38th season in franchise history, first in Tennessee
The 1997 Tennessee Oilers season was their 38th season overall and 28th in the National Football League (NFL). It was the team's first season in Memphis, Tennessee after moving from Houston, and they played at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium .
Led by head coach Jeff Fisher, the Oilers finished the season with 8 wins and 8 losses, and did not qualify for the playoffs. Despite defeating the Oakland Raiders 24–21 in their first game in their new city, they lost the next four games and would not recover.
Offseason NFL draft [1]
Personnel Staff 1997 Tennessee Oilers staff Front office
Owner/chairman of the board/president – Bud Adams Executive vice-president/general manager – Floyd Reese Director of player personnel – Rich Snead Director of college scouting – Glenn Cumbee Director of Regional Scouting – Mike Holovak Head coaches
Offensive coaches
Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Gregg Williams Defensive line – Rex Norris Linebackers – O'Neill Gilbert Defensive backs – Greg Brown Defensive assistant/quality control – Jerry Gray Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
Strength and conditioning – Steve Watterson
Roster 1997 Tennessee Oilers roster Quarterbacks Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive linemen Defensive linemen
78 Anthony Cook DE68 Eric England DE91 Josh Evans DT92 Henry Ford DT99 Kenny Holmes 98 Pratt Lyons 97 Bryant Mix DT90 James Roberson DE96 Gary Walker DT Linebackers Defensive backs
Special teams
Reserve lists Practice squad
53 active, 3 inactive, 3 practice squad
Rookies in italics
[2]
Preseason Regular season Tennessee Oilers inaugural season logo The Oilers' new stadium would not be ready until 1999, however, and the largest stadium in Nashville at the time, Vanderbilt Stadium on the campus of Vanderbilt University , seated only 41,000. At first, Bud Adams rejected Vanderbilt Stadium even as a temporary facility and announced that the renamed Tennessee Oilers would play the next two seasons at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis . The team would be based in Nashville, commuting to Memphis only for games—in effect, consigning the Oilers to 32 road games for the next two years. Even though this arrangement was acceptable to the NFL and the Oilers at the time, few people in either Memphis or Nashville were pleased by it. Memphis had made numerous attempts to get an NFL team (including the Memphis Hound Dogs and the Memphis Grizzlies court case ), and many people in the area wanted nothing to do with a team that would be lost in only two years—especially to longtime rival Nashville. Conversely, Nashvillians showed little inclination to drive over 200 miles (300 km) to see "their" team. As a result, attendance at the Liberty Bowl was disastrous: on at least two occasions, fewer than 18,000 fans came to the stadium to see the Oilers, a number smaller than the attendance figures the team was getting in Houston after they had announced the move, and smaller than the fan bases the USFL's Memphis Showboats and XFL's Memphis Maniax had drawn/would draw to the same stadium. If not for the attendance of fans supporting the Oilers' opponents, attendance would likely have even been smaller than it was for the CFL's Memphis Mad Dogs . Even in weeks when the Oilers drew over 30,000 fans (which only happened twice), many of the attendees were fans of the opposing team, padding the attendance totals.
Schedule Game summaries Week 1: vs. Oakland Raiders Game information First quarter
TEN – Al Del Greco 30-yard field goal. Oilers 3–0. TEN – Chris Sanders 48-yard pass from Steve McNair (Al Del Greco kick). Oilers 10–0. Second quarter
Third quarter
TEN – Al Del Greco 37-yard field goal. Oilers 13–0. OAK – Tim Brown 59-yard pass from Jeff George (Cole Ford kick). Oilers 13–7. Fourth quarter
OAK – Tim Brown 27-yard pass from Jeff George (Cole Ford kick). Raiders 14–13. TEN – Eddie George 29-yard run (Eddie George run). Oilers 21–14. OAK – Tim Brown 16-yard pass from Jeff George (Cole Ford kick). Tied 21–21. Overtime
TEN – Al Del Greco 33-yard field goal. Oilers 24–21. Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
OAK – Tim Brown – 8 receptions, 158 yards, 3 TD TEN – Ronnie Harmon – 5 receptions, 50 yards
Week 2: at Miami Dolphins Game information First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
MIA – Olindo Mare 22-yard field goal. Oilers 10–6. TEN – Al Del Greco 37-yard field goal. Oilers 13–6. Fourth quarter
Overtime
MIA – Olindo Mare 29-yard field goal. Dolphins 16–13. Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
TEN – Chris Sanders – 3 receptions, 58 yards MIA – O. J. McDuffie – 8 receptions, 135 yards
Week 4: vs. Baltimore Ravens Week Four: Baltimore Ravens at Tennessee Oilers – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Ravens 3 17 3 13 36 Oilers 7 3 0 0 10
at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, Tennessee
Date : September 21Game time : 12:00 p.m. CDTGame weather : Cloudy, 71 °F (22 °C)Game attendance : 17,737Box score
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
BAL – Derrick Alexander 25-yard pass from Vinny Testaverde (Matt Stover kick). Ravens 10–7. BAL – Derrick Alexander 5-yard pass from Vinny Testaverde (Matt Stover kick). Ravens 17–7. TEN – Al Del Greco 45-yard field goal. Ravens 17–10. BAL – Matt Stover 42-yard field goal. Ravens 20–10. Third quarter
BAL – Matt Stover 41-yard field goal. Ravens 23–10. Fourth quarter
BAL – Jermaine Lewis 16-yard pass from Vinny Testaverde (Matt Stover kick). Ravens 30–10. BAL – Matt Stover 34-yard field goal. Ravens 33–10. BAL – Matt Stover 35-yard field goal. Ravens 36–10. Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
BAL – Jermaine Lewis – 8 receptions, 124 yards, TD TEN – Frank Wycheck – 3 receptions, 55 yards, TD
Week 5: at Pittsburgh Steelers Week Five: Tennessee Oilers at Pittsburgh Steelers – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Oilers 0 6 3 15 24 Steelers 10 21 3 3 37
at Three Rivers Stadium , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Date : September 28Game time : 12:00 p.m. CDT/1:00 p.m. EDTGame weather : Cloudy, 60 °F (16 °C)Game attendance : 57,507Referee : Bernie Kukar TV announcers (NBC) : Jim Donovan and Beasley Reece Box score
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
PIT – Jason Gildon 12-yard fumble return (Norm Johnson kick). Steelers 17–0. TEN – Al Del Greco 37-yard field goal. Steelers 17–3. PIT – Mark Bruener 18-yard pass from Kordell Stewart (Norm Johnson kick). Steelers 24–3. PIT – Kordell Stewart 2-yard run (Norm Johnson kick). Steelers 31–3. TEN – Al Del Greco 47-yard field goal. Steelers 31–6. Third quarter
TEN – Al Del Greco 26-yard field goal. Steelers 31–9. PIT – Norm Johnson 25-yard field goal. Steelers 34–9. Fourth quarter
PIT – Norm Johnson 44-yard field goal. Steelers 37–9. TEN – Frank Wycheck 10-yard pass from Steve McNair (Steve McNair pass to Frank Wycheck). Steelers 37–17. TEN – Willie Davis 11-yard pass from Steve McNair (Al Del Greco kick). Steelers 37–24. Top passers
Top rushers
TEN – Steve McNair – 3 rushes, 29 yards PIT – Jerome Bettis – 18 rushes, 74 yards Top receivers
Week 6: at Seattle Seahawks Week Six: Tennessee Oilers at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Oilers 3 7 0 3 13 Seahawks 0 0 10 6 16
at Kingdome , Seattle, Washington
Date : October 5Game time : 3:00 p.m. CDT/1:00 p.m. PDT Game weather : None (indoor stadium)Game attendance : 49,897Referee : Dick Hantak TV : NBCBox score
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
SEA – Steve Broussard 43-yard run (kick failed). Seahawks 16–10. TEN – Al Del Greco 43-yard field goal. Seahawks 16–13. Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Week 7: vs. Cincinnati Bengals Week Seven: Cincinnati Bengals at Tennessee Oilers – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Bengals 0 0 0 7 7 Oilers 7 7 6 10 30
at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, Tennessee
Date : October 12Game time : 12:00 p.m. CDTGame weather : Sunny, 74 °F (23 °C)Game attendance : 17,071Box score
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
TEN – Frank Wycheck 39-yard pass from Steve McNair (Al Del Greco kick). Oilers 14–0. Third quarter
TEN – Al Del Greco 47-yard field goal. Oilers 17–0. TEN – Al Del Greco 45-yard field goal. Oilers 20–0. Fourth quarter
TEN – Willie Davis 10-yard pass from Steve McNair (Al Del Greco kick). Oilers 27–0. TEN – Al Del Greco 19-yard field goal. Oilers 30–0. CIN – Corey Dillon 21-yard run (Doug Pelfrey kick). Oilers 30–7. Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Week 8: vs. Washington Redskins Week Eight: Washington Redskins at Tennessee Oilers – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Redskins 0 0 14 0 14 Oilers 0 14 7 7 28
at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, Tennessee
Date : October 19Game time : 12:00 p.m. CDTGame weather : Sunny, 55 °F (13 °C)Game attendance : 31,042Referee : Ron Blum Box score
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
TEN – Eddie George 6-yard run (Al Del Greco kick). Oilers 28–14. Top passers
Top rushers
WAS – Stephen Davis – 13 rushes, 45 yards TEN – Eddie George – 31 rushes, 125 yards, 2 TD Top receivers
WAS – Henry Ellard – 6 receptions, 84 yards, 2 TD TEN – Willie Davis – 5 receptions, 72 yards
Week 9: at Arizona Cardinals Week Nine: Tennessee Oilers at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Oilers 3 17 14 7 41 Cardinals 0 0 7 7 14
at Sun Devil Stadium , Tempe, Arizona
Date : October 26Game time : 3:00 p.m. CST/2:00 p.m. MST Game weather : Sunny, 62 °F (17 °C)Game attendance : 44,030Box score
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
TEN – Denard Walker 39-yard interception return (Al Del Greco kick). Oilers 10–0. TEN – Al Del Greco 42-yard field goal. Oilers 13–0. TEN – Steve McNair 35-yard run (Al Del Greco kick). Oilers 20–0. Third quarter
TEN – Steve McNair 2-yard run (Al Del Greco kick). Oilers 27–0. ARI – Rob Moore 12-yard pass from Jake Plummer (Joe Nedney kick). Oilers 27–7. TEN – Chris Sanders 55-yard pass from Steve McNair (Al Del Greco kick). Oilers 34–7. Fourth quarter
TEN – Chris Sanders 20-yard pass from Steve McNair (Al Del Greco kick). Oilers 41–7. ARI – Rob Moore 2-yard pass from Jake Plummer (Joe Nedney kick). Oilers 41–14. Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
TEN – Chris Sanders – 2 receptions, 75 yards, 2 TD ARI – Frank Sanders – 10 receptions, 98 yards
Week 10: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars Week Ten: Jacksonville Jaguars at Tennessee Oilers – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Jaguars 17 7 3 3 30 Oilers 7 3 7 7 24
at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, Tennessee
Date : November 2Game time : 3:00 p.m. CSTGame weather : Partly cloudy, 55 °F (13 °C)Game attendance : 27,208Box score
Game information First quarter
TEN – Darryl Lewis 47-yard interception return (Al Del Greco kick). Oilers 7–0. JAX – Mike Hollis 30-yard field goal. Oilers 7–3. JAX – Chris Hudson 32-yard fumble return (Mike Hollis kick). Jaguars 10–7. JAX – Pete Mitchell 6-yard pass from Mark Brunell (Mike Hollis kick). Jaguars 17–7. Second quarter
TEN – Al Del Greco 36-yard field goal. Jaguars 17–10. JAX – Mark Brunell 6-yard run (Mike Hollis kick). Jaguars 24–10. Third quarter
JAX – Mike Hollis 30-yard field goal. Jaguars 27–10. TEN – Rodney Thomas 3-yard run (Al Del Greco kick). Jaguars 27–17. Fourth quarter
JAX – Mike Hollis 37-yard field goal. Jaguars 30–17. TEN – Eddie George 5-yard run (Al Del Greco kick). Jaguars 30–24. Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
JAX – Jimmy Smith – 5 receptions, 50 yards TEN – Willie Davis – 4 receptions, 83 yards
Week 11: vs. New York Giants Week Eleven: New York Giants at Tennessee Oilers – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Giants 0 3 3 0 6 Oilers 3 7 0 0 10
at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, Tennessee
Date : November 9Game time : 3:00 p.m. CSTGame weather : Cloudy, 46 °F (8 °C)Game attendance : 26,744Referee : Walt Coleman TV : Fox Box score
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
NYG – Brad Daluiso 41-yard field goal. Oilers 10–6. Fourth quarter
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
NYG – Chris Calloway – 4 receptions, 65 yards TEN – Chris Sanders – 3 receptions, 64 yards
Week 12: at Jacksonville Jaguars Week Twelve: Tennessee Oilers at Jacksonville Jaguars – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Oilers 0 3 0 6 9 Jaguars 0 7 7 3 17
at Alltel Stadium , Jacksonville, Florida
Date : November 16Game time : 12:00 p.m. CST/1:00 p.m. ESTGame weather : Partly cloudy, 56 °F (13 °C)Game attendance : 70,070Box score
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
TEN – Frank Wycheck 22-yard pass from Willie Davis (run failed). Jaguars 14–9. JAX – Mike Hollis 23-yard field goal. Jaguars 17–9. Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
TEN – Frank Wycheck – 3 receptions, 70 yards, TD JAX – Jimmy Smith – 8 receptions, 158 yards
Week 13: vs. Buffalo Bills Week Thirteen: Buffalo Bills at Tennessee Oilers – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Bills 0 7 0 7 14 Oilers 14 7 3 7 31
at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, Tennessee
Date : November 23Game time : 12:00 p.m. CSTGame weather : Rain, 40 °F (4 °C)Game attendance : 23,571TV announcers (NBC) : Joel Meyers and Beasley ReeceBox score
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
TEN – Steve McNair 3-yard run (Al Del Greco kick). Oilers 21–0. BUF – Quinn Early 9-yard pass from Todd Collins (Steve Christie kick). Oilers 21–7. Third quarter
TEN – Al Del Greco 51-yard field goal. Oilers 24–7. Fourth quarter
BUF – Quinn Early 6-yard pass from Todd Collins (Steve Christie kick). Oilers 24–14. TEN – Derek Russell 2-yard pass from Steve McNair (Al Del Greco kick). Oilers 31–14. Top passers
BUF – Todd Collins – 25/40, 286 yards, 2 TD, INT TEN – Steve McNair – 15/24, 167 yards, TD Top rushers
Top receivers
Week 14: at Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving Day games
Week Fourteen: Tennessee Oilers at Dallas Cowboys – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Oilers 14 10 0 3 27 Cowboys 0 7 7 0 14
at Texas Stadium , Irving, Texas
Date : November 27 Game time : 3:00 p.m. CSTGame weather : Clear, 66 °F (19 °C)Game attendance : 63,421Box score
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
DAL – Michael Irvin 37-yard pass from Troy Aikman (Richie Cunningham kick). Oilers 24–14. Fourth quarter
TEN – Al Del Greco 19-yard field goal. Oilers 27–14. Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Week 15: at Cincinnati Bengals Week Fifteen: Tennessee Oilers at Cincinnati Bengals – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Oilers 0 0 0 14 14 Bengals 14 14 10 3 41
at Cinergy Field , Cincinnati, Ohio
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
CIN – Corey Dillon 31-yard run (Doug Pelfrey kick). Bengals 21–0. CIN – Corey Dillon 1-yard run (Doug Pelfrey kick). Bengals 28–0. Third quarter
CIN – Corey Dillon 2-yard run (Doug Pelfrey kick). Bengals 35–0. CIN – Doug Pelfrey 26-yard field goal. Bengals 38–0. Fourth quarter
TEN – Willie Davis 5-yard pass from Steve McNair (Al Del Greco kick). Bengals 38–7. CIN – Doug Pelfrey 40-yard field goal. Bengals 41–7. TEN – Joey Kent 11-yard pass from Steve McNair (Al Del Greco kick). Bengals 41–14. Top passers
Top rushers
TEN – Steve McNair – 5 rushes, 16 yards CIN – Corey Dillon – 39 rushes, 246 yards, 4 TD Top receivers
TEN – Willie Davis – 4 receptions, 45 yards, TD CIN – Darnay Scott – 6 receptions, 83 yards
Week 16: at Baltimore Ravens Week Sixteen: Tennessee Oilers at Baltimore Ravens – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Oilers 3 3 6 7 19 Ravens 7 7 0 7 21
at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland
Date : December 14Game time : 12:00 p.m. CST/1:00 p.m. ESTGame weather : Partly cloudy, 35 °F (2 °C)Game attendance : 60,558Box score
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
TEN – Al Del Greco 40-yard field goal. Ravens 7–6. BAL – Eric Green 37-yard pass from Eric Zeier (Matt Stover kick). Ravens 14–6. Third quarter
Fourth quarter
BAL – Derrick Alexander 19-yard pass from Eric Zeier (Matt Stover kick). Ravens 21–12. TEN – Steve McNair 1-yard run (Al Del Greco kick). Ravens 21–19. Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
TEN – Chris Sanders – 7 receptions, 100 yards BAL – Eric Green – 3 receptions, 59 yards, TD
Week 17: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Week Seventeen: Pittsburgh Steelers at Tennessee Oilers – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Steelers 3 0 0 3 6 Oilers 3 10 3 0 16
at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, Tennessee
Date : December 24Game time : 12:00 p.m. CSTGame weather : Cloudy, 47 °F (8 °C)Game attendance : 50,677TV announcers (NBC) : Charlie Jones and Bob Trumpy Box score
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
TEN – Rodney Thomas 25-yard run (Al Del Greco kick). Oilers 10–3. TEN – Al Del Greco 29-yard field goal. Oilers 13–3. Third quarter
TEN – Al Del Greco 26-yard field goal. Oilers 16–3. Fourth quarter
PIT – Norm Johnson 36-yard field goal. Oilers 16–6. Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Standings References ^ "1997 Tennessee Oilers draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved January 11, 2014 . ^ "1997 Tennessee Oilers starters, roster, and players". Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved October 28, 2014 . External links
Tennessee Titans
Founded in 1960 Formerly the Houston Oilers (1960–1996) and the Tennessee Oilers (1997–1998) Based and headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee Franchise Stadiums Culture Lore Rivalries Division championships (11) Conference championships (1) League championships (2) Retired numbers Media Current league affiliations Former league affiliation Key personnel
Tennessee Titans seasons
Formerly the Houston Oilers Tennessee Oilers
