Dan Saleaumua recovered a fumble by Houston quarterback Warren Moon, setting up Montana's 18-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Willie Davis. The Oilers then drove 80 yards to score on wide receiver Ernest Givins' 7-yard touchdown catch, but the Chiefs responded with running back Marcus Allen's game-clinching 21-yard touchdown that capped off a 79-yard drive.

Awards and records

Milestones

The January 16th game marked the last time the Oilers would play a playoff game while playing in Houston. It was not until their third year in Tennessee, which by that time saw the team renamed the Titans, that the team would return to the playoffs; in that season the franchise advanced all the way to the Super Bowl.

Houston itself would not see another NFL playoff game until the Houston Texans, the successors to the Oilers who entered the league in 2002, hosted a Wild Card playoff game at Reliant Stadium in early 2012.

As of the end of the 2019 season, the Oilers/Titans franchise has only seen three division titles since 1993 (2000 in the AFC Central, 2002 and 2008 in the AFC South). In all three of those seasons, the franchise failed to advance to the Super Bowl, and in two of those years the team was defeated as the AFC's #1 seed. The Titans, however, have made eight playoff appearances since the team moved to Tennessee in 1997 and have won eight playoff games, the most recent in 2020 when they defeated the Patriots in a Wild Card matchup. Incidentally, the Tennessee Titans victory against the Patriots in the Wild Card playoff game was the first victory the organization achieved in Foxboro since their October 17, 1993, when the organization was still based out of Houston as the Oilers.

See also

Conflict-ridden seasons in other NFL teams' histories

References
  1. Neft, David S.; Cohen, Richard M.; and Korch, Rich The Sports Encyclopedia: Pro Football, 12th Edition, p.680, Martin's Press, August 1994, ISBN 0-312-11073-1
  2. Football Outsiders, 1993, 34.4% "weighted" DVOA, "adjusted so that earlier games in the season become gradually less important. It better reflects how the team was playing at the end of the season."
  3. Pro Football Prospectus 2006 (ISBN 0761142177), p.73-75
  4. "Houston '93". A Football Life. Season 3. Episode 15. December 10, 2013. NFL Network.
  5. http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19931104&slug=1729901
  6. YouTube video: Buddy Ryan punching Kevin Gilbride
  7. Smith, Brian T. (December 26, 2013). "Two members of 1993 Oilers were gay; teammates knew, didn't care". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on January 22, 2014.
  8. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/A/AlmxJe20.htm
  9. https://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/15/sports/pro-football-a-friend-dies-and-oiler-kills-himself.html
  10. "1993 Houston Oilers Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
  11. "1993 Houston Oilers starters, roster, and players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  12. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1993/probowl.htm
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