1996 Indianapolis Colts season | |
---|---|
Owner | Robert Irsay |
General manager | Bill Tobin |
Head coach | Lindy Infante |
Home field | RCA Dome |
Results | |
Record | 9–7 |
Division place | 3rd AFC East |
Playoff finish | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Steelers) 14–42 |
The 1996 Indianapolis Colts season was the 44th season for the team in the National Football League (NFL) and 13th in Indianapolis.
Despite leading the Colts to the AFC Championship Game the previous season, head coach Ted Marchibroda left the team after failing to come to terms with the club on a contract extension. Offensive coordinator Lindy Infante was promoted to head coach. Ironically, Marchibroda would quickly be hired to coach the new and then-unnamed NFL franchise in Baltimore (they would eventually be named the Baltimore Ravens), thus returning to the city where he had previously coached the Colts when they were still based in Maryland.
On October 13 Indianapolis hosted the Ravens, thus not only pitting the Colts against the team based in their former home but also matching up Marchibroda against his former team. The Colts won 26–21. This game also has the distinction of being the first NFL on TNT broadcast after TNT's parent Turner Broadcasting System completed its merger with Time Warner only three days earlier.
The season saw the Colts draft Marvin Harrison. Harrison would go on to become a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, after spending his entire career as a Colt. Harrison was named to Pro Bowl several times and later helped the Colts win a Super Bowl in 2006. He continued to play for the team until 2008 and retired during the 2009 season.
The Indianapolis Colts finished the National Football League's 1996 season with a record of 9 wins and 7 losses, finished third in the AFC East division and reached the playoffs for the second consecutive season. Their Wild Card round game would be a rematch of the previous season's AFC title game, but would not be nearly as close as the Colts would be blown out 42–14 by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
1996 Indianapolis Colts draft | |||||
Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 19 | Marvin Harrison † | Wide receiver | Syracuse | |
2 | 51 | Dedric Mathis | Defensive back | Houston | |
3 | 82 | Scott Slutzker | Tight end | Iowa | |
Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career |
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game Site | TV Time (ET) | TV Announcers | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 1 | Arizona Cardinals | W 20–13 | 1–0 | RCA Dome | FOX 1:00 pm | Kenny Albert & Tim Green | 48,133 |
2 | September 8 | at New York Jets | W 21–7 | 2–0 | The Meadowlands | NBC 1:00 pm | Tom Hammond & Bob Trumpy | 63,534 |
3 | September 15 | at Dallas Cowboys | W 25–24 | 3–0 | Texas Stadium | NBC 4:00 pm | Dick Enberg, Paul Maguire & Phil Simms | 63,021 |
4 | September 23 | Miami Dolphins | W 10–6 | 4–0 | RCA Dome | ABC 9:00 pm | Al Michaels, Frank Gifford & Dan Dierdorf | 60,891 |
5 | Bye | |||||||
6 | October 6, 1996 | at Buffalo Bills | L 13–16(OT) | 4–1 | Rich Stadium | NBC 4:00 pm | Tom Hammond & Bob Trumpy | 79,401 |
7 | October 13 | Baltimore Ravens | W 26–21 | 5–1 | RCA Dome | TNT 8:00 pm | Verne Lundquist & Pat Haden | 56,978 |
8 | October 20 | New England Patriots | L 9–27 | 5–2 | RCA Dome | NBC 1:00 pm | Tom Hammond & Bob Trumpy | 58,725 |
9 | October 27 | at Washington Redskins | L 16–31 | 5–3 | RFK Stadium | NBC 1:00 pm | Dick Enberg, Paul Maguire & Phil Simms | 54,254 |
10 | November 3 | San Diego Chargers | L 19–26 | 5–4 | RCA Dome | NBC 1:00 pm | Tom Hammond, Bob Trumpy & Sam Wyche | 58,484 |
11 | November 10 | at Miami Dolphins | L 13–37 | 5–5 | Joe Robbie Stadium | NBC 1:00 pm | Dick Enberg, Paul Maguire & Phil Simms | 66,623 |
12 | November 17 | New York Jets | W 34–29 | 6–5 | RCA Dome | NBC 1:00 pm | Charlie Jones & Randy Cross | 48,322 |
13 | November 24 | at New England Patriots | L 13–27 | 6–6 | Foxboro Stadium | NBC 1:00 pm | Tom Hammond & Bob Trumpy | 58,226 |
14 | December 1 | Buffalo Bills | W 13–10(OT) | 7–6 | RCA Dome | NBC 1:00 pm | Marv Albert & Sam Wyche | 53,804 |
15 | December 5 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 37–10 | 8–6 | RCA Dome | ESPN 8:00 pm | Mike Patrick & Joe Theismann | 52,689 |
16 | December 15 | at Kansas City Chiefs | W 24–19 | 9–6 | Arrowhead Stadium | NBC 4:00 pm | Dan Hicks & Bob Trumpy | 71,136 |
17 | December 22 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 24–31 | 9–7 | Cinergy Field | NBC 1:00 pm | Jim Lampley & Bob Golic | 49,389 |
Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text. |
AFC East | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |
(2) New England Patriots | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 418 | 313 | W1 |
(4) Buffalo Bills | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 319 | 266 | W1 |
(6) Indianapolis Colts | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 317 | 334 | L1 |
Miami Dolphins | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 339 | 325 | W2 |
New York Jets | 1 | 15 | 0 | .063 | 279 | 454 | L7 |
The team received a Wild Card playoff berth to the playoffs and traveled to Pittsburgh to play the Steelers. The Colts came back from a 13-point lead in the first half but the Steelers scored 29 unanswered points in the second half and went on to beat the Colts.
Playoff Round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Game Site | TV Time | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wild Card | December 29, 1996 | at Pittsburgh Steelers (3) | L 14–42 | 0–1 | Three Rivers Stadium | NBC 12:30 pm | 58,078 |
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its home games at M&T Bank Stadium and is headquartered in Owings Mills, Maryland.
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 season, the Colts have played their games in Lucas Oil Stadium. Previously, the team had played for over two decades (1984–2007) at the RCA Dome. Since 1987, the Colts have served as the host team for the NFL Scouting Combine.
The American Football Conference – Northern Division or AFC North is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division was created after the restructuring of the 2002 NFL season when the league realigned divisions after expanding to 32 teams. The division consists of the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers. This is the only division in the NFL in which no member team has hosted a Super Bowl in their stadiums. The division, however, has won eight Super Bowl titles in total.
The 1996 NFL season was the 77th regular season of the National Football League (NFL) and the season was marked by notable controversies from beginning to end. Most significantly, the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy resulted in a then-unique legal settlement where the Cleveland Browns franchise, history, records, and intellectual property remained in Cleveland, while its players and personnel transferred to Baltimore, technically to a new league franchise that was named the Baltimore Ravens.
The 1992 NFL season was the 73rd regular season of the National Football League (NFL). Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Andrew, the New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins game that was scheduled for September 6 at Joe Robbie Stadium was rescheduled to October 18. Both teams originally had that weekend off. This marked the first time since the 1966 NFL season and the AFL seasons of 1966 and 1967 that there were byes in week 1.
The 1975 NFL season was the 56th regular season of the National Football League.
Theodore Joseph Marchibroda was an American professional football player and head coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played four years in the NFL as a quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Cardinals (1957). He was later head coach of the Colts in two different cities and decades, first in Baltimore during the 1970s and then Indianapolis during the 1990s. Upon joining the Baltimore Ravens in a similar capacity in 1996, he became the only individual to serve as head coach with both of Baltimore's NFL teams and gained the unusual distinction of having three stints as an NFL head coach for two franchises in two cities, but with no two of those tenures being for the same franchise in the same city. His career coaching record was 87–98–1 (.470) and 2–4 in the playoffs.
John William Harbaugh is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). Previously, he coached the defensive backs for the Philadelphia Eagles and served as the Eagles special teams coach for nine years. Harbaugh and his younger brother, former San Francisco 49ers and current Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh, are the first pair of brothers in NFL history to serve as head coaches. Jack Harbaugh, Jim and John's father, served 45 years as a college defensive coach, an assistant coach, and a running backs coach. John and the Ravens beat Jim and the 49ers at Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans on February 3, 2013, by a score of 34–31.
Michael Pettaway Tomlin is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL). Since joining the Steelers in 2007, he has led the team to 11 playoff appearances, seven division titles, three AFC Championship Games, two Super Bowl appearances, and a title in Super Bowl XLIII. At age 36, Tomlin became the youngest head coach to win the Super Bowl, a record which was later broken by Sean McVay in Super Bowl LVI. Tomlin holds the record for most consecutive non-losing seasons to begin a coaching career with 17 and has never had a losing season. Only Tom Landry (21) and Bill Belichick (19) have had longer such streaks at any point in their coaching careers. Upon Belichick's departure from the New England Patriots following the 2023 season, Tomlin is the NFL's longest-tenured active head coach.
Ted Monachino is an American football coach who is currently the defensive line coach at North Carolina. He was hired by the Tar Heels in 2023 as Senior Defensive Analyst before being elevated to the defensive line position following the departures of Tim Cross and Gene Chizik. A longtime assistant in the National Football League (NFL), Monachino coached for several teams, including most recently as outside linebackers coach for the Atlanta Falcons. Monachino also coached for Missouri in 2018 and served as the defensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts from 2016 to 2017. He was also formerly the linebackers coach for the Baltimore Ravens from 2010 to 2015. He was part of the Ravens' coaching staff that won Super Bowl XLVII.
This article details the history of the Baltimore Ravens, a professional American football team which plays in the National Football League. The Ravens were formed to fill in the void left by Baltimore's previous team, the Colts, who had controversially moved to Indianapolis. Ironically, the Ravens' formation necessitated the relocation of the Cleveland Browns' players and personnel, leaving Cleveland without a team until the Browns resumed operations as an expansion team three years later. Since then, the Ravens have usually featured a strong defense and have won two Super Bowl championships.
The 1977 Baltimore Colts season was the 25th season for the team in the National Football League (NFL). Led by third-year head coach Ted Marchibroda, the Colts finished with 10 wins and 4 losses, tied for first in the AFC East division with the Miami Dolphins. The Colts had the tiebreaker over Miami based on better conference record, and the Dolphins missed the playoffs.
The 1976 Baltimore Colts season was the 24th season for the team in the National Football League. Led by second-year head coach Ted Marchibroda, the Colts finished with a record of 11 wins and 3 losses, tied for first in the AFC East division with the New England Patriots. Baltimore won the AFC East title based on a better division record.
The 1996 season was the Baltimore Ravens' inaugural season in the National Football League. They played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens were officially a new franchise, but they retained a large portion of the roster of the 1995 Cleveland Browns team, as well as front office staff and some members of the coaching staff. Due to technically, but not officially, being the previous season's Browns team under a new name, they did not receive the number 1 overall draft selection or have an expansion draft as a true expansion franchise would.
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They play in the South Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The organization began play in 1953 as the Baltimore Colts with the team located in Baltimore, Maryland; it relocated to Indianapolis following the 1983 season.
The 1995 AFC Championship Game was the championship game for the American Football Conference (AFC) for the 1995 season. The game was played on January 14, 1996, at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who hosted the Indianapolis Colts for the chance to play the winner of the National Football Conference (NFC) in Super Bowl XXX in Tempe, Arizona.
The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It was the second incarnation of the Baltimore Colts, the first having played for three years in the All-America Football Conference and one in the National Football League (NFL). This Baltimore Colts played their home games at Memorial Stadium.
The 1970 AFC Championship Game was the inaugural title game of the American Football Conference (AFC). Played on January 3, 1971, the game was hosted by the AFC East champion Baltimore Colts who played the AFC West champion Oakland Raiders at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland. Along with the 1970 NFC Championship Game played on the same day, this game constituted the penultimate round of the 1970–71 NFL playoffs which had followed the 1970 regular season of the National Football League.