(06-20-2022 06:39 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  If you look at the post- merger divisions, the Houston Oilers in the AFC Central is an odd fit. Putting the Baltimore Colts is the AFC East with teams they had Zero history with seems odd too.

What if instead they put Houston with the AFL brethren in the AFC West and slotted the Colts in the Central with the other two crossover teams and the young Bengals franchise?

AFC East: New England, Buffalo, NY Jets, Miami
AFC Central: Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati
AFC West: Houston, KC, Denver, Oakland, San Diego

NFC East: NY Giants, Philadelphia, Washington, Dallas, Atlanta
NFC Central: Detroit, Chicago, Green Bay, Minnesota
NFC West: St Louis, New Orleans, LA, SF

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Quote:When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks enter the league the AFC West is already at 5 so they end up in the NFC West instead. TB ends up in the AFC East with the instate Miami Dolphins

In the 90s, things get interesting for Jacksonville and Carolina. The league surely can’t put another FL team in the AFC so Jacksonville heads to the only open slot in the NFC—NFC Central. That lands Carolina in the AFC Central.

AFC East: New England, Buffalo, NY Jets, Miami, *Tampa Bay*
AFC Central: Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati, *Indianapolis*, *Carolina*
AFC West: *Houston*, KC, Denver, LA Raiders, San Diego

NFC East: NY Giants, Philadelphia, Washington, Dallas, *Atlanta *
NFC Central: Detroit, Chicago, GB, Minnesota, *Jacksonville*
NFC West:* Arizona*, New Orleans, LA Rams, SF, *Seattle*

The old Browns relocation to Baltimore and then the creation of the Houston Texans puts the 2002 edition of the league at:

AFC East: New England, Buffalo, NY Jets, Miami,
AFC North: Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati, *Indianapolis*,
AFC South: *Carolina*, *Tampa Bay*, *Tennessee*, *Baltimore*
AFC West: KC, Denver, Oakland, San Diego

NFC East: NY Giants, Philadelphia, Washington, Dallas
NFC North: Detroit, Chicago, GB, Minnesota
NFC South: *Jacksonville*, *Houston*, *Atlanta*, New Orleans
NFC West: LA Rams, SF, Seattle, *Arizona*

(07-13-2025 11:48 AM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  I think you could sell swapping the Baltimore Ravens and Miami Dolphins—by that point, the Fins would have a quarter century of history with the instate Buccaneers and preserving that rivalry might be more significant than their ties to the Patriots/Jets/Bills.

There’s no way the Cowboys agree to leave the NFC East. Jerry was way too influential to let that happen and he strongly valued those east coast ties.

(07-13-2025 11:53 AM)Nerdlinger Wrote:  

(07-13-2025 11:48 AM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  I think you could sell swapping the Baltimore Ravens and Miami Dolphins—by that point, the Fins would have a quarter century of history with the instate Buccaneers and preserving that rivalry might be more significant than their ties to the Patriots/Jets/Bills.

There’s no way the Cowboys agree to leave the NFC East. Jerry was way too influential to let that happen and he strongly valued those east coast ties.

See, in my timeline, Dallas was placed in the West when the leagues merged in 1970. Recall that in reality, the original alignment of the NFC was literally pulled out of a hat (or bowl), with only one of the five setups having Dallas in the East.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AFL%E2%80%93NFL_merger#The_merger_agreement

Note that the only multi-team groupings preserved in all five proposals were NYG/PHI/WAS, CHI/GB, and LA/SF. So it seems perfectly plausible that they could have decided on an alignment like the one I proposed here.

(07-13-2025 05:20 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  

(07-13-2025 11:53 AM)Nerdlinger Wrote:  

(07-13-2025 11:48 AM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  I think you could sell swapping the Baltimore Ravens and Miami Dolphins—by that point, the Fins would have a quarter century of history with the instate Buccaneers and preserving that rivalry might be more significant than their ties to the Patriots/Jets/Bills.

There’s no way the Cowboys agree to leave the NFC East. Jerry was way too influential to let that happen and he strongly valued those east coast ties.

See, in my timeline, Dallas was placed in the West when the leagues merged in 1970. Recall that in reality, the original alignment of the NFC was literally pulled out of a hat (or bowl), with only one of the five setups having Dallas in the East.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AFL%E2%80%93NFL_merger#The_merger_agreement

Note that the only multi-team groupings preserved in all five proposals were NYG/PHI/WAS, CHI/GB, and LA/SF. So it seems perfectly plausible that they could have decided on an alignment like the one I proposed here.

If the Cowboys have been in the NFC West since 1970, then moving them to the new NFC South in 2002 probably isn’t an obstacle then.

(07-14-2025 08:49 AM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  One thought—would the then ST LOUIS Rams rather go to the NFC South with their 30 yr old rivals Dallas and NO or stick with the NFC West with SF and Seattle? As an existing franchise, if they wanted to go to the South, I could see the expansion Houston Texans getting forced to go to the NFC West.

Geographically, St Louis and Houston would make sense in that South division