1986 Indianapolis Colts season

1986 Indianapolis Colts season
1986 Indianapolis Colts season
Owner	Robert Irsay
General manager	Jim Irsay
Head coach	Rod Dowhower (fired on December 1, 0-13 record); Ron Meyer (interim, 3-0 record)
Home field	Hoosier Dome
Results
Record	3–13
Division place	5th AFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	3 C Ray Donaldson; T Chris Hinton; P Rohn Stark;
	← 1985; Colts seasons; 1987 →;

The 1986 Indianapolis Colts season was the 34th season for the team in the National Football League (NFL) and third in Indianapolis. The team finished the year with a record of 3 wins and 13 losses, placing last in AFC East division.

The Colts did not win a game until week 14, when they defeated the Atlanta Falcons.^[1] Prior to that, at least one sportswriter had theorized that the Colts wanted to finish with an 0-16 record, believing that they needed a franchise quarterback; as it turned out, Miami quarterback Vinny Testaverde was the consensus overall top pick in the forthcoming draft^[2] (although there were fears that he, like John Elway in 1983, would refuse to play for the team if they drafted him).^[3] The Colts’ record, which included wins in their final two games, ended up not being the worst in the league; the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished with a 2-14 record and got the first pick (which they would eventually use on Testaverde).

Rod Dowhower entered the season in his second year as head coach, after having replaced Frank Kush in 1985. After the 0-13 start for the team, he was fired and replaced by Ron Meyer, who had himself been fired by the New England Patriots in 1984 and had not coached since. Meyer would lead the Colts to all three of their victories in 1986.

Offseason

Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1986 Indianapolis Colts draft
1	4	Jon Hand	Defensive end	Alabama
2	47	Jack Trudeau	Quarterback	Illinois
4	86	Bill Brooks	Wide receiver	Boston University
5	117	Scott Kellar	Nose tackle	Northern Illinois
5	124	Gary Walker	Center	Boston University
7	171	Steve O'Malley	Defensive tackle	Northern Illinois
7	172	Chris White	Placekicker	Illinois
7	190	Tommy Sims	Defensive back	Tennessee
8	198	Trell Hooper	Defensive back	Memphis State
9	228	Bob Brotzki	Tackle	Syracuse
10	266	Peter Anderson	Guard	Georgia
12	309	Steve Wade	Defensive tackle	Vanderbilt
12	326	Isaac Williams	Defensive tackle	Florida State
Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

**1986 Indianapolis Colts staff**
	Front office President and Treasurer – Robert Irsay Vice President and General Manager – Jim Irsay Assistant general manager – Bob Terpening Director of player personnel – Jack Bushofsky Director of pro personnel – Clyde Powers Head coaches Head coach – Rod Dowhower/Ron Meyer Assistant head coach – Tom Lovat Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator/Running Backs – Billie Matthews Quarterbacks – John Becker Receivers – Chip Myers Offensive Line – Tom Lovat Assistant Offensive Line – Keith Rowen			Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – George Hill Defensive Line – John Marshall Linebackers – Rick Venturi Secondary – George Catavolos Special teams coaches Special Teams – Keith Rowen Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Tom Zupancic

Roster

**1986 Indianapolis Colts roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 10 Jack Trudeau 7 Gary Hogeboom 5 Blair Kiel Running backs (RB) 34 George Wonsley 20 Albert Bentley 32 Randy McMillan 44 Owen Gill 30 Hubie Oliver Wide receivers (WR) 80 Bill Brooks 85 Matt Bouza 87 Wayne Capers 88 James Harbour 86 Oliver Williams 86 Walter Murray 88 Robbie Martin Tight ends (TE) 81 Pat Beach 84 Mark Boyer 83 Tim Sherwin 83 Greg LaFleur		Offensive linemen (OL) 72 Karl Baldischwiler T 53 Ray Donaldson C 75 Chris Hinton T 64 Ben Utt G 66 Ron Solt G 63 Mark Kirchner G 74 Roger Caron T 74 Bob Brotzki T Defensive linemen (DL) 99 Donnell Thompson DE 78 Jon Hand DE 79 Harvey Armstrong NT 90 John Haines 94 Scott Kellar NT 68 Willie Broughton NT		Linebackers (LB) 59 Orlando Lowry 50 Duane Bickett OLB 55 Barry Krauss 93 Cliff Odom ILB 98 Johnie Cooks OLB 57 Dave Ahrens ILB 56 Lamonte Hunley 58 Glen Redd 92 Jeff Leiding Defensive backs (DB) 29 Dwight Hicks FS 38 Eugene Daniel CB 25 Nesby Glasgow SS 31 Leonard Coleman CB 21 John Holt 45 Tommy Sims 35 Tate Randle FS 39 Victor Jackson 23 Kenny Daniel 47 Dextor Clinkscale 26 Pat Ballage 28 Mike Lush Special teams 3 Rohn Stark P 4 Dean Biasucci K		Reserve -- Dameon Reilly WR (IR) Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 7	at New England Patriots	L 3–33	0–1	Sullivan Stadium	55,208
2	September 14	at Miami Dolphins	L 10–30	0–2	Miami Orange Bowl	51,848
3	September 21	Los Angeles Rams	L 7–24	0–3	Hoosier Dome	59,012
4	September 28	New York Jets	L 7–26	0–4	Hoosier Dome	56,075
5	October 5	at San Francisco 49ers	L 14–35	0–5	Candlestick Park	57,252
6	October 12	New Orleans Saints	L 14–17	0–6	Hoosier Dome	53,512
7	October 19	at Buffalo Bills	L 13–24	0–7	Rich Stadium	50,050
8	October 26	Miami Dolphins	L 13–17	0–8	Hoosier Dome	58,350
9	November 2	Cleveland Browns	L 9–24	0–9	Hoosier Dome	57,962
10	November 9	New England Patriots	L 21–30	0–10	Hoosier Dome	56,890
11	November 16	at New York Jets	L 16–31	0–11	Giants Stadium	65,149
12	November 23	at Houston Oilers	L 17–31	0–12	Astrodome	31,792
13	November 30	San Diego Chargers	L 3–17	0–13	Hoosier Dome	47,950
14	December 7	at Atlanta Falcons	W 28–23	1–13	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	30,397
15	December 14	Buffalo Bills	W 24–14	2–13	Hoosier Dome	52,783
16	December 21	at Los Angeles Raiders	W 30–24	3–13	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	41,349
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
New England Patriots⁽³⁾	11	5	0	.688	7–1	8–4	412	307	W1
New York Jets⁽⁴⁾	10	6	0	.625	6–2	8–4	364	386	L5
Miami Dolphins	8	8	0	.500	5–3	6–6	430	405	L1
Buffalo Bills	4	12	0	.250	1–7	3–11	287	348	L3
Indianapolis Colts	3	13	0	.188	1–7	2–10	229	400	W3

References

^ Sheeley, Glenn; ‘Rope-a-dope: Falcon blunders give Indianapolis first victory’; Atlanta Constitution; December 8, 1986, p. D1
^ Vierria, Dan; ‘Colts May Need a Win, but They Need Vinnie Even More’; Sacramento Bee, November 16, 1986, p. C4
^ Kaufman, Ira; ‘Will Testaverde, like Elway, Spurn Colts’; Seattle Times, November 23, 1986, p. C5

v t e Indianapolis Colts
Founded in 1953 Played in Baltimore (1953–1983) Based and headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana
Franchise	History in Baltimore relocation to Indianapolis All-time roster Quarterbacks Coaches Seasons Draft First-round draft picks Ring of Honor
Stadiums	Memorial Stadium RCA Dome Lucas Oil Stadium
Culture	Carroll Rosenbloom Robert Irsay Jim Irsay 12th Man AAFC Colts Baltimore Colts Marching Band Blue Cheerleaders Elway to Marino Parks and Recreation
Lore	Dayton Triangles The Greatest Game Ever Played 1970 AFC Championship Game Ghost to the Post Move to Indianapolis Immaculate Deflection Immaculate Redemption/The Tackle Deflategate Colts Catastrophe Snowvertime Minneapolis Miracle II
Rivalries	Houston Texans Jacksonville Jaguars New England Patriots Brady–Manning rivalry Tennessee Titans
Division championships (16)	1968 1970 1975 1976 1977 1987 1999 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2009 2010 2013 2014
Conference championships (7)	1958 1959 1964 1968 1970 2006 2009
League championships (5)	1958 1959 1968 1970 (V) 2006 (XLI)
Retired numbers	18 19 22 24 70 77 82 89
Media	Broadcasters WFNI-AM Bob Lamey Jim Sorgi
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: American Football Conference Division: South Division
Category

v t e Indianapolis Colts seasons
Played in Baltimore (1953–1983)
1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–65) or Super Bowl (1966–present) victory Italics indicates NFL Championship (1920–65) or Super Bowl (1966–present) appearance