Houston Texans

The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the South Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The Texans joined the NFL in 2002 as an expansion team after Houston's previous franchise, the Houston Oilers, moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where they are now the Tennessee Titans.[1] The team majority owner is Bob McNair. The team clinched its first playoff berth during the 2011 season as champions of the AFC South. {| class="toc" id="toc"

Contents
[hide] *1 Franchise history
 * 2 Nickname
 * 3 Logos and uniforms
 * 4 Statistics
 * 5 Players of note
 * 5.1 Current Roster
 * 5.2 NFL Draft history
 * 5.2.1 First-round draft picks by year
 * 5.3 Awards and honors
 * 6 Coaches of note
 * 6.1 Head coaches
 * 6.2 Offensive Coordinators
 * 6.3 Defensive Coordinators
 * 6.4 Current staff
 * 7 Traditions
 * 8 Radio and television
 * 8.1 Radio Affiliates
 * 9 Theme music
 * 10 Work in the community
 * 11 Notes and references
 * 12 External links
 * }

[edit] Franchise history
Main article: History of the Houston Texans==[edit] Nickname== Houston Texans uniform combinationThe name "Houston Oilers" was unavailable to the expansion team, as that name was still owned by the Tennessee Titans, whose owner Bud Adams had retired the name from use in 1999.

On March 2, 2000, Houston NFL 2002 announced that the team name search had been narrowed down to five choices: Bobcats, Stallions, Texans, Toros, and Apollos. The list of names was determined after several months of research conducted jointly by Houston NFL 2002 and NFL Properties. An online survey regarding the name generated more than 65,000 responses in just seven days. The name which was chosen,[when?] the "Houston Texans," had previously been the name of a defunct World Football League franchise, which moved to Louisiana to become the Shreveport Steamer. The nickname "Texans" was also used by the precursor of the NFL's present-day Kansas City Chiefs, the Dallas Texans. The nickname "Texans" was more recently used by the now-defunct Canadian Football League franchise in San Antonio. Owner Bob McNair did have to make a deal with Chiefs' owner Lamar Hunt to use the Texans nickname for his new team.

[edit] Logos and uniforms
On September 6, 2000, the NFL's 32nd franchise was officially christened the Houston Texans before thousands at a downtown rally on Texas Avenue. Before unveiling the logo Bob McNair described the colors as "Deep Steel Blue", "Battle Red" and "Liberty White". The logo was an abstract depiction of a bull's head, split in such a way to resemble the flag of Texas, including a lone star to stand for the eye, the five points of which representing pride, courage, strength, tradition and independence. A year later the Texans unveiled their uniforms during another downtown rally.

The Texans' helmet is dark blue with the Texans bull logo. The uniform design consists of red trim and either dark blue or white jerseys. The team wears white pants with its blue jerseys, blue pants with its white jerseys. Starting with the 2006 season, the Texans wear all-white for their home opener and the team began to wear an all-blue combination for home games vs. the Indianapolis Colts. In 2003, the Texans introduced an alternative red jersey (most of the time worn in divisional games against the Jacksonville Jaguars) with blue trim. In 2007 the Texans introduced red pants for the first time, pairing them with the red jerseys for an all-red look. In October 2008 the Texans paired blue socks (instead of the traditional red) with their blue pants and white jerseys. Their uniforms are made by Reebok.

In 2002 the team wore a patch commemorating their inaugural season. (2002) (2002) (2006–present) ‎
 * Houston Texans – 2002 Inaugural Season Patch.pngInaugural Season Patch
 * Expansion Draft Logo
 * Secondary Logo

[edit] Statistics
Main article: Houston Texans records

[edit] Players of note
Main article: List of Houston Texans players===[edit] Current Roster===

[edit] NFL Draft history
Further information: Houston Texans draft history====[edit] First-round draft picks by year==== Further information: List of Houston Texans first-round draft picks * Asterisk indicates a player who was selected to the Pro Bowl only as a member of another team.

[edit] Awards and honors
Main article: List of Houston Texans awards and honors==[edit] Coaches of note==

[edit] Head coaches
Main article: List of Houston Texans head coaches

[edit] Offensive Coordinators

 * Chris Palmer (2002–2005)
 * Troy Calhoun (2006)
 * Mike Sherman (2007)
 * Kyle Shanahan (2008–2009)
 * Rick Dennison (2010–Present)

[edit] Defensive Coordinators

 * Vic Fangio (2002–2005)
 * Richard Smith (2006–2008)
 * Frank Bush (2009–2010)
 * Wade Phillips (2011–present)

[edit] Traditions

 * Battle Red Day – On Battle Red Day the team wears the red alternate jerseys and fans are encouraged to wear red to the game. Starting in 2007 and including 2008, this included the Texans wearing red pants along with the red jerseys.
 * Bull Pen – The sections behind the north end zone of Reliant Stadium are known as the Bull Pen. Some of the most avid Texans fans attend games in the Bull Pen and regular members have helped create and implement fan traditions, songs and chants.
 * Bull Pen Pep Band – 45-member musical group that performs at all Houston Texans home games.
 * Pre-Kickoff Tradition – Before each kickoff at a home game, the Texans will run a short clip of a raging bull thrashing the opponent of the week. The video is paired with the AC/DC song "Thunderstruck"
 * Player Introduction – When the players are introduced before the game, the announcer says the player's first name and the crowd yells out the last name. EX: The announcer will say "Linebacker Brian....." and the crowd will yell out "CUSHING!!!"

[edit] Radio and television
As of 2007, the Texans' flagship radio stations were KILT SportsRadio 610AM and KILT 100.3FM. The AM station has an all-sports format, while the FM station plays contemporary country music. Both are owned by CBS Radio. Marc Vandermeer is the play-by-play announcer. Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware provides color commentary, and SportsRadio 610 host Rich Lord serves as the sideline reporter. Preseason games are telecast by KTRK, an ABC owned and operated station. Joel Meyers calls the preseason games on TV, with former Oilers running back Spencer Tillman providing color commentary.

Spanish language radio broadcasts of the team's games are aired on KLAT La Tremenda 1010AM.

They are the only NFL team that has yet to play on NBC (either in pre-seasoon, Sunday Night Football. or Wild Card Saturday)

[edit] Radio Affiliates
Texans Radio Affiliates

[edit] Theme music
The theme song of the Texans is "Football Time in Houston" by Clay Walker.[2] The Texans tried to introduce a new fight song in 2003 written by Chad Kroeger from Nickelback, but quickly returned to the original after a negative reception by fans. The song was donated by Walker to the City of Houston.[3]

[edit] Work in the community
The Houston Texans organization is a major supporter of the character education program Heart of a Champion Foundation.