The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the then-Houston, Texas, team began play in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League. The Oilers won two AFL championships before joining the NFL as part of the AFL-NFL Merger.

The team relocated to the state of Tennessee in 1997, first playing in Memphis for one season before moving to Nashville. For two seasons, they were known as the Tennessee Oilers before changing their name to Titans in 1999.

During the 1998 season, Adams announced that in response to fan requests, he was changing the Oilers' name to coincide with the opening of their new stadium and to better connect with Nashville. He also declared that the renamed team would retain the Oilers' heritage (including team records) and that there would be a Hall of Fame honoring the greatest players from both eras. Unlike four years earlier, when Art Modell was forced to leave the Cleveland Browns' name and heritage behind when he moved his organization to Baltimore, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue raised no objection when Adams declared that he would retain the rights to the Oilers name—effectively foreclosing Houston from reclaiming it for an expansion team.

Adams appointed an advisory committee to decide on a new name. He let it be known that the new name should reflect power, strength, leadership and other heroic qualities. On December 22, Adams announced that the Oilers would be known as the Tennessee Titans starting in 1999. The new name met all of Adams' requirements, and also served as a nod to Nashville's nickname of "The Athens of the South" (for its large number of higher-learning institutions). The nickname of the city and the team also match the imagery of Nashville's full-scale replica of the Parthenon.

In 1999, Adelphia Coliseum, now known as LP Field, was completed and the newly christened Titans had a grand season, finishing with a 13–3 record—the best season in franchise history. They finished one game behind the Jacksonville Jaguars for the AFC Central title. Tennessee then won their first round playoff game over the Buffalo Bills on a controversial play that became known as the "Music City Miracle": Tight end Frank Wycheck made a lateral pass to Kevin Dyson on a kickoff return with 16 seconds left in the game and the Titans trailing by 1 point; Dyson returned the pass 75 yards for a touchdown to win the game. Although Wycheck's pass was close to being illegally forward, replays were found to be inconclusive and the call on the field was upheld as a touchdown. The Titans' Cinderella season led to a trip to Super Bowl XXXIV, where they lost a heartbreaker to the St. Louis Rams when Kevin Dyson was tackled one yard short of the endzone by linebacker Mike Jones as regulation time expired in a play known as "The Tackle".

In 2000, the Titans finished with an NFL-best 13–3 record and won their third AFC Central title—their first division title as the Tennessee Titans. They won Central division titles in '91 and '93 while still in Houston as the Oilers.

In 2002, the Titans made an AFC Championship Game appearance but lost to Oakland who went on to lose Super Bowl XXXVII to Tampa Bay.

In 2003, quarterback Steve McNair won the MVP award, sharing it with Peyton Manning. The Titans made the 2003 playoffs, winning their first-round game over the Baltimore Ravens and losing in the AFC semifinals to the New England Patriots.

The 2004 season was disappointing for the Titans, who suffered an unusual number of injuries to key players. Their 5–11 record turned out to be their second-worst record ever since the Houston/Tennessee Oilers became the Tennessee Titans. Numerous key players were cut or traded by the Titans front office during the off season, including Derrick Mason, Samari Rolle, Kevin Carter, and others. This was done most likely to "clean house", or free up money to put the team farther under the salary cap to make further player acquisitions.

In 2005, the Titans took the field with the youngest team in the NFL. Several rookies made the 2005 team including 1st round pick Adam "Pacman" Jones, RT Michael Roos, and a trio of talented receivers in the likes of Brandon Jones, Courtney Roby, and Roydell Williams. After losing their first game of the season on the road to the Pittsburgh Steelers 34–7 and then winning their Week 2 home-opener against the Baltimore Ravens 25–10, the Titans began the season 1–1, but quickly fell out of contention. They lost on the road to the St. Louis Rams 31–27 and lost to their division rival, the Indianapolis Colts 31–10. After getting some redemption on the road against their new division rival, the Houston Texans 34–20, they lost five-straight games to the Cincinnati Bengals (31–23), the Arizona Cardinals (20–10), the Oakland Raiders (34–25), the Cleveland Browns (20–14), and then (coming off of their Week 10 Bye), their division rival, the Jacksonville Jaguars 31–28. The Titans would win at home against the San Francisco 49ers 33–22, but then, they went on the road and got swept by the Colts 35–3. The Titans would sweep the luckless Texans 13–10 at home, but that would be their last win of the year, as they lost their remaining three games to the Seattle Seahawks (28–24), the Miami Dolphins (24–10), and the Jacksonville Jaguars (40–13).

RB Travis Henry, whom many thought would help greatly improve the Titans running game, failed to make a significant impact in the 2005 season. He was also suspended four games for failing a drug test. Team leaders in 2005 included the QB Steve McNair, RB Chris Brown, TE Erron Kinney, and DE Kyle Vanden Bosch. Adam "Pacman" Jones, despite his defensive struggles and issues with his contract before the season, made an impact on the special teams unit in 2005, including a notable 85-yd kickoff return against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Also, the team's final 4–12 record turned out to be the franchise's worst record since becoming the Tennessee Titans.

The team finished at 8–8, a definite improvement over the previous year's mark of 4–12. The year saw Vince Young lead the team to a 8–5 record as the starting quarterback. That span also included 6 straight victories. The team's chances of making the postseason at 9–7 ended at the hands of the New England Patriots in a 40–23 defeat.

Floyd Reese resigned as the franchise's Executive Vice President/General Manager on January 5, 2007 after thirteen seasons at the helm. He was replaced by Mike Reinfeldt on February 12 of the same year.

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