Titans' new uniforms have iconic retro inspiration that might irk some fans
Typically, in the world of fashion, what's old is new. (And if you're not aware of the industry's 20-year cycle, then this lover of dad rock, Air Jordans, sweats and baseball hats is way out in front of you. But I digress.)
And if a rule of thumb applies to fashion weeks in Milan or Paris - or even the highly coveted teenage demographic - why wouldn't it for the NFL, where expanded uniform closets and retro looks have become all the rage in recent years?
Pro football fans certainly had flashbacks on March 12, when the Tennessee Titans unveiled their streamlined new look - one that very much evoked their branding from decades ago. The callback seems likely to appeal to more casual football fashionistas (can a fashionista be casual by the way?). The Titans simplified their overly busy threads - which have gone through various iterations and numerous color combinations since 1999, not to mention bold design choices on the shoulders and hips - similar to the way the Arizona Cardinals did in 2023, when they shifted from a mess of various paneling and weirdly tapered piping and striping to something more Ohio State-adjacent ... if you're into that sort of thing.
(FWIW, the Titans ranked 29th among the league's 32 teams in USA TODAY Sports' most recent NFL uniform power rankings.)
Also? The Titans are most definitely going to gaslight one subset of hardcore supporters - Houston fans, specifically Houston Oilers fans, who lost their cherished "Luv Ya Blue" squad when it relocated from Texas to Tennessee after the 1996 season. They played as the Tennessee Oilers for two years before being reflagged as the Titans in 1999, notably the only year in which the franchise has qualified for a Super Bowl ... which it lost to the Greatest Show on Turf" St. Louis Rams, another organization that got caught up in franchise free agency back in the silly 1990s.
Yet there was a fundamental difference between the Oilers pulling up stakes for the Volunteer State and the Browns fleeing Cleveland for Baltimore in 1996: Whereas the Browns left their uniforms, wordmarks, colors and records in Cleveland - rechristening into the Ravens in the process and allowing for a rebirth of the Browns as an expansion team in 1999 - the Oilers took all of their intellectual property, history and logos with them to Tennessee, much to the outrage of Houstonians.
Houston eventually welcomed the Texans - still the NFL's youngest organization - in 2002, yet one with an even worse track record of success than the Oilers, who at least won a pair of AFL titles in the 1960s and lost a pair AFC championship games to the legendary Steel Curtain" Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1970s. The Texans remain the only NFL team to never reach a conference title game.
And Thursday night's reveal is only going to re-open wounds that have largely never healed.
What do the Tennessee Titans' new uniforms look like?
In a nutshell, they're basically a modified version of the classic Oilers uniforms: Simple white, red and "Titans Blue" coloring, the jersey numbers in what appears to be a near-identical font. (And, yes, Titans Blue" is just about the Pantone identical twin of the Oilers' gorgeous Columbia Blue.")
There are subtle distinctions. The blue home jerseys have Titans" written above the numbers, which are outlined in red, while the white roadies have Tennessee" instead. The striping pattern down the centerline of the helmet and on the sides of the pants and shoulders is also a departure - the wide stripes bordered by red with a much thinner series of Titans Blue" stripes with darker outlines sandwiched in between.
As for the new logo? At least it doesn't evoke the Oilers' iconic oil derrick. Instead, it's a stripped-down version of the logo the Titans have used since their inception in 1999. Gone is the fireball effect on the outside of it, while the T" that doubles as a dagger loses its stylized shading. The three stars that signify the Tennessee state flag remain and - weirdly - also seem to have been added in a tighter grouping near the armpit area of the jerseys.
Entirely absent is the navy palette the Titans had always featured - and which resembles the shade used on the state flag - as well as the gray and silver trim that had long accentuated parts of the presentation.
In sum, the effect is very much an Oilers uniform topped by a slightly modified Titans logo ... which, ironically (or not?), looks like an O."
We're talking to fans and we're listening, and there's a clear appetite to have the Titans, their team, represented on the field in this noticeable color that has been with this team from 1960 in Houston, into Memphis, at Vanderbilt and as we've played at (Nashville's) Nissan Stadium," Titans President andCEO Burke Nihill said last year.
We're going to emphasize that this year and change to Titans blue as the primary color."
Pfft. The Titans have occasionally copped the retro look over the years - even as recently as 2024 - but seemingly have no plans to do so again ... yet also remain disinclined to share it. Much to the delight of salty Houston fans, the Texans beat the Titans - while they were adorned in Oilers throwbacks at home in Nashville - in both 2023 and '24.
Yet now Houstonians who were without a team for five seasons following the Oilers' departure - two more years than Cleveland had to wait - will be triggered every time they see Tennessee play.
And certainly memories of the Oilers remain alive and well in H-Town. The Texans developed an alternate uniform in 2024 that has trim very close to Columbia Blue. The University of Houston football team even debuted alternate uniforms in 2023 that are Oilers knock-offs, so much so that the NFL demanded they stop wearing them.
Coming off consecutive 3-14 seasons, the Titans have loaded up on free agents in recent days and own the No. 4 pick of the upcoming draft. The talent infusion should better support second-year QB Cam Ward and first-year coach Robert Saleh, and they should figuratively look much better between the lines in 2026. Literally, they most certainly will.
Now? Let's dream and hope maybe it's time in this divisive days to let past history with Houston be water under the bridge - maybe by loaning some of said past history, oil derrick et al., with Houston's current team.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tennessee Titans new uniforms borrow magic from Houston Oilers' iconic look