Titans' dynasty that never was still haunts former players

PHOENIX Football in hand, Titans receiver Kevin Dyson stretched out his right arm as far as it would go on the final play of Super Bowl XXXIV, but he couldn't quite reach the goal line.

It was a painful ending to an improbable season. The moment, which happened 15 years ago Friday against the Rams, will forever be etched in the minds of Titans fans everywhere.

Leading up to Super Bowl XLIX, former Titans aren't necessarily haunted by the gut-wrenching finish of the franchise's last trip to the big game. It was a gutsy conclusion to an exhilarating run that came up just short. What bothers them most is the memory of failures during an unprecedented, yet unfulfilling, stretch in franchise history.

No franchise won more games than the Titans did from 1999-2003, but the organization doesn't have a Vince Lombardi Trophy to show for it. Despite producing 56 wins, four playoff teams, two appearances in the AFC Championship Game and that trip to the Super Bowl, the Titans missed out on their chance to make a real lasting impression on the NFL.

"We had an opportunity to do something really special. We had a chance to go down as one of the greatest teams of all time in a three- or four-year span with the likes of teams like the Patriots, the 49ers, the Cowboys, the Steelers,'' said former Titans receiver Derrick Mason, who played from 1997-2004 with the franchise. "We could've been that team that was consistently in the Super Bowl and won several times.

"Do I think about that? It's hard not to. But what can you do? It's disappointing that we didn't maximize our opportunities to win a Super Bowl. Sadly, we just didn't get it done."

On Sunday the Seahawks will try to become the first team since the 2003-04 Patriots to repeat as Super Bowl champions. The Patriots won three of four Super Bowls from 2001-2004, when they created buzz about their own dynasty. New England will be aiming for its first title in 10 years this weekend.

The Titans posted a league-best 56-24 mark from 1999-2003, but didn't make another Super Bowl after the heartbreaking loss to the Rams. Most players from those teams agree the 1999 squad wasn't the best of the four playoff teams during that successful era in team history. In fact some believe it was the worst of the four.

"The '99 team, we were just figuring it out,'' said former Titans running back Eddie George (1996-2003). "And that's when the window opened for us. It was wide open. A mini-dynasty — that could have happened. But you have to bring home the hardware, and unfortunately we failed to do that. We came so close. We had the right chemistry, the right pieces in place. But the window eventually closed on us and we didn't capitalize."

Building a contender

From 1996-1998, the franchise finished with an 8-8 record three straight seasons.

During that stretch, the former Houston Oilers played home games at the Astrodome, the Liberty Bowl in Memphis and Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville before the team changed its name to the Titans, and moved into then-Adelphia Coliseum for the 1999 season.

Along the way, however, a group that toiled in mediocrity and went unnoticed was gathering the building blocks that would eventually produce winning football. Steve McNair, Frank Wycheck, Blaine Bishop, Brad Hopkins, Bruce Matthews, Marcus Robertson and George were part of the foundation.

Key newcomers were added, from Jevon Kearse to Samari Rolle to Mason, among others. Keith Bulluck came aboard in 2000.

"It was a unique situation,'' former Titans general manager Floyd Reese said. "It was kind of that perfect storm. We had a group of young guys who had gone through all the turmoil and hassle and problems and relocating and playing in different stadiums. Ninety percent of those kids had come from a college that was in a much better situation than we were. Once we got to '99 and had a home, and people appreciated us … we kind of took off.

"We had a group of really talented players, and we were in a great position to make a run."

The Titans did just that. In 1999 they finished 13-3.

Then came the "Music City Miracle," which produced a playoff win over the Bills. The next week the Titans won at Indianapolis, before knocking off the Jaguars in the AFC championship game. It propelled the Titans into Super Bowl XXXIV.

After falling behind 16-0, the Titans made a comeback in the second half. But the rally came up short when Dyson was stopped at the goal line by linebacker Mike Jones. The Rams won 23-16, avenging a regular season loss to the Titans. It was missed opportunity No.1.

The next day, George showed up at coach Jeff Fisher's door wanting to know what the Titans needed to do to get back — and win.

"We won in 1999 on raw talent, and with emotion and vibrancy,'' Hopkins said. "But we knew we had the pieces in place to get back. We knew we still had a great chance to win (a Super Bowl)."

More missed opportunities

What happened in the years that followed is remembered with mixed emotions. It was undeniably a successful stretch for the Titans, when they were among the NFL's elite.

But they squandered one golden opportunity after the next, derailing their chances of leaving a Titanic mark in the history books.

Most agree the Titans of 2000, with nine Pro Bowlers, were the best during the five-year stretch. That team finished the regular season with an NFL-best 13-3 mark, as well as the No. 1 seed in the AFC. That season abruptly ended in the divisional playoffs, however, when the Ravens upset the Titans 24-10 in Nashville, despite being outgained 317-134 in total yards.

The Titans had 23 first downs to six for the Ravens that day, but kicker Al Del Greco missed three of four field goals — a blocked 45-yarder, a 31-yarder that hit the left upright and a 37-yarder that was returned for a 90-yard touchdown. The Ravens went on to win Super Bowl XXXV, against a Giants team the Titans handily beat 28-14 during the regular season.

"We knew the winner of that game against the Ravens would win the Super Bowl," defensive tackle John Thornton (1999-2002) said. "But our 2000 team ran into the '99 version of the Titans, and that was the Ravens. That's why we didn't win it all. That one was tough to take."

After an injury-riddled season that produced a 7-9 mark in 2001, the Titans were contenders again the next two seasons.

The Titans went 11-5 in 2002 and won against the Steelers in dramatic fashion in the divisional round. Next up was a trip to Oakland for the AFC championship game. The Titans led 17-14 late in the first half and had the football. Then disaster struck. A Robert Holcombe fumble was recovered by Oakland, who turned it into a touchdown.

On the ensuing kickoff, return man John Simon fumbled. The Raiders recovered and scored again. While the Titans eventually cut the lead to 27-24, they eventually caved, and lost. The Buccaneers were a surprise winner in the Super Bowl.

Mason, for one, thought the 2002 Titans, which won 10-of-11 regular season games after a 1-4 start, was the best of the teams from 1999-03.

"We were kicking the (crap) out of the Raiders in that game, up front and physically,'' guard Zach Piller said, "but the turnovers killed us." It was missed opportunity No. 3.

The following year the Titans finished 12-4 and won in the first round of the playoffs at Baltimore. McNair was named co-MVP that season. But the Titans ended up losing 17-14 against a New England team that would go on to win Super Bowl XXXVIII a few weeks later. A late drop deep in New England territory by receiver Drew Bennett on a bitterly cold night sealed the team's fate.

"I later spent time with the Patriots and Bill (Belichick) and that group, and they would agree, they thought that we were the best team in the league at that point in time," Reese said. "They didn't know how they were going to beat us, but they certainly found a way."

"What if?"

These days, the Titans look like a franchise a long way away from making to the Super Bowl.

The 2-14 season of 2014 left an ugly mark.

Former Titans point back to the five-year stretch as proof of how difficult it is to win in the NFL, even when they were considered one of the best teams in the league.

"You look back at that stretch, and we could've easily gone to three Super Bowls," Wycheck said. "It's hard to put yourself in that position every year, and that's what the great organizations do.

"During that time we had a culture and an expectation, and nothing was going to stop us."

Former Jaguars quarterback Mark Brunell, who played in Jacksonville from 1995-2003 and competed against those Titans teams, agreed with Wycheck's assessment. The Jaguars made it to the playoffs three times in four seasons from 1995-98.

"Those Titans teams were extremely talented,'' Brunell said. "They not only had some good players, but they had some of the best players in the NFL at their position.

"I'm sure they feel they could've taken better advantage of that window, and they are probably right. It's tough. You have to take advantage of your opportunities, but we feel the same way down here."

Eventually, it all came crashing down on the Titans. Injuries ravaged the team in 2004, when they finished 5-11. The following offseason the Titans were forced to release a number of their star players as part of a salary cap purge. The Titans dropped to 4-12 in 2005. The window had officially closed.

"We had a great run, and it was a result of us being able to hang onto the players for so long," said Fisher, the winningest coach in the NFL from 1999-2003. "We had the roster put together, and we had continuity. Floyd did a nice job. We were stable, and we gave ourselves a shot."

The Titans haven't won a playoff game since the 2003 season, and they haven't played in a playoff game since the '08 season.

The magic created by the Titans from 1999-2003 remains the high point since the team landed in Tennessee. It was a heck of a run, even if it left everyone wanting more, even today.

"I am always going to wonder, "What if? What if a play here or play there had gone differently, how many (Super Bowls) could we have won?,'' George said. "I think about that often, the 'What could have been?' We could've had two trophies or more and felt really good about ourselves.

"But when you look at that five-year span, it shows what you can become when you put your mind to it and everyone is on the same page. It didn't lead to a Lombardi Trophy, but it certainly led to guys realizing their potential. We definitely missed the window, but that time was something we can still be proud of."

Reach Jim Wyatt at 259-8015 or on Twitter @jwyattsports.

NFL's winningest teams 1999-2003

Team Record Super Bowl wins in five-year period Titans 56-24 0 Rams 56-24 1 Colts 51-29 0 Eagles 51-29 0 Packers 51-29 0 Dolphins 50-30 0 Buccaneers 49-31 1

Titans' playoff results 1999-2003