1996 Chicago Bears season

NFL team season

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The 1996 Chicago Bears season was their 77th regular season completed in the National Football League (NFL). They failed to improve on their 9–7 record from 1995 and finished with a 7–9 record under head coach Dave Wannstedt. It was the team's first losing season since 1993 when it was Wannstedt's first season.

Offseason

Additions	Subtractions
LB Bryan Cox (Dolphins)	K Kevin Butler (Cardinals)
QB Dave Krieg (Cardinals)	WR Jeff Graham (Jets)
TE Kerry Cash (Raiders)	CB Jeremy Lincoln (Rams)
K Jeff Jaeger (Raiders)

NFL draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1996 Chicago Bears draft
1	13	Walt Harris *	Cornerback	Mississippi State
2	52	Bobby Engram	Wide receiver	Penn State
4	116	Paul Grasmanis	Defensive tackle	Notre Dame
5	152	Chris Villarrial	Guard	Indiana (PA)
6	187	Jon Clark	Offensive tackle	Temple
7	233	Marcus Keyes	Defensive tackle	North Alabama
7	253	Michael Hicks	Running back	South Carolina State
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[1]

1996 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player	Position	College
Chris Martin	Cornerback	Northwestern
Bobby Neely	Tight end	Virginia

Staff

**1996 Chicago Bears staff**
	Front office Chairman of the board – Ed McCaskey President and chief executive officer – Michael McCaskey Vice-president of operations – Ted Phillips Director of player personnel – Rod Graves Director of research and quality control – Craig Ver Steeg Head coaches Head coach – Dave Wannstedt Assistant head coach – Tony Wise Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks – Ron Turner Running backs – Willie Peete Wide receivers – Ivan Fears Tight ends – Ted Plumb Offensive line – Tony Wise			Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator/linebackers – Bob Slowik Defensive line – Clarence Brooks Defensive backs – Carlos Mainord Defensive assistant – Greg Schiano Special teams coaches Special teams – Danny Abramowicz Strength and conditioning Strength coordinator – Clyde Emrich Physical development coordinator – Russ Riederer Assistant physical development coordinator – Steve Little

^[2]

Roster

**1996 Chicago Bears roster**

	Quarterbacks 10 Mark Butterfield 17 Dave Krieg 9 Shane Matthews Running backs 30 Tony Carter FB 38 Mike Faulkerson FB 22 Robert Green 29 Raymont Harris 31 Rashaan Salaam Wide receivers 80 Curtis Conway 81 Bobby Engram KR/PR 88 Jack Jackson KR 15 Phillip Riley 83 Michael Timpson Tight ends 84 Kerry Cash 89 Ryan Wetnight		Offensive linemen 63 Todd Burger G 72 Jon Clark T 67 Jerry Fontenot C 64 Andy Heck T 79 James Parrish T 75 Todd Perry G 65 Evan Pilgrim G 69 Octus Polk G 76 Marcus Spears T 58 Chris Villarrial G/C 71 James Williams T Defensive linemen 99 Jim Flanigan DT 96 Albert Fontenot DE 93 Paul Grasmanis DT 73 Marcus Keyes DT 68 Carl Reeves DE 98 Carl Simpson DT 90 Alonzo Spellman DE 91 John Thierry DE		Linebackers 54 Greg Briggs OLB 59 Joe Cain OLB 55 Sean Harris OLB 95 Dana Howard MLB 53 Michael Lowery OLB 92 Barry Minter MLB 55 Vinson Smith OLB Defensive backs 35 James Burton CB 20 Mark Carrier FS 23 Marty Carter SS 46 Marlon Forbes CB/S 27 Walt Harris CB 26 John Mangum SS 36 Anthony Marshall FS 24 Kevin Miniefield CB 21 Donnell Woolford CB Special teams 91 Rob Davis LS 1 Jeff Jaeger K 16 Todd Sauerbrun P		Reserve lists 48 Clifton Abraham CB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 74 James Augustino T (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 52 Bryan Cox LB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) -- Chris Gedney TE (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 85 Keith Jennings TE (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 32 Dwayne Joseph CB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 12 Erik Kramer QB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 25 Chris Martin CB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 87 Bobby Neely TE (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 18 Steve Stenstrom QB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 97 Chris Zorich DT (IRTooltip Injured reserve) Practice squad 82 Fabien Bownes WR 86 Mill Coleman WR 44 Michael Hicks RB 47 Charles Randolph TE 53 active, 11 inactive, 4 practice squad Rookies in italics

^[3]

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	TV Time	TV Announcers	Attendance
1	September 2, 1996	Dallas Cowboys	W 22–6	ABC 8:00pm	Al Michaels, Frank Gifford & Dan Dierdorf	66,944
2	September 8, 1996	at Washington Redskins	L 10–3	FOX 12:00pm	Dick Stockton & Matt Millen	52,711
3	September 15, 1996	Minnesota Vikings	L 20–14	FOX 12:00pm	Mike Breen & Bill Maas	61,301
4	September 22, 1996	at Detroit Lions	L 35–16	FOX 3:00pm	Kevin Harlan & Jerry Glanville	70,022
5	September 29, 1996	Oakland Raiders	W 19–17	NBC 12:00pm	Dick Enberg, Paul Maguire & Phil Simms	57,062
6	October 6, 1996	Green Bay Packers	L 37–6	FOX 12:00pm	Pat Summerall & John Madden	65,480
7	October 13, 1996	at New Orleans Saints	L 27–24	FOX 12:00pm	Mike Breen & Bill Maas	43,512
8	Bye
9	October 28, 1996	at Minnesota Vikings	W 15–13	ABC 8:00pm	Al Michaels, Frank Gifford & Dan Dierdorf	58,143
10	November 3, 1996	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 13–10	FOX 12:00pm	Kenny Albert & Tim Green	58,727
11	November 10, 1996	at Denver Broncos	L 17–12	FOX 3:00pm	Kevin Harlan & Jerry Glanville	75,555
12	November 17, 1996	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 14–10	FOX 12:00pm	Dick Stockton & Matt Millen	76,752
13	November 24, 1996	Detroit Lions	W 31–14	FOX 12:00pm	Kenny Albert & Tim Green	55,864
14	December 1, 1996	at Green Bay Packers	L 28–17	FOX 12:00pm	Dick Stockton & Matt Millen	59,682
15	December 8, 1996	St. Louis Rams	W 35–9	FOX 12:00pm	Thom Brennaman & Ron Pitts	45,075
16	December 14, 1996	San Diego Chargers	W 27–14	NBC 3:00pm	Charlie Jones & Randy Cross	49,763
17	December 22, 1996	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 34–19	FOX 12:00pm	Thom Brennaman & Ron Pitts	51,572

Standings

NFC Central
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
⁽¹⁾ Green Bay Packers	13	3	0	.813	456	210	W5
⁽⁶⁾ Minnesota Vikings	9	7	0	.563	298	315	L1
Chicago Bears	7	9	0	.438	283	305	L1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	6	10	0	.375	221	293	W1
Detroit Lions	5	11	0	.313	302	368	L5

References

^ "1996 Chicago Bears draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
^ "Club directory". Chicago Bears 1996 Media Guide. p. 2.
^ "1996 Chicago Bears starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 26, 2014.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to 1996 Chicago Bears season.

1996 Chicago Bears at Pro-Football-Reference.com

v t e Chicago Bears
Founded in 1919 Formerly the Decatur Staleys (1919–1920) and the Chicago Staleys (1921) Based in Chicago, Illinois Headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois
Franchise	History Coaches Seasons Current season
Records	Franchise records All-time record versus NFL Team awards and honors Players Head coaches Pro Football Hall of Famers First-round draft picks Starting quarterbacks
Stadiums	Staley Field Wrigley Field Memorial Stadium Soldier Field
Culture	Brian's Song 1971 2001 Brian Piccolo Award "Bear Down, Chicago Bears" "The Super Bowl Shuffle" Monsters of the Midway "Sweet Home Chicago" Bill Swerski's Superfans Chuck Swirsky Chicago Honey Bears Staley Da Bear Logos and uniforms Halas Hall A. E. Staley Jack Brickhouse George Halas Mike Ditka Roosevelt/Wabash 85386 Payton Jim Cornelison Club Dub ("Swag Surfin")
Lore	Staley Swindle 1932 Playoff Game First NFL Championship Game Sneakers Game T formation 73–0 ‘85 Bears Super Bowl XX 46 defense Asterisk Game Fog Bowl "They are who we thought they were!" Double Doink
Rivalries	Arizona Cardinals Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Minnesota Vikings New York Giants
Minor league affiliates	Newark Bears (AA, 1939–1941) Wichita Aero Commandos (1942) Akron Bears (AFL, 1946) Bloomfield Cardinals (AFL, 1947) Richmond Rebels (AFL, 1948–1950) Quad City Mohawks (MWPFL, 1970–1972)
Retired numbers	3 5 7 28 34 40 41 42 51 56 61 66 77 89
Key personnel	Principal owner: Virginia Halas McCaskey Chairman: George McCaskey President/CEO: Kevin Warren General manager: Ryan Poles Head coach: Matt Eberflus
Division championships (21)	1933 1934 1937 1940 1941 1942 1943 1946 1956 1963 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1990 2001 2005 2006 2010 2018
Conference championships (4)	1956 1963 1985 2006
League championships (9)	1921 1932 1933 1940 1941 1943 1946 1963 1985 (XX)
Media	Broadcasters Radio: WMVP Personnel: Jeff Joniak (play-by-play) Tom Thayer (analyst) Jason McKie (sideline reporter) Television: WFLD (pre-season and most regular season games through Fox, official pre-game and post-game alternate) Marquee Sports Network (official post-game and in-season programming) Personnel: Lou Canellis (gameday television host, pre-season sideline reporter) Adam Amin (pre-season play-by-play) Jim Miller (pre-season analyst)
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: North Division
Category:Chicago Bears WikiProject Chicago Bears

v t e Chicago Bears seasons
Formerly the Decatur Staleys (1920) and the Chicago Staleys (1921)
1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) victory Italics indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) appearance

1996 NFL season

East	Central	West	East	Central	West
Buffalo	Baltimore	Denver	Arizona	Chicago	Atlanta
Indianapolis	Cincinnati	Kansas City	Dallas	Detroit	Carolina
Miami	Houston	Oakland	NY Giants	Green Bay	New Orleans
New England	Jacksonville	San Diego	Philadelphia	Minnesota	St. Louis
NY Jets	Pittsburgh	Seattle	Washington	Tampa Bay	San Francisco