1996 Detroit Lions season

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1996 NFL draft

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

• 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

• Tom Beer OLB

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, and the first time they had met the Philadelphia Eagles in the regular season since 1986. 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.

Standings

References

References

1. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/det/1996.htm 1996 Detroit Lions]
2. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/play-index/tgl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=game&year_min=1940&year_max=2015&game_type=R&playoff_round=&game_num_min=0&game_num_max=99&week_num_min=0&week_num_max=99&game_day_of_week=&game_time=&time_zone=&game_location=&surface=&roof=&stadium_id=&temperature_gtlt=lt&temperature=&game_result=&overtime=&league_id=&team_id=det&team_conf_id=&team_div_id=&opp_id=sdg&opp_conf_id=&opp_div_id=&team_off_scheme=&team_def_align=&opp_off_scheme=&opp_def_align=&conference_game=&division_game=&tm_is_playoff=&opp_is_playoff=&tm_is_winning=&opp_is_winning=&tm_scored_first=&tm_led=&tm_trailed=&tm_won_toss=&c1stat=&c1comp=gt&c1val=&c2stat=&c2comp=gt&c2val=&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&c5comp=&c5gtlt=lt&c6mult=1.0&c6comp=&order_by=game_date&order_by_asc=Y Detroit Lions v San Diego Chargers]
3. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/play-index/tgl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=game&year_min=1940&year_max=2015&game_type=&playoff_round=&game_num_min=0&game_num_max=99&week_num_min=0&week_num_max=99&game_day_of_week=&game_time=&time_zone=&game_location=&surface=&roof=&stadium_id=&temperature_gtlt=lt&temperature=&game_result=&overtime=&league_id=&team_id=det&team_conf_id=&team_div_id=&opp_id=phi&opp_conf_id=&opp_div_id=&team_off_scheme=&team_def_align=&opp_off_scheme=&opp_def_align=&conference_game=&division_game=&tm_is_playoff=&opp_is_playoff=&tm_is_winning=&opp_is_winning=&tm_scored_first=&tm_led=&tm_trailed=&tm_won_toss=&c1stat=&c1comp=gt&c1val=&c2stat=&c2comp=gt&c2val=&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&c5comp=&c5gtlt=lt&c6mult=1.0&c6comp=&order_by=game_date&order_by_asc=Y Detroit Lions v Philadelphia Eagles]
4. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/blog/?p=521 History of the NFL’s Structure and Formats]