1996 Pittsburgh Steelers season

1996 Pittsburgh Steelers season
Head coach Bill Cowher
General manager Tom Donahoe
Owner The Rooney Family
Home field Three Rivers Stadium
Results
Record 10–6
Division place 1st in AFC Central
Playoff finish Won Wild Card Playoffs (Colts) 42–14
Lost Divisional Playoffs (Patriots) 3–28
Pro Bowlers
AP All-Pros
Team MVP Jerome Bettis
Team ROY Jon Witman

Bill Cowher's fifth season as head coach of the Steelers resulted in yet another trip to the playoffs for the team, as Pittsburgh won the AFC Central Division championship for the fourth time under Cowher. However, the team's 10–6 record was not good enough to earn the Steelers a first-round bye. In their first playoff game, a rematch of the previous year's AFC Championship Game, the Steelers defeated the Indianapolis Colts; their season would end a week later at the hands of the New England Patriots.

Personnel

Staff

1996 Pittsburgh Steelers staff
Front office
  • President – Daniel M. Rooney
  • Vice President – John R. McGinley
  • Vice President – Arthur J. Rooney, Jr.
  • Vice President and General Counsel – Arthur J. Rooney II
  • Administration Advisor – Chuck Noll
  • Director of Marketing – Joe Gordon
  • Marketing Coordinator – Mark Fuhrman
  • Merchandising Manager – Tim Carey
  • Assistant Marketing Manager – Lynne Molyneaux
  • Media Relations Coordinator – Rob Boulware
  • Assistant/Community Relations – Ron Miller
  • Director of Business – Mark Hart
  • Business Coordinator – Dan Ferens
  • Accounts Coordinator – Jim Ellenberger
  • Office/Ticket Manager – Geraldine Glenn
  • Football Operations
  • Director of Football Operations – Tom Donahoe
  • Scouting Staff
  • College Personnel Coordinator – Tom Modrak
  • Pro Personnel Coordinator – Charles Bailey
  • BLESTO College Scout – Mark Gorscak
  • College Scout – Phil Kreidler
  • College Scout – Bob Lane
  • College Scout – Max McCartney

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Conditioning Coordinator – Chet Fuhrman
  • Medical Staff
  • Physician, Orthopedic – Dr. James P. Bradley
  • Ophthalmologist – Dr. Randy Beatty
  • Neurological Surgery Consultant – Dr. Joseph Maroon
  • Physician, M.D. – Dr. Richard Rydze
  • Physician, Consultant – Dr. Abraham J. Twerski
  • Physician, M.D. – Dr. Anthony P. Yates
  • Training Staff
  • Head Trainer – John Norwig
  • Assistant Trainer – Rick Burkholder
  • Equipment Manager – Anthony Parisi
  • Field Manager – Rodgers Freyvogel
  • Field Assistant – Rich Baker
  • Video Coordinator – Bob McCartney
  • Video Assistant – Pat Dolan
  • Player Development Coordinator – Anthony Griggs
  • Administrative Assistant – Lou Spanos
  • Photographers – Mike Fabus, Bill Amatucci

[1]

Notable additions include Jerome Bettis, Earl Holmes and Carlos Emmons.

Roster

1996 Pittsburgh Steelers final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad

[1] [2] [3]


Rookies in italics
53 Active, 3 Inactive, 2 Practice squad

Preseason

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Game Site Time (ET) TV Result Record
1 Sat. Jul. 27 vs. San Diego Chargers Tokyo Dome (Tokyo, Japan) 10:00 p.m. ESPN L 20–10 0–1
2 Sat. Aug. 3 St. Louis Rams Three Rivers Stadium 6:00 p.m. WPXI W 16–10 1–1
3 Sun. Aug. 11 at Green Bay Packers Lambeau Field 8:00 p.m. TNT L 24–17 1–2
4 Sat. Aug. 17 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Three Rivers Stadium 6:00 p.m. WPXI W 13–3 2–2
5 Fri. Aug. 23 at Philadelphia Eagles Veterans Stadium 7:30 p.m. WPXI L 20–19 2–3

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Game Site Time (ET) TV Result Record
1 Sun. Sep. 1 at Jacksonville Jaguars Alltel Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC L 24–9 0–1
2 Sun. Sep. 8 Baltimore Ravens Three Rivers Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC W 31–17 1–1
3 Mon. Sep. 16 Buffalo Bills Three Rivers Stadium 9:00 p.m. ABC W 24–6 2–1
4 Sun. Sep. 22 Bye
5 Sun. Sep. 29 Houston Oilers Three Rivers Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC W 30–16 3–1
6 Mon. Oct. 7 at Kansas City Chiefs Arrowhead Stadium 9:00 p.m. ABC W 17–7 4–1
7 Sun. Oct. 13 Cincinnati Bengals Three Rivers Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC W 20–10 5–1
8 Sun. Oct. 20 at Houston Oilers Astrodome 4:00 p.m. NBC L 23–13 5–2
9 Sun. Oct. 27 at Atlanta Falcons Georgia Dome 1:00 p.m. NBC W 20–17 6–2
10 Sun. Nov. 3 St. Louis Rams Three Rivers Stadium 1:00 p.m. FOX W 42–6 7–2
11 Sun. Nov. 10 at Cincinnati Bengals Cinergy Field 1:00 p.m. NBC L 34–24 7–3
12 Sun. Nov. 17 Jacksonville Jaguars Three Rivers Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC W 28–3 8–3
13 Mon. Nov. 25 at Miami Dolphins Pro Player Stadium 9:00 p.m. ABC W 24–17 9–3
14 Sun. Dec. 1 at Baltimore Ravens Memorial Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC L 31–17 9–4
15 Sun. Dec. 8 San Diego Chargers Three Rivers Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC W 16–3 10–4
16 Sun. Dec. 15 San Francisco 49ers Three Rivers Stadium 1:00 p.m. FOX L 25–15 10–5
17 Sun. Dec. 22 at Carolina Panthers Ericsson Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC L 18–14 10–6

Game summaries

Week 1 (Sunday September 1, 1996): at Jacksonville Jaguars

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 3 3 3 0 9
Jaguars 7 7 0 10 24

at Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida

Scoring Drives:

Week 2 (Sunday September 8, 1996): vs. Baltimore Ravens

1 2 3 4 Total
Ravens 7 10 0 0 17
Steelers 14 14 3 0 31

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring Drives:

Week 3 (Monday September 16, 1996): vs. Buffalo Bills

1 2 3 4 Total
Bills 3 0 3 0 6
Steelers 7 17 0 0 24

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring Drives:

Week 5 (Sunday September 29, 1996): vs. Houston Oilers

1 2 3 4 Total
Oilers 0 0 14 2 16
Steelers 17 3 0 10 30

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring Drives:

Week 6 (Monday October 7, 1996): at Kansas City Chiefs

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 6 8 3 17
Chiefs 0 7 0 0 7

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Scoring Drives:

Week 7 (Sunday October 13, 1996): vs. Cincinnati Bengals

1 2 3 4 Total
Bengals 0 0 3 7 10
Steelers 3 0 7 10 20

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring Drives:

Week 8 (Sunday October 20, 1996): at Houston Oilers

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 7 3 0 3 13
Oilers 3 6 0 14 23

at Astrodome, Houston, Texas

Scoring Drives:

Week 9 (Sunday October 27, 1996): at Atlanta Falcons

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 3 0 14 3 20
Falcons 7 3 0 7 17

at Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia

Scoring Drives:

Week 10 (Sunday November 3, 1996): vs. St. Louis Rams

1 2 3 4 Total
Rams 0 3 3 0 6
Steelers 14 7 14 7 42

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring Drives:

Week 11 (Sunday November 10, 1996): at Cincinnati Bengals

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 17 7 0 24
Bengals 3 14 7 10 34

at Cinergy Field, Cincinnati, Ohio

Scoring Drives:

Week 12 (Sunday November 17, 1996): vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

1 2 3 4 Total
Jaguars 0 3 0 0 3
Steelers 14 14 0 0 28

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring Drives:

Week 13 (Monday November 25, 1996): at Miami Dolphins

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 3 7 7 7 24
Dolphins 7 7 3 0 17

at Pro Player Stadium, Miami, Florida

Scoring Drives:

Week 14 (Sunday December 1, 1996): at Baltimore Ravens

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 7 3 7 0 17
Ravens 7 17 0 7 31

at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

Scoring Drives:

Week 15 (Sunday December 8, 1996): vs. San Diego Chargers

1 2 3 4 Total
Chargers 0 0 3 0 3
Steelers 6 7 0 3 16

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring Drives:

Week 16 (Sunday December 15, 1996): vs. San Francisco 49ers

1 2 3 4 Total
49ers 16 6 0 3 25
Steelers 0 0 8 7 15

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring Drives:

Week 17 (Sunday December 22, 1996): at Carolina Panthers

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 14 0 0 14
Panthers 7 2 6 3 18

at Ericsson Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina

Scoring Drives:

Standings

AFC Central
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(3) Pittsburgh Steelers 10 6 0 .625 344 257 L2
(5) Jacksonville Jaguars 9 7 0 .563 325 335 W5
Cincinnati Bengals 8 8 0 .500 372 369 W3
Houston Oilers 8 8 0 .500 345 319 W1
Baltimore Ravens 4 12 0 .250 371 441 L3

Playoffs

Game summaries

AFC Wild Card Playoff (Sunday December 29, 1996): vs. Indianapolis Colts

1 2 3 4 Total
Colts 0 14 0 0 14
Steelers 10 3 8 21 42

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring Drives:

AFC Divisional Playoff (Sunday January 5, 1997): at New England Patriots

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 0 3 0 3
Patriots 14 7 0 7 28

at Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

Scoring Drives:

Honors and awards

Pro Bowl Representatives

References

  1. 1 2 1996 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.
  2. 1997 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.
  3. "1996 Pittsburgh Steelers". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-12-24.
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