1996 Detroit Lions season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Detroit Lions 1996 5–11 5th NFC Central Wayne Fontes Tom Moore Jim Eddy Chuck Schmidt William Clay Ford Sr. Pontiac Silverdome Did not qualify WR Herman MooreRB Barry Sanders WR Herman Moore (1st team)RB Barry Sanders (2nd team) File:NFC-Throwback2-Uniform-DET.PNG Lions seasons The Detroit Lions played their 67th season in the National Football League (NFL) in 1996. The team declined severely from their previous season's output of 10–6. Following a 4–2 start, the Lions lost nine of their final ten games to finish 5–11, missing the playoffs for the first time in four seasons.1996 Detroit Lions 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 Additions SubtractionsRB Glyn Milburn (Broncos) T Lomas Brown (Cardinals)TE Pete Metzelaars (Panthers) LB Chris Spielman (Bills)T Ray Roberts (Seahawks) LB Tracy Hayworth (Falcons) S Willie Clay (Patriots) G Doug Widell (Colts) DE Dan Owens (Falcons) NFL draft 1996 NFL draft 1996 Detroit Lions 1 17 Reggie Brown LB Texas A&M from Seattle yes no 1 23 Jeff Hartings G Penn State yes yes 3 76 Ryan Stewart S Georgia Tech from New England yes no 4 129 Brad Ford CB Alabama compensatory pick yes no 5 158 Kerwin Waldroup DT Central State yes no no 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 1996 Detroit Lions Chairman and president – William Clay Ford Sr. Vice chairman – William Clay Ford Jr. Executive vice president and chief operating officer – Chuck Schmidt Vice president of player personnel – Ron Hughes Vice president of football administration – Larry Lee Director of pro scouting – Kevin Colbert Head coach – Wayne Fontes Assistant head coach – Dave Levy Assistant head coach/defense – John Teerlinck Offensive coordinator – Tom Moore Quarterbacks – Greg Landry Running backs – Mo Forte Receivers – Charlie Sanders Tight ends/offensive assistant – Steve Kazor Offensive line – Paul Boudreau Defensive coordinator – Jim Eddy Linebackers – Howard Tippett Defensive backs – John Fontes Defensive assistant/lbs and dbs – Don Clemons Special teams – Frank Novak Strength and conditioning/special teams assistant – Bert Hill Roster 1996 Detroit Lions 13 Johnny Johnson quarterback y  1 Don Majkowski 19 Scott Mitchell quarterback 26 Eric Lynch American football 33 Glyn Milburn KR/PR 34 Ron Rivers 20 Barry Sanders 30 Cory Schlesinger FB 17 Miles Macik y 83 Aubrey Matthews 10 Kez McCorvey 84 Herman Moore 87 Johnnie Morton 80 Brett Perriman 89 Pete Metzelaars 82 Derek Price American football y 49 Eric Stocz y 77 Mike Compton American football G/LS 76 Scott Conover G/T 53 Kevin Glover C 74 Chris Harrison American football y G 64 Jeff Hartings y G 66 Hessley Hempstead C/G 70 Jeff Jones American football T 71 Zefross Moss T 72 Ray Roberts American football T 62 Tony Semple G/LS 96 Shane Bonham DT 92 Shane Dronett DE 94 Luther Elliss DT 91 Robert Porcher DE 97 Tracy Scroggins DE 98 Henry Thomas American football DT 93 Kerwin Waldroup y DE 90 Keith Washington American football DE 95 Mike Wells defensive lineman DT 51 Tom Beer OLB 59 Reggie Brown linebacker y OLB 99 Pepper Johnson OLB/MLB 51 Antonio London OLB 52 Scott Kowalkowski OLB 36 Bennie Blades SS 27 Jocelyn Borgella CB 44 Brad Ford y CB 25 Greg Jeffries CB 39 Van Malone FS 47 Ryan McNeil American football CB 31 Corey Raymond CB 28 Ron Rice American football SS 42 Ryan Stewart American football y S 24 Richard Woodley CB  4 Jason Hanson K  3 Mark Royals P 57 Stephen Boyd American football LB IR 81 Kevin Hickman TE IR 86 David Sloan American football TE IR 15 Tommie Boyd WR 21 Allen Williams running back RB 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,Detroit Lions v San Diego Chargers and the first time they had met the Philadelphia Eagles in the regular season since 1986.Detroit Lions v Philadelphia Eagles 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.History of the NFL’s Structure and Formats Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance 1 September 1 at Minnesota Vikings L 17–130–1 52,972 2 September 8 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 21–61–1 54,229 3 September 15 at Philadelphia Eagles L 24–171–2 66,007 4 September 22 Chicago Bears W 35–162–2 70,022 5 September 29 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 27–03–2 34,961 6 October 6 Atlanta Falcons W 28–244–2 58,666 7 October 13 at Oakland Raiders L 37–214–3 50,037 8 Bye 9 October 27 New York Giants L 35–74–4 63,501 10 November 3 at Green Bay Packers L 28–184–5 60,695 11 November 11, 1996 at San Diego Chargers L 27–214–6 60,425 12 November 17 Seattle Seahawks W 17–165–6 51,194 13 November 24 at Chicago Bears L 31–145–7 55,864 14 November 28, 1996 Kansas City Chiefs L 28–245–8 75,079 15 December 8 Minnesota Vikings L 24–225–9 46,043 16 December 15 Green Bay Packers L 31–35–10 73,214 17 December 23, 1996 at San Francisco 49ers L 24–145–11 61,921Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Standings References External links 1996 Detroit Lions at Pro-Football-Reference.com Category:Detroit Lions seasons Detroit Lions Detroit Lions Category:1996 in Detroit