Owner’s threat and turmoil plagued the ’93 Oilers.
Losing to the Buffalo Bills in the 1992 Wild Card round was bad enough. How Buffalo won it–with the greatest comeback in NFL history (down 32-points to win)–left an especially bitter taste in Houston’s mouth. So the Oilers needed to regroup in 1993.
But the team played with a cloud overhead. If it didn’t win, Oilers’ owner Bud Adams threatened to move the team, so the Oilers had every intention of doing just that–winning and winning big.
With nearly ten Pro Bowl players on Houston’s side, a young Bill Belichick (Browns’ coach at the time) said that the ’93 Oilers were the most talented team he had ever coached against. Sports Illustrated predicted a Super Bowl date with the hated Cowboys.
Well, things didn’t turn out that way. What went wrong?
At the start of the 93’ season, Buddy Ryan took over as defensive coordinator. Ryan was known for his aggressive ’46’ defense based on smash-mouth football and blitzing the quarterback. The problem wasn’t the scheme, it was Ryan, who said he wouldn’t answer to anyone, including head coach Jack Pardee. And Ryan didn’t get along with OC Kevin Gilbride, either.
In pre-season practice, tempers flared, and the offense and defense tussled. Gilbride and Ryan weren’t on the same page, and Ryan instructed his D to go after QB Warren Moon. The conflict continued off-the-field with Ryan trash-talking Gilbride and his offense.
After a rocky 1-4 start to the season, the Oilers went on a tear, winning 11 straight games. Then, conflict emerged during a game against the Jets. The Oilers had a two-touchdown lead when back-up QB Cody Carlson fumbled and the Jets recovered. The play upset Buddy Ryan, and he began trashing the Oilers’ O with Gilbride only a few feet away. Gilbride turned, gave Ryan a look, and then Ryan punched Gilbride.
The scuffle was all over the press, of course, and Ryan kept right at it, predicting that Gilbride would be selling insurance by season’s end.
That prediction didn’t come to pass, but the Oilers’ season would end sooner than later. Houston lost to Joe Montana and the Chiefs in the divisional round of the playoffs. From there, things went downhill. Houston traded Moon to the Vikings and went 2-14 in 1994. The Oilers never made the playoffs again and–true to Adams’ promise–the team exited Houston after the 1996 season.
The Houston Oilers (1970-1996) were history.
