2006 NFL season

This article is about the American football season in the United States. For the Gaelic football season in Ireland, see 2006 National Football League (Ireland).

The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League (NFL). Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006.

2006 NFL season

Regular season
Duration	September 7 – December 31, 2006
Playoffs
Start date	January 6, 2007
AFC Champions	Indianapolis Colts
NFC Champions	Chicago Bears
Super Bowl XLI
Date	February 4, 2007
Site	Dolphin Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida
Champions	Indianapolis Colts
Pro Bowl
Date	February 10, 2007 (2007-02-10)
Site	Aloha Stadium

Patriots

Bills

Dolphins

Jets

Bengals

Ravens

Steelers

Browns

Colts

Titans

Jaguars

Texans

Broncos

Chiefs

Raiders

Chargers

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AFC teams: West, North, South, East

Cowboys

Giants

Eagles

Redskins

Bears

Lions

Packers

Vikings

Falcons

Panthers

Saints

Buccaneers

Cardinals

Rams

Seahawks

49ers

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NFC teams: West, North, South, East

The season began with the reigning Super Bowl XL champion Pittsburgh Steelers defeating the Miami Dolphins in the NFL Kickoff Game.

The NFL title was eventually won by the Indianapolis Colts, when they defeated the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI at Dolphin Stadium at Miami Gardens, Florida on February 4, 2007.

New NFL commissioner

On March 20, 2006, Paul Tagliabue announced his plans to retire as NFL commissioner. During an NFL meeting in Northbrook, Illinois, on August 8, league team owners selected Roger Goodell, the NFL's then-current chief operating officer, as the new commissioner. Tagliabue continued to serve as commissioner until Goodell officially replaced him on Friday September 1.

Tagliabue became NFL commissioner on October 26, 1989. During his tenure, the league added four new teams; saw four franchises move (including two franchises—the Rams and Raiders—from Los Angeles, the second-largest television market in the U.S.); the construction of seventeen new stadiums; began its own in-house television specialty cable network, the NFL Network; greatly increased television rights fees with its broadcasters, including the addition of the Fox network and its NFL programming; and maintained labor peace with the players' union.

Draft

The 2006 NFL draft was held from April 29 to 30, 2006 at New York City's Radio City Music Hall. With the first pick, the Houston Texans selected defensive end Mario Williams from North Carolina State University.

New referees

Bernie Kukar and Tom White retired. Jerome Boger and Gene Steratore were promoted to referee.

Notable retirements

• Jerry Azumah
• Ahmed Plummer
• Jimmy Smith
• Wayne Chrebet
• Dat Nguyen
• Tommy Maddox
• Jerome Bettis
• Curtis Martin
• Doug Flutie
• Deion Sanders
• Brady Smith
• Dez White
• Kordell Stewart

Major rule changes

The Seattle Seahawks host the Green Bay Packers in snow at Qwest Field, November 27, 2006

• End zone celebrations became more restricted. Players cannot celebrate by using any type of prop, or do any act in which they are on the ground. Players may still spike, spin the ball, or (until 2014), dunk it over the goal posts. Dancing in the end zone is also permitted as long as it is not a prolonged or group celebration. The Lambeau Leap, though, is still legal.
• Defenders were prohibited from hitting a passer in the knee or below unless they are blocked into him. This rule was enacted in response to the previous season's injuries to Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer, Pittsburgh Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Brian Griese.
• Down-by-contact calls could now be reviewed by instant replay to determine if a player fumbled the ball before he was down, and who recovered it. Previously, these plays could not be reversed once officials blew the whistle.
• The "horse-collar tackle" rule enacted during the previous 2005 season was expanded. Players are now prohibited from tackling a ball carrier from the rear by tugging inside his jersey. Previously, it was only illegal if the tackler's hand got inside the player's shoulder pads.
• To reduce injuries, defensive players cannot line up directly over the long snapper during field goal and extra point attempts.

Officials' uniform makeover

The 2006 season marked the debut of new officiating uniforms which are supposed to be more comfortable for officials to wear in extreme weather over the old polyester uniforms. The uniforms were designed by Reebok using a proprietary material technology to keep officials both warm and dry during the winter months of the season. On the shirt, the position and number are removed from the front pocket and the lettering and numbers on the back side were black-on-white and are smaller print and the sleeve shows the uniform number. Officials also wore full-length black pants with white stripe during the winter months to stay warm, which was criticized by media. Also, a black stripe was added to each side of the white knickers. This was the first major design overhaul since 1979, when the position name was added to the shirt, but later abbreviated in 1982.

Return of "The Duke" football

A Philadelphia fumble is recovered by Washington's Ade Jimoh, week 14

For the first time since Super Bowl IV at the conclusion of the 1969 season, the official NFL game ball was known as "The Duke" in honor of Wellington Mara, whose family owns the New York Giants. Son John is the current CEO of the team. The NFL first used "The Duke" ball in honor of owner Tim Mara (Wellington's father) made a deal with Wilson Sporting Goods to become the league's official supplier of game balls, a relationship that continued into its sixty-fifth year in 2006.

"The Duke" ball was discontinued after the 1970 AFL–NFL merger, and the merged league began using a different standardized ball made by Wilson. The only other time that "The Duke" ball name was used was during the two "Thanksgiving Classic" games in 2004.

One side of the new 2006 "Duke" football featured the NFL shield logo in gold, the words "The Duke", and the NFL commissioner's signature. The obverse side has a small NFL logo above the needle bladder hole, the conference names between the hole, and the words "National Football League" in gold. As per the custom, specially branded balls were used for the first week of the 2006 season (the "Opening Kickoff") as well as for the Thanksgiving Day, conference championships, Super Bowl XLI and Pro Bowl games.

2006 deaths

Death of Lamar Hunt

Lamar Hunt died in Dallas, Texas on December 13 from complications from prostate cancer at the age of 74. He is credited with challenging the NFL with the formation of the American Football League, which led to the subsequent merger of the two leagues.

Death of two Broncos

At 3 a.m. on January 1, 2007, Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was shot and killed in Denver, within hours after the last regular season game against the San Francisco 49ers. Less than two months later, on February 24, 2007, Broncos running back Damien Nash collapsed and died after a charity basketball game at a high school. Both players died at the age of 24.

Regular season

Schedule formula

Based on the NFL's scheduling formula, the intraconference and interconference matchups for 2006 were:

Intraconference

• AFC East vs. AFC South
• AFC North vs. AFC West
• NFC East vs. NFC South
• NFC North vs. NFC West

Interconference

• AFC East vs. NFC North
• AFC North vs. NFC South
• AFC South vs. NFC East
• AFC West vs. NFC West

Flexible scheduling added to regular season

Further information: NFL on television § Flexible-scheduling

This was the first season that the NFL used a "flexible-scheduling" for the last few weeks of the season, allowing the league flexibility in selecting games to air on Sunday night, in order to feature the current hottest, streaking teams. This was implemented to prevent games featuring losing teams from airing during primetime late in the season, while at the same time allowing NBC to rake in more money off the higher ratings from surprise, playoff-potential teams that more fans would enjoy watching.

Under the flexible-scheduling system, all Sunday games in the affected weeks tentatively had the start times of 1:00 p.m. ET/10:00 a.m. PT, except those played in the Pacific or Mountain time zones, which will have a tentative start time of 4:05 p.m. ET/1:05 p.m. PT (or 4:15 p.m. ET/1:15 p.m. PT if it is on the doubleheader network). On the Tuesday 12 days before the games, the league moved one game to the Sunday Night Football slot, and possibly one or more 1 p.m. slotted games to the 4:05/4:15 p.m. slots. During the last week of the season, the league could reschedule games as late as six days before the contests so that all of the television networks will be able to broadcast a game that has playoff implications.

Week 10: The Chicago–New York Giants game was flexed into Sunday Night Football at 8:15 p.m. ET on NBC and the New Orleans–Pittsburgh game was flexed to 4:15 p.m. ET on Fox.

Week 11: The San Diego–Denver game was flexed into SNF and the Indianapolis–Dallas game was flexed to 4:15 p.m. ET on CBS.

Week 12:

• The Philadelphia–Indianapolis game was flexed into SNF.
• The Chicago–New England and New York Giants–Tennessee games were flexed to 4:15 p.m. ET on Fox.

Week 13:

• The Seattle–Denver game was flexed into SNF.
• The Jacksonville–Miami game was flexed to 4:05 p.m. ET on CBS.
• The Dallas–New York Giants and Tampa Bay–Pittsburgh games were flexed to 4:15 p.m. ET on Fox.

Week 14: The New Orleans–Dallas game was flexed into SNF and the Buffalo–New York Jets game was flexed to 4:15 p.m. ET on CBS.

Week 15: The Kansas City–San Diego game was flexed into SNF and the Philadelphia–New York Giants game was flexed to 4:15 p.m. ET on Fox.

Week 17:

• The Green Bay–Chicago game was flexed into NBC Sunday Night Football at 8:15 p.m. ET.
• The Buffalo–Baltimore and Miami–Indianapolis games were flexed to 4:15 p.m. ET on CBS
• The Atlanta–Philadelphia game was flexed to 4:15 p.m. ET on Fox.

Regular season standings

Division

AFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
(4) New England Patriots	12	4	0	.750	4–2	8–4	385	237	W3
(5) New York Jets	10	6	0	.625	4–2	7–5	316	295	W3
Buffalo Bills	7	9	0	.438	3–3	5–7	300	311	L2
Miami Dolphins	6	10	0	.375	1–5	3–9	260	283	L3

AFC North
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
(2) Baltimore Ravens	13	3	0	.813	5–1	10–2	353	201	W4
Cincinnati Bengals	8	8	0	.500	4–2	6–6	373	331	L3
Pittsburgh Steelers	8	8	0	.500	3–3	5–7	353	315	W1
Cleveland Browns	4	12	0	.250	0–6	3–9	238	356	L4

AFC South
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
(3) Indianapolis Colts	12	4	0	.750	3–3	9–3	427	360	W1
Tennessee Titans	8	8	0	.500	4–2	5–7	324	400	L1
Jacksonville Jaguars	8	8	0	.500	2–4	5–7	371	274	L3
Houston Texans	6	10	0	.375	3–3	6–6	267	366	W2

AFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
(1) San Diego Chargers	14	2	0	.875	5–1	10–2	492	303	W10
(6) Kansas City Chiefs	9	7	0	.563	4–2	5–7	331	315	W2
Denver Broncos	9	7	0	.563	3–3	8–4	319	305	L1
Oakland Raiders	2	14	0	.125	0–6	1–11	168	332	L9

NFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
(3) Philadelphia Eagles	10	6	0	.625	5–1	9–3	398	328	W5
(5) Dallas Cowboys	9	7	0	.563	2–4	6–6	425	350	L2
(6) New York Giants	8	8	0	.500	4–2	7–5	355	362	W1
Washington Redskins	5	11	0	.313	1–5	3–9	307	376	L2

NFC North
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
(1) Chicago Bears	13	3	0	.813	5–1	11–1	427	255	L1
Green Bay Packers	8	8	0	.500	5–1	7–5	301	366	W4
Minnesota Vikings	6	10	0	.375	2–4	6–6	282	387	L3
Detroit Lions	3	13	0	.188	0–6	2–10	305	398	W1

NFC South
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
(2) New Orleans Saints	10	6	0	.625	4–2	9–3	413	322	L1
Carolina Panthers	8	8	0	.500	5–1	6–6	270	305	W2
Atlanta Falcons	7	9	0	.438	3–3	5–7	292	328	L3
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	4	12	0	.250	0–6	2–10	211	353	L1

NFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
(4) Seattle Seahawks	9	7	0	.563	3–3	7–5	335	341	W1
St. Louis Rams	8	8	0	.500	2–4	6–6	367	381	W3
San Francisco 49ers	7	9	0	.438	3–3	5–7	298	412	W1
Arizona Cardinals	5	11	0	.313	4–2	5–7	314	389	L1

Conference

AFC
#	Team	Division	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	SOS	SOV	STK
Division leaders
1	San Diego Chargers	West	14	2	0	.875	5–1	10–2	.457	.424	W10
2	Baltimore Ravens	North	13	3	0	.813	5–1	10–2	.461	.447	W4
3	Indianapolis Colts	South	12	4	0	.750	3–3	9–3	.500	.505	W1
4	New England Patriots	East	12	4	0	.750	4–2	8–4	.496	.469	W3
Wild cards
5	New York Jets	East	10	6	0	.625	4–2	7–5	.469	.400	W3
6	Kansas City Chiefs	West	9	7	0	.563	4–2	5–7	.492	.444	W2
Did not qualify for the postseason
7	Denver Broncos	West	9	7	0	.563	3–3	8–4	.531	.438	L1
8	Cincinnati Bengals	North	8	8	0	.563	4–2	6–6	.535	.453	L3
9	Tennessee Titans	South	8	8	0	.500	4–2	5–7	.570	.484	L1
10	Jacksonville Jaguars	South	8	8	0	.500	2–4	5–7	.531	.555	L3
11	Pittsburgh Steelers	North	8	8	0	.500	3–3	5–7	.496	.414	W1
12	Buffalo Bills	East	7	9	0	.438	3–3	5–7	.574	.446	L2
13	Houston Texans	South	6	10	0	.375	3–3	6–6	.504	.417	W2
14	Miami Dolphins	East	6	10	0	.375	1–5	3–9	.543	.531	L3
15	Cleveland Browns	North	4	12	0	.250	0–6	3–9	.535	.438	L4
16	Oakland Raiders	West	2	14	0	.125	0–6	1–11	.555	.406	L9
Tiebreakers

NFC
#	Team	Division	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	SOS	SOV	STK
Division leaders
1	Chicago Bears	North	13	3	0	.813	5–1	11–1	.430	.404	L1
2	New Orleans Saints	South	10	6	0	.625	4–2	9–3	.461	.425	L1
3	Philadelphia Eagles	East	10	6	0	.625	5–1	9–3	.477	.450	W5
4	Seattle Seahawks	West	9	7	0	.563	3–3	7–5	.453	.382	W1
Wild cards
5	Dallas Cowboys	East	9	7	0	.563	2–4	6–6	.457	.438	L2
6	New York Giants	East	8	8	0	.500	4–2	7–5	.520	.422	W1
Did not qualify for the postseason
7	Green Bay Packers	North	8	8	0	.500	5–1	7–5	.500	.383	W4
8	Carolina Panthers	South	8	8	0	.500	5–1	6–6	.473	.469	W2
9	St. Louis Rams	West	8	8	0	.500	2–4	6–6	.465	.352	W3
10	San Francisco 49ers	West	7	9	0	.438	3–3	5–7	.500	.411	W1
11	Atlanta Falcons	South	7	9	0	.438	3–3	5–7	.457	.375	L3
12	Minnesota Vikings	North	6	10	0	.375	2–4	6–6	.488	.344	L3
13	Arizona Cardinals	West	5	11	0	.313	4–2	5–7	.500	.425	L1
14	Washington Redskins	East	5	11	0	.313	1–5	3–9	.512	.513	L2
15	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	South	4	12	0	.250	0–6	2–10	.535	.422	L1
16	Detroit Lions	North	3	13	0	.188	0–6	2–10	.523	.479	W1
Tiebreakers

Playoffs

Further information: 2006–07 NFL playoffs

Within each conference, the four division winners and the top two non-division winners with the best overall regular season records) qualified for the playoffs. The four division winners are seeded 1–4 based on their overall won-lost-tied record, and the wild card teams are seeded 5–6. The NFL does not use a fixed bracket playoff system, and there are no restrictions regarding teams from the same division matching up in any round. In the first round, dubbed the wild-card playoffs or wild-card weekend, the third-seeded division winner hosts the sixth-seed wild card, and the fourth seed hosts the fifth. The 1 and 2 seeds from each conference received a first-round bye. In the second round, the divisional playoffs, the number 1 seed hosts the worst-surviving seed from the first round (seed 4, 5, or 6), while the number 2 seed will play the other team (seed 3, 4, or 5). The two surviving teams from each conference's divisional playoff games met in the respective AFC and NFC Conference Championship games, hosted by the higher seed. Although the Super Bowl, the championship round of the playoffs, is played at a neutral site, the designated home team is based on an annual rotation by conference.

Playoff seeds
Seed	AFC	NFC
1	San Diego Chargers (West winner)	Chicago Bears (North winner)
2	Baltimore Ravens (North winner)	New Orleans Saints (South winner)
3	Indianapolis Colts (South winner)	Philadelphia Eagles (East winner)
4	New England Patriots (East winner)	Seattle Seahawks (West winner)
5	New York Jets (wild card)	Dallas Cowboys (wild card)
6	Kansas City Chiefs (wild card)	New York Giants (wild card)

Bracket

	Jan 7 – Gillette Stadium					Jan 14 – Qualcomm Stadium
	5	NY Jets	16
						4	New England	24
	4	New England	37								Jan 21 – RCA Dome
						1	San Diego	21
						AFC
	Jan 6 – RCA Dome										4	New England	34
						Jan 13 – M&T Bank Stadium
											3	Indianapolis	38
	6	Kansas City	8								AFC Championship
						3	Indianapolis	15
	3	Indianapolis	23													Feb 4 – Dolphin Stadium
						2	Baltimore	6
	Wild Card playoffs
						Divisional playoffs
	Jan 7 – Lincoln Financial Field															A3	Indianapolis	29
						Jan 13 – Louisiana Superdome
																N1	Chicago	17
	6	NY Giants	20													Super Bowl XLI
						3	Philadelphia	24
	3	Philadelphia	23								Jan 21 – Soldier Field
						2	New Orleans	27
						NFC
	Jan 6 – Qwest Field										2	New Orleans	14
						Jan 14 – Soldier Field
											1	Chicago	39
	5	Dallas	20								NFC Championship
						4	Seattle	24
	4	Seattle	21
						1	Chicago	27*

* Indicates OT victory

Pro Bowl

• 2007 Pro Bowl at Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii: AFC 31, NFC 28

Milestones

The following teams and players set all-time NFL records during the regular season:

Record	Player/team	Date/opponent	Previous record holder
Most points scored, career	Morten Andersen, Atlanta	December 16 vs. Dallas	Gary Anderson, 1982–2004 (2,434)
Most field goals, career	Morten Andersen, Atlanta	December 24 vs. Carolina	Gary Anderson, 1982–2004 (538)
Most passes completed, career	Brett Favre, Green Bay	December 17 vs. Detroit	Dan Marino, 1983–1999 (4,967)
Most touchdowns, season	LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego (31)	December 10 vs. Denver	Shaun Alexander, Seattle, 2005 (28)
Most rushing touchdowns, season	LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego (28)	December 10 vs. Denver	Shaun Alexander, 2005 Priest Holmes, 2003 (27)
Most points scored, season	LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego (186)	December 17 vs. Kansas City	Paul Hornung, 1960 (176)
Most rushing attempts, season	Larry Johnson, Kansas City (416)	December 31 vs. Jacksonville	Jamal Anderson, Atlanta, 1998 (410)
Most kick returns for a touchdown, season	Devin Hester, Chicago (5; 3 punts and 2 kickoffs)	December 11 at St. Louis	Tied by 9 players (4)

Regular season statistical leaders

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najeh Davenport against the Baltimore Ravens in week 12 of the 2006 season

Team

Points scored	San Diego Chargers (492)
Total yards gained	New Orleans Saints (6,264)
Yards rushing	Atlanta Falcons (2,939)
Yards passing	New Orleans Saints (4,503)
Fewest points allowed	Baltimore Ravens (201)
Fewest total yards allowed	Baltimore Ravens (4,225)
Fewest rushing yards allowed	Minnesota Vikings (985)
Fewest passing yards allowed	Oakland Raiders (2,413)

Individual

Scoring	LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego (186 points)
Touchdowns	LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego (31 TDs)
Most field goals made	Robbie Gould, Chicago and Jeff Wilkins, St. Louis (32 FGs)
Rushing	LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego (1,815 yards)
Passer rating	Peyton Manning, Indianapolis (101.0 rating)
Passing touchdowns	Peyton Manning, Indianapolis (31 TDs)
Passing yards	Drew Brees, New Orleans (4,418 yards)
Pass receptions	Andre Johnson, Houston (103 catches)
Pass receiving yards	Chad Johnson, Cincinnati (1,369 yards)
Punt returns	Adam "Pacman" Jones, Tennessee (12.9 average yards)
Kickoff returns	Justin Miller, New York Jets (28.3 average yards)
Interceptions	Asante Samuel, New England and Champ Bailey, Denver (10)
Punting	Mat McBriar, Dallas (48.2 average yards)
Sacks	Shawne Merriman, San Diego (17)

Awards

Most Valuable Player	LaDainian Tomlinson, running back, San Diego Chargers
Coach of the Year	Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints
Offensive Player of the Year	LaDainian Tomlinson, running back, San Diego Chargers
Defensive Player of the Year	Jason Taylor, defensive end, Miami Dolphins
Offensive Rookie of the Year	Vince Young, quarterback, Tennessee Titans
Defensive Rookie of the Year	DeMeco Ryans, linebacker, Houston Texans
NFL Comeback Player of the Year	Chad Pennington, quarterback, New York Jets
Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year	LaDainian Tomlinson, running back, San Diego Chargers and	Drew Brees, quarterback, New Orleans Saints
Super Bowl Most Valuable Player	Peyton Manning, quarterback, Indianapolis Colts

---

All-Pro Team

Offense
Quarterback	Drew Brees, New Orleans
Running back	LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Larry Johnson, Kansas City
Fullback	Lorenzo Neal, San Diego
Wide receiver	Marvin Harrison, Indianapolis Chad Johnson, Cincinnati
Tight end	Antonio Gates, San Diego
Offensive tackle	Willie Anderson, Cincinnati Jammal Brown, New Orleans
Offensive guard	Alan Faneca, Pittsburgh Shawn Andrews, Philadelphia
Center	Olin Kreutz, Chicago

Defense
Defensive end	Jason Taylor, Miami Julius Peppers, Carolina
Defensive tackle	Jamal Williams, San Diego Kevin Williams, Minnesota
Outside linebacker	Shawne Merriman, San Diego Adalius Thomas, Baltimore
Inside linebacker	Brian Urlacher, Chicago Zach Thomas, Miami
Cornerback	Champ Bailey, Denver Rashean Mathis, Jacksonville
Safety	Brian Dawkins, Philadelphia Ed Reed, Baltimore

Special teams
Kicker	Robbie Gould, Chicago
Punter	Brian Moorman, Buffalo
Kick returner	Devin Hester, Chicago

Team superlatives

Offense

• Most points scored: San Diego, 492
• Fewest points scored: Oakland, 168
• Most total offensive yards: New Orleans, 6,264
• Fewest total offensive yards: Oakland, 3,939
• Most total passing yards: New Orleans, 4,503
• Fewest total passing yards: Atlanta, 2,371
• Most rushing yards: Atlanta, 2,939
• Fewest rushing yards: Detroit, 1,129

Defense

• Fewest points allowed: Baltimore, 201
• Most points allowed: San Francisco, 412
• Fewest total yards allowed: Baltimore, 4,225
• Most total yards allowed: Tennessee, 5,915
• Fewest passing yards allowed: Oakland, 2,413
• Most passing yards allowed: Cincinnati / Minnesota (tie), 3,818
• Fewest rushing yards allowed: Minnesota, 985
• Most rushing yards allowed: Indianapolis, 2,768

Head coach/front office changes

Head coach

• Buffalo Bills – Dick Jauron replaced Mike Mularkey, who resigned after the 2005 season.
• Detroit Lions – Rod Marinelli replaced interim head coach Dick Jauron who replaced Steve Mariucci who was fired following Thanksgiving Day during the 2005 season.
• Green Bay Packers – Mike McCarthy replaced Mike Sherman, who was fired after the 2005 season.
• Houston Texans – Gary Kubiak replaced Dom Capers, who was fired after the 2005 season.
• Kansas City Chiefs – Herm Edwards replaced Dick Vermeil, who retired following the 2005 season. Edwards was acquired from the New York Jets for a fourth-round draft pick.
• Minnesota Vikings – Brad Childress replaced Mike Tice, who was fired after the 2005 season.
• New Orleans Saints – Sean Payton replaced Jim Haslett, who was fired after the 2005 season.
• New York Jets – Eric Mangini replaced Herm Edwards, who was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs for a fourth-round pick in the 2006 NFL draft.
• Oakland Raiders – Art Shell replaced Norv Turner, who was fired after the 2005 season.
• St. Louis Rams – Scott Linehan replaced interim head coach Joe Vitt who replaced Mike Martz who was not allowed to coach due to health problems during the 2005 season.

Front office

• Buffalo Bills – Marv Levy replaced Tom Donahoe, who was fired after the 2005 season.
• Houston Texans – Rick Smith replaced Charley Casserly, who left the organization following the 2006 NFL draft.
• Minnesota Vikings – Rick Spielman replaced Fran Foley, who had been hired as vice president of player personnel and de facto general manager on January 26, 2006. Foley was fired on May 3rd, 2006, just three months into his tenure and mere days following the 2006 NFL draft. Spielman was hired in the same role on May 30, 2006.
• New York Jets – Mike Tannenbaum replaced Terry Bradway, who resigned after the 2005 season.
• Philadelphia Eagles – Tom Heckert Jr. was promoted from vice president of pro personnel to general manager.
• St. Louis Rams – Jay Zygmunt replaced Charley Armey, who retired following the 2005 season.

Stadium changes

• Arizona Cardinals: The Cardinals moved from Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe to University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, with the University of Phoenix acquiring the naming rights
• Miami Dolphins: Dolphins Stadium was renamed to the singular Dolphin Stadium
• The New Orleans Saints returned to their home at the Louisiana Superdome in Week Three. Due to damage by Hurricane Katrina, the Saints' first 2005 home game against the New York Giants was moved to Giants Stadium. The Saints then played their remaining 2005 home schedule at Baton Rouge's Tiger Stadium for four games and at San Antonio's Alamodome for three games.
• Tennessee Titans: The Coliseum was renamed LP Field after the manufacturing company Louisiana-Pacific (LP) acquired the naming rights

Uniform changes

• The Minnesota Vikings added trim lines to the outside shoulders and sleeves, and the jersey sides and pants. The horn on the helmet was also modified to be slightly more defined. Purple pants were also worn at selected games.
• The New Orleans Saints began wearing black pants at selected games.

Ticket sellouts

Through week 11 of the season, all NFL games had been sold out, and for the 24th time, all blackout restrictions had been lifted. The streak was ended by the Jacksonville at Buffalo game in Week 12.

Television

CBS's The NFL Today, Super Bowl XLI

This was the first season that NBC held the rights to televise Sunday Night Football, becoming the beneficiaries by negotiating the new flexible-scheduling system (it also marked NBC's return to carrying NFL games for the first time since the end of the 1997 season). ESPN became the new home of Monday Night Football. Disney-owned corporate sibling ABC had lost millions of dollars on televising MNF during the late 1990s and 2000s despite generating high ratings, and with the NFL wanting Sunday night to be the new night for its marquee game, ABC preferred to protect its Desperate Housewives franchise rather than move the comedy-drama show to another night. By September 2006, ABC began using the ESPN on ABC brand after ABC Sports was fully integrated into ESPN (ABC would not air NFL games again, whether exclusive or a simulcast from ESPN, until they began simulcasting a Wild Card playoff game in 2016, and began simulcasting select MNF games in 2020). Meanwhile, CBS and Fox renewed their television contracts to the AFC and the NFC packages, respectively. ESPN's new deal was for eight seasons through 2013, while the new agreements with NBC, CBS, and Fox were initially for six seasons through 2011.

Initially, NBC was able to hire color commentator John Madden, MNF lead producer Fred Gaudelli, and MNF director Drew Esocoff from ABC. However, play-by-play announcer Al Michaels remained under contract with ABC/ESPN, and plans were originally for him to be teamed with Joe Theismann, who would be coming over from ESPN Sunday Night Football. In February 2006, the two networks' parent companies, The Walt Disney Company and NBCUniversal, agreed to a multi-asset trade that, among others, allowed Michaels to sign with NBC, while Disney took ownership of the intellectual property of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (a cartoon character developed by Walt Disney himself in the 1920s) from NBCUniversal. ESPN then opted to go with Mike Tirico on play-by-play, and Theismann and Tony Kornheiser as analysts.

For its new pregame show Football Night in America, NBC gained the exclusive rights from ESPN's NFL Primetime to show extensive highlights of Sunday afternoon games prior to Sunday Night Football. ESPN responded by moving its show to Mondays. Bob Costas became the host of Football Night in America, while Cris Collinsworth, Jerome Bettis, and Sterling Sharpe became its studio analysts.

The league-owned NFL Network was given an eight-game package, consisting of five Thursday Night Football games and three Saturday game that began airing from Thanksgiving to the end of the regular season. The NFL Network hired HBO Sports' Bryant Gumbel as play-by-play announcer, NBC's Collinsworth as the color commentator for the Thursday telecasts, and Dick Vermeil replacing Collinsworth for Saturday telecasts.

James Brown moved from Fox to CBS, replacing Greg Gumbel as host of The NFL Today. Gumbel then replaced Dick Enberg as the network's #2 play-by-play announcer, and Enberg was demoted to #3.

Fox announced that Joe Buck would replace Brown as lead host on Fox NFL Sunday. Because Buck was already serving as Fox's lead play-by-play announcer, the pregame show was primarily broadcast from the site where Buck was calling the game, and Curt Menefee hosted the halftime and postgame segments. Menefee substituted for Buck as the full-time host when Buck was calling the Major League Baseball playoffs.

Beginning this season and continuing until 2012; CBS would not use sideline reporters for regular season coverage.

External links

• Football Outsiders 2006 DVOA Rankings

References

• 2006 NFL Schedule (Last accessed April 6, 2006)
• NFL curtails end-zone celebrations from NFL.com, March 29, 2006 (Last accessed March 29, 2006)
• Process of game-time decisions will eliminate TV duds, create chaos by Michael Hiestand, USA Today, April 5, 2006 (Last accessed November 6, 2006)
• 2007 NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 978-1-933821-85-6)