The 1996 Seattle Seahawks season was the franchise's 21st season in the National Football League (NFL), the 21st playing their home games at the Kingdome and the second under head coach Dennis Erickson. They were unable to improve on their 8–8 record, finished the season 7–9, and missing the playoffs for the eighth consecutive season.
For the first time since 1984, safety Eugene Robinson was not on the opening day roster.
Owner Ken Behring unsuccessfully attempted to move the team to southern California. The team was sold to Paul Allen in June 1997.
After the season, the Seahawks would never finish at the bottom of the AFC West again. It would be the final season they finished at the bottom of their division for 25 years.
NFL draft
1996 Seattle Seahawks draft Round Selection Player Position College 1 21 Pete Kendall OG Boston College 2 46 Fred Thomas DB Tennessee-Martin 3 77 Robert Barr OT Rutgers 91 Reggie Brown RB Fresno State4 99 Phillip Daniels DE Georgia 131 Eric Unverzagt LB Wisconsin6 184 Reggie Green OG Florida 209 T. J. Cunningham DB Colorado 7 225 Johnie Church DE Florida
Undrafted free agents
+ 1996 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeWillie BrownLinebackerTempleMarc CollinsPunterEastern KentuckyJimmy GaryRunning backWest Virginia
Personnel
Staff
Final roster
Starters in bold. (*) Denotes players that were selected for the 1997 Pro Bowl.
Schedule
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site Recap 1 Atlanta Falcons W 19–17 1–0 Kingdome Recap 2 at Oakland Raiders W 24–19 2–0 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Recap 3 at Indianapolis Colts L 13–15 2–1 RCA Dome Recap 4 San Francisco 49ers W 20–3 3–1 Kingdome Recap
Source: Seahawks Media Guides1996 Seahawks Media Guide, accessed February 14, 2015.1997 Seahawks Media Guide, accessed February 14, 2015.
Regular season Divisional matchups have the AFC West playing the NFC Central.
Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site Recap 1 September 1 at San Diego Chargers L 7–29 0–1 Jack Murphy Stadium Recap 2 September 8 Denver Broncos L 20–30 0–2 Kingdome Recap 3 September 15 Kansas City Chiefs L 17–35 0–3 Kingdome Recap 4 September 22 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 17–13 1–3 Houlihan's Stadium Recap 5 September 29 Green Bay Packers L 10–31 1–4 Kingdome Recap 6 October 6 at Miami Dolphins W 22–15 2–4 Pro Player Stadium Recap 7Bye 8 at Kansas City Chiefs L 17–34 2–5 Arrowhead Stadium Recap 9 October 27 San Diego Chargers W 32–13 3–5 Kingdome Recap 10 November 3 Houston Oilers W 23–16 4–5 Kingdome Recap 11 November 10 Minnesota Vikings W 42–23 5–5 Kingdome Recap 12 November 17 at Detroit Lions L 16–17 5–6 Silverdome Recap 13 November 24 Oakland Raiders L 21–27 5–7 Kingdome Recap 14 December 1 at Denver Broncos L 7–34 5–8 Mile High Stadium Recap 15 December 8 Buffalo Bills W 26–18 6–8 Kingdome Recap 16 December 15 at Jacksonville Jaguars L 13–20 6–9 Jacksonville Municipal Stadium Recap 17 December 22 at Oakland Raiders W 28–21 7–9 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Recap
Bold indicates division opponents. Source: 1996 NFL season results1996 NFL season results, NFL.com, accessed February 14, 2015.
Standings
Game summaries
Preseason
Week P1: vs. Atlanta Falcons
Week P2: at Oakland Raiders
Week P3: at Indianapolis Colts
Week P4: vs. San Francisco 49ers
Regular season
Week 1: at San Diego Chargers
Week 2: vs. Denver Broncos
Week 3: vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Week 4: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 5: vs. Green Bay Packers
Week 6: at Miami Dolphins
Week 8: at Kansas City Chiefs
Week 9: vs. San Diego Chargers
Week 10: vs. Houston Oilers
Week 11: vs. Minnesota Vikings
Week 12: at Detroit Lions
Week 13: vs. Oakland Raiders
Week 14 at Denver Broncos
Week 15: vs. Buffalo Bills
Week 16: at Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 17: at Oakland Raiders
References
External links
1996 Seattle Seahawks season at ESPN 1996 Seattle Seahawks at Pro Football Reference (Profootballreference.com) 1996 Seattle Seahawks Statistics at jt-sw.com 1996 Seattle Seahawks Schedule at jt-sw.com