Jeff Fisher was a handsome, young Buddy Ryan-groomed coach with no baggage and big aspirations. Steve McNair was the hotshot young quarterback with a Super Bowl in his future - and the only man named McNair at that juncture on any Houston football fan's radar screen. Still, it all ended so predictably 20 years ago Thursday, with a loss.

McNair's last pass as a Houston Oiler had gone for a touchdown, 16 yards to tight end Frank Wycheck at the end of a foreshadowing-of-things-to-come 89-yard drive, cutting the Cincinnati Bengals' lead to 21-13 with 37 seconds left in the Houston chapter of the Tennessee Titans' history. But Al Del Greco's onside kick wound up in a Bengal's clutches and that was that, the end of an occasionally electric but mostly error-filled era, one of great expectations routinely cancelled out by dashed hopes. The team's 8-8 record was a perfect metaphor.

Barely more than 15,000 Houstonians had bothered to trek to the Astrodome to say their goodbyes. Civic sentimentality was, to say the least, in short supply. Never had an Oilers game been more poorly attended, going back to the dark ages of the early AFL, when the games were played in the ramshackle high-school-caliber stadium called Jeppesen on the University of Houston campus. The prevalent mood in the city on Sunday, Dec. 15, 1996, was "Bud, don't let the door hit you in the ."

That's Bud as in Kenneth Stanley "Bottom Line" Bud Adams, the late oilman who gave Houston professional football and also ripped it from the city's clutches, lured to Nashville by lots of free money - a "relocation package" worth $292 million - and a chance to rewrite his personal narrative. No owner has ever been more widely reviled in these parts than Adams, the man who fired Bum Phillips on New Year's Eve, so there was a lot to be said for his starting over elsewhere.

In Nashville, Adams could pretend to be self-made, which he did, rarely if ever mentioning that his college graduation present from daddy, the famed wildcatter K. S. "Boots" Adams, had been every Phillips 66 station in the southwest. (Also, remember that his franchise fee to get the Oilers into the upstart American Football League was all of $25,000.) After being drummed out of Houston, Bud arrived in Music City to a chorus of steel guitars, even being selected to serve as the grand marshal of Nashville's Fourth of July parade.

Exit a wakeup call

Adams legacy in Houston, however, exceeded anything he ever accomplished from the owner's box. His exit woke the city up to a changing world, one in which football and baseball stadiums and basketball arenas, chock full of luxurious revenue-generating suites designed to suck gobs of cash from the pockets of the fat-cat class, were the minimum requirement for being allowed to continue playing in the big leagues.

Adams' ill-timed insistence on a terrible plan - a new football venue downtown to be shared with the Rockets based on the grossly imperfect model San Antonio had in place for its Spurs with the Alamodome at the time - was a dead-on-arrival concept, especially with the Oilers, having blown leads in playoff games the previous three seasons, by then mired in the 2-14 season that got Jack Pardee fired and defensive coordinator Fisher promoted 10 games in.

Gusher to gone: Oilers in Houston Key moments during the Oilers' 37 seasons in Houston: Aug. 3, 1959 Owner K.S. "Bud" Adams announces Houston will have a team in the American Football League. It's later named the Oilers. Jan. 1, 1961 George Blanda throws three TD passes as the Oilers win the first AFL championship with a 24-16 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers at Jeppesen Stadium. Dec. 24, 1961 The Oilers win their second consecutive AFL title with a 10-3 win over the Chargers at San Diego. Dec. 23, 1962 The Oilers' bid for three straight AFL titles ends with a 20-17 double-overtime loss to the Dallas Texans in the championship game at Jeppesen Stadium. Feb. 10, 1968 Adams announces the Oilers will move to the Astrodome after playing at Rice Stadium since 1965. Sept. 20, 1970 The Oilers win 19-7 at Pittsburgh in their first game as an NFL franchise following the NFL/AFL merger. Jan. 25, 1975 O.A. "Bum" Phillips is named Oilers head coach. Weeks later, he adds general manager duties after Sid Gillman's departure. April 24, 1978 The Oilers trade up to get Heisman Trophy winner Earl Campbell of Texas with the first pick in the NFL draft. His arrival kicks off the "Luv Ya Blue" era. Nov. 20, 1978 In one of the most memorable games in franchise history, Campbell runs for 199 yards and four touchdowns in a 35-30 home win over Miami on Monday Night Football. Dec. 24, 1978 The Oilers win a playoff game for the first time since 1961, toppling the Dolphins 17-9 in Miami. Jan. 7, 1979 The Oilers lose 34-5 at Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship Game. They are welcomed home by 50,000 fans at an Astrodome rally. Dec. 29, 1979 In the divisional round, the Oilers – playing without the injured Campbell and QB Dan Pastorini – shock San Diego 17-14, with safety Vernon Perry grabbing an NFL-record four interceptions. Jan. 6, 1980 The Oilers lose the AFC Championship Game at Pittsburgh again, this time by a 27-13 score. The game includes a highly controversial incomplete call that nullifies Mike Renfro's apparent tying TD catch. March 15, 1980 The Oilers and Oakland Raiders swap starting QBs, with Ken Stabler coming to Houston and Dan Pastorini heading west. Dec. 29, 1980 The Oilers lose 27-7 at Oakland in the wild-card round. Three days later, Adams fires Phillips as head coach and general manager. Feb. 3, 1984 The Oilers sign QB Warren Moon to a five-year, $6 million contract, making him the highest-paid player in pro football. Oct. 9, 1984 An era ends as Campbell is traded to New Orleans for a first-round pick in 1985, reuniting him with Phillips. Dec. 9, 1985 Hugh Campbell is fired as coach and replaced by defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville. Aug. 13, 1987 The Oilers retire Campbell's No. 34. Dec. 27, 1987 A 21-17 home win over the Bengals clinches the Oilers' first playoff berth since 1980. Jan. 3, 1988 In the AFC wild-card game, the Oilers top the Seahawks 23-20 on Tony Zendejas' 42-yard field goal in overtime. Jan. 10, 1988 The Oilers are bounced from the playoffs in a 34-10 loss at Denver that includes the infamous "Stagger Lee" lateral and turnover at their 1-yard line. Jan. 1, 1989 The Oilers lose 17-10 in a playoff game at Buffalo. Feb. 1, 1989 Ladd Herzeg resigns as general manager and is replaced by Mike Holovak a day later. Dec. 31, 1989 The Oilers lose 26-23 in overtime to Pittsburgh at the Astrodome in the AFC wild-card round. Jan. 6, 1990 Glanville and the team part ways; UH coach Jack Pardee replaces him three days later. Dec. 16, 1990 Moon throws for 527 yards in a 27-10 at Kansas City, the second-best single-game total in NFL history. Dec. 29, 1991 Thanks to two timely Bubba McDowell interceptions, the Oilers top the Jets 17-10 in the wild-card round at the Astrodome. Jan. 4, 1992 John Elway's late-game magic sends the Oilers to a crushing 26-24 loss at Denver in the divisional round. Jan. 3, 1993 In the worst collapse in NFL playoff history, the Oilers lose 41-38 in overtime at Buffalo after leading 35-3 in the third quarter. Jan. 29, 1993 Buddy Ryan is hired as defensive coordinator. Jan. 2, 1994 The Oilers close the regular season with their 11th consecutive win, a 24-0 waxing of the Jets at the Astrodome. The game is marred by Ryan throwing a punch at offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride on the sideline. Jan. 16, 1994 Kansas City scores 21 fourth-quarter points to stun the Oilers 28-20 in the divisional round at the Astrodome. It is the last playoff game for the team in Houston. Nov. 14, 1994 Pardee is fired after a 1-9 start and replaced by defensive coordinator Jeff Fisher. He's retained as head coach following the season. Nov. 16, 1995 Adams signs a relocation agreement to move the team to Nashville, Tenn. Dec. 15, 1996 The Oilers lose 21-13 to Cincinnati in their final game in Houston. May 8, 1997 Adams reaches a settlement on the last year of the Oilers' lease at the Astrodome, freeing the team to relocate. June 12, 1997 The Oilers announce their intent to play the 1997 season in Tennessee under the moniker "Tennessee Oilers."

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However, it did launch a conversation that ended, not too long after he'd left, with Houston figuring out a way to construct three separate but equally excellent buildings in Minute Maid Park, NRG Stadium and Toyota Center mostly by taxing out-of-towners rather than the citizenry.

It's important to remember both Astros owner Drayton McLane, who had been Adams' landlord at the Astrodome, and Rockets owner Leslie Alexander also became infected with wanderlust. The Washington, D.C. area was courting McLane, while Alexander, whose team had won a couple of for-real, leverage-providing NBA championships, was already contemplating life after the Summit. He even took a fact-finding trip to Louisville to explore his Rockets options.

Note the irony that we're "celebrating" the anniversary of the Oilers departure in the same week that Fisher, now a graying, paunchy fellow whose coaching future is all behind him two decades on, was fired by the Los Angeles Rams, having just tied the record for most losses suffered by an NFL coach. In a perfect world, though, the Tennessee Titans, which the Oilers have been called since 1999 - the season when they, of course, went to the Super Bowl - would be visiting Sunday because that would have so neatly closed the circle.

In the 14 seasons since the Texans replaced the Oilers following Houston's five-season NFL hiatus, the two franchises never have played in a game with serious AFC South championship ramifications. The Titans were really good when the Texans in their infancy were really bad and of late the roles have been reversed with the Texans winning the last five meetings. For the moment they're tied for first place with 7-6 records and their collision in Nashville on Jan. 1 may determine who goes on to the playoffs and who doesn't.

Lamest of lame ducks

The team Tennessee inherited from us in the fall of 1997 was similar to the current one, perched on the cusp of possible greatness after selecting McNair and Eddie George first in the previous two drafts, both held in Houston but of no appreciable long-term benefit to Houston. The news that Adams had a deal in place with the Nash-villains broke during mid-August 1995 with McNair, who would go on to become the franchise's all-time wins leader with 91 in 153 starts, just beginning to find his NFL legs.

Fisher declined to give McNair a start until three games remained in his rookie season and the Oilers had played themselves out of postseason contention. Although he acquitted himself well, Fisher stuck with the veteran Chris Chandler again the following season, when the Oilers had become the lamest of Houston ducks. It paid off with a 5-2 start - one of the victories, 23-13 over the Steelers, drew 50,337 on a riotous throwback Sunday at the Astrodome - before Chandler's wheels began to come off.

Four losses in five games followed to pretty much blow up their playoff chances and McNair wound up receiving three starts with mixed results. On Dec. 8, he passed for 308 yards and a touchdown in a 24-17 defeat in Jacksonville. Nonetheless, seven days later with the Oilers bidding their home of 36 years adieu, Chandler was back in the lineup, where he stayed until he threw his third interception on three successive second-half possessions - the first of them a 42-yard pick-six - and forced Fisher's hand.

Houston would after all get one last up-close-and-personal look at the future of its once and former franchise, the player who became the face of the Tennessee Titans and, three seasons later, almost won the Super Bowl for them.

Unruffled by a first-down sack that cost the Oilers five yards, pushing them back to their own 6, McNair needed 12 plays but barely three minutes to find Wycheck in the Cincinnati end zone. He completed six of nine passes and scrambled out of trouble on a third-and-10, gaining 11 yards to keep the drive alive. Rodney Thomas also came up big with a 12-yard scamper on a fourth-and-2 and caught the 7-yard pass that preceded Wycheck's touchdown.

A year earlier, when it appeared the Oilers wouldn't be hanging around even for the 1996 season, Thomas was asked to reflect on what it felt like to be a player trapped in such a strange limbo, working for a man, Adams, who had packed his football bags and was ready to go. A confessed "home boy" - born in Groveton, he'd attended Texas A&M - Thomas admitted he hated what was going down.

"This has nothing to do with the players," Thomas said. "I understand why the fans are mad, but I hope they aren't mad at us, the players. It's not like I want to go. I don't know anybody on the team who does."

But leave they did.