1996 Detroit Lions season
The 1996 Detroit Lions season was their 67th in the National Football League (NFL). The team declined severely from their previous season’s output of 10–6. Following a 4–2 start, the Lions would proceed to lose nine of their final ten games to finish 5–11, missing the playoffs for the first time in four seasons.[1]
| 1996 Detroit Lions season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | William Clay Ford, Sr. |
| General manager | Chuck Schmidt |
| Head coach | Wayne Fontes |
| Home field | Pontiac Silverdome |
| Results | |
| Record | 5–11 |
| Division place | 5th NFC Central |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | WR Herman Moore RB Barry Sanders |
| AP All-Pros | WR Herman Moore (1st team) RB Barry Sanders (2nd team) |
| Uniform | |
 | |
Following the season, longtime head coach Wayne Fontes was fired and Bobby Ross was hired to be the team's head coach the following season.
Offseason
NFL Draft
| 1996 Detroit Lions draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 | Reggie Brown | LB | Texas A&M | from Seattle |
| 1 | 23 | Jeff Hartings * | G | Penn State | |
| 3 | 76 | Ryan Stewart | S | Georgia Tech | from New England |
| 4 | 129 | Brad Ford | CB | Alabama | compensatory pick |
| 5 | 158 | Kerwin Waldroup | DT | Central State | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Notes
- Detroit received San Diego's first-round selection (21st) in exchange for Detroit's second-round selection in 1995.
- Detroit traded up from the pick it received from San Diego (21st) with Seattle to the 17th pick, giving up a third-round selection (91st) in return. The 91st pick was received from Kansas City in exchange for S William White.
- Detroit traded its second- and seventh-round selections (55th and 236th) to Denver in exchange for RB Glyn Milburn.
- Detroit traded up from its third-round selection (86th) with New England to the Patriots' third-round selection (76th), giving up its fourth- and sixth-round selections (119th and 195th).
Personnel
Staff
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
| |||||
Roster
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
|
Reserve lists
53 active, 3 inactive, 2 practice squad
| ||||||
Regular season
Schedule
1996 was the first time since 1984 that the Lions played the San Diego Chargers,[2] and the first time they had met the Philadelphia Eagles in the regular season since 1986.[3] The reason for this is that before the admission of the Texans in 2002, NFL scheduling formulas for games outside a team’s division were much more influenced by table position during the previous season.[4]
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 1 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 17–13 | 0–1 | 52,972 |
| 2 | September 8 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 21–6 | 1–1 | 54,229 |
| 3 | September 15 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 24–17 | 1–2 | 66,007 |
| 4 | September 22 | Chicago Bears | W 35–16 | 2–2 | 70,022 |
| 5 | September 29 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 27–0 | 3–2 | 34,961 |
| 6 | October 6 | Atlanta Falcons | W 28–24 | 4–2 | 58,666 |
| 7 | October 13 | at Oakland Raiders | L 37–21 | 4–3 | 50,037 |
| 8 | Bye | ||||
| 9 | October 27 | New York Giants | L 35–7 | 4–4 | 63,501 |
| 10 | November 3 | at Green Bay Packers | L 28–18 | 4–5 | 60,695 |
| 11 | November 11 | at San Diego Chargers | L 27–21 | 4–6 | 60,425 |
| 12 | November 17 | Seattle Seahawks | W 17–16 | 5–6 | 51,194 |
| 13 | November 24 | at Chicago Bears | L 31–14 | 5–7 | 55,864 |
| 14 | November 28 | Kansas City Chiefs | L 28–24 | 5–8 | 75,079 |
| 15 | December 8 | Minnesota Vikings | L 24–22 | 5–9 | 46,043 |
| 16 | December 15 | Green Bay Packers | L 31–3 | 5–10 | 73,214 |
| 17 | December 23 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 24–14 | 5–11 | 61,921 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||
Standings
| NFC Central | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
External links
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