Tennessee Titans

The Houston Oilers were among the eight charter members of the American Football League in 1960, and they were its first dynasty. Under head coach Lou Rymkus and then Wally Lemm, the Oilers won the first two AFL championships in 1960 and 1961, powered by quarterback George Blanda's arm and leg. Blanda, who doubled as the team's kicker, was the face of the fledgling league's most successful team.

The Oilers played at Jeppesen Stadium, a converted high school field that held around 36,000 fans. The modesty of the venue only added to the AFL's scrappy, underdog identity. Charley Hennigan set records with his receiving, and the Oilers' wide-open passing attack was everything the conservative NFL wasn't — flashy, exciting, and unapologetically entertaining.

The Oilers appeared in the first three AFL Championship games, winning two, before the league began to mature and other teams caught up. By the mid-1960s, the Oilers had slipped from contention, but their role in establishing the AFL's legitimacy — and by extension, the modern structure of professional football through the eventual merger — cannot be overstated.

The AFL-NFL merger in 1970 placed the Oilers in the AFC Central, and the decade that followed was a long climb back to relevance. The breakthrough came in 1978 with the convergence of two forces of nature: running back Earl Campbell and head coach Bum Phillips. Campbell, the first overall pick out of the University of Texas, was a bulldozer in pads — a 5'11", 232-pound freight train who ran over, through, and past defenders with a combination of power and speed that the NFL had never seen.

The "Luv Ya Blue" era was born. Houston went to the AFC Championship Game in 1978 and 1979, losing both times to the Pittsburgh Steelers' dynasty. Campbell won the Heisman Trophy, three consecutive rushing titles, and the 1979 MVP award. The Astrodome rocked with a passion that transcended football — the Oilers were Houston's team, and the city's identity was wrapped up in Campbell's punishing runs and Phillips' folksy charm.

But Phillips was fired after the 1980 season, and the magic dissipated quickly. Campbell was traded to the New Orleans Saints in 1984, and the Oilers spent the early 1980s searching for a new identity. The Luv Ya Blue era remains the emotional high-water mark for fans who remember the franchise's Houston days.

Jerry Glanville's arrival brought attitude and a defense-first mentality, but it was the hiring of Jack Pardee in 1990 and the installation of the run-and-shoot offense that defined this era. Warren Moon, who had spent six seasons in the Canadian Football League before joining the Oilers in 1984, finally had an offensive system that unleashed his extraordinary arm talent. The run-and-shoot, with four wide receivers and no tight end, was revolutionary for its time.

The 1991, 1992, and 1993 Oilers were among the most exciting teams in football, routinely putting up points in bunches. But the playoffs brought nothing but heartbreak. The most painful moment came on January 3, 1993, when the Oilers blew a 35-3 lead to the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Wild Card game — the largest comeback in NFL history. That loss, forever known as "The Comeback," haunts the franchise to this day.

By the mid-1990s, owner Bud Adams was increasingly frustrated with Houston's unwillingness to build a new stadium. In 1997, he moved the franchise to Tennessee, where they played as the Tennessee Oilers for two seasons before being renamed the Titans in 1999. The move devastated Houston fans and left a wound that would not be healed until the city received the Texans expansion franchise in 2002.

The franchise's transition to Nashville was rocky at first — the Tennessee Oilers played at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis in 1997 and Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville in 1998 before moving into Adelphia Coliseum (now Nissan Stadium) in 1999. But Jeff Fisher, who had been head coach since 1994, built a tough, physical team that perfectly suited its new Southern home.

The 1999 season was magical. The Titans went 13-3, and the playoff run produced one of the most iconic moments in NFL history: the Music City Miracle. In the wild card round against the Buffalo Bills, with 16 seconds remaining, Lorenzo Neal handed the ball to Frank Wycheck, who threw a lateral across the field to Kevin Dyson, who raced 75 yards for the game-winning touchdown. The play is replayed endlessly, debated occasionally, and celebrated always in Nashville.

The Titans reached Super Bowl XXXIV, where they faced the St. Louis Rams' Greatest Show on Turf. In the final play of the game, Kevin Dyson caught a pass and stretched for the end zone — but was tackled one yard short by Mike Jones as time expired. The Rams won 23-16, and "one yard short" became the defining phrase of the franchise. It was glorious and devastating in equal measure.

Jeff Fisher's tenure extended through 2010, making him one of the longest-tenured coaches in the NFL at the time. The mid-2000s brought Vince Young, drafted third overall in 2006, whose improvisational talent produced memorable moments — including a dramatic Week 17 comeback win over the Bills to finish 8-8 in his rookie year. Young led the Titans to a 13-3 record in 2008 before an injury cost him the playoffs.

Chris Johnson's 2009 season was historic. "CJ2K" rushed for 2,006 yards, becoming only the sixth player in NFL history to break the 2,000-yard barrier. Johnson's combination of breakaway speed and big-play ability made him the most exciting player in football that season.

Fisher was fired in 2010, and the franchise cycled through Mike Munchak (2011-2013) and Ken Whisenhunt (2014-2015) without finding sustained success. The quarterback position was a revolving door, and the Titans seemed to be perpetually rebuilding. The brightest spot was Marcus Mariota, drafted second overall in 2015, who threw four touchdowns in his first career game and showed flashes of brilliance that kept hope alive.