What NFL Teams Are in Florida?
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It’s no secret that the Sunshine State is a hotbed for NFL talent. Find out which NFL teams call Florida home.
The Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team plays its home games at Hard Rock Stadium in the northern suburb of Miami Gardens, and its headquarters in Davie, Florida.
Team History
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The Dolphins play their home games at Hard Rock Stadium in the northern suburb of Miami Gardens, Florida. The Dolphins are headquartered in Davie, Florida. Founded by Joseph Robbie and actor Dick Powell, they began play in the AFL in 1966.
Team Record
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The Dolphins play their home games at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. The Dolphins are the oldest professional sports team in Florida.
The team joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1965, and played their inaugural season in 1966. The Dolphins completed the only perfect season (17–0) in NFL history by defeating the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII, and won a second Super Bowl victory over the Minnesota Vikings six years later. After experiencing periods of mediocrity they made two Super Bowl appearances during the 1970s, losing to the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl VI and defeating the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl VIII. During that decade, they also appeared on Monday Night Football eight times, tied with their AFC rivals New England Patriots for appearing on MNF more than any other team during that timespan (1970s-1989).
The 1984 Dolphins finished with a 12-4 record and won their second Super Bowl championship by defeating ithe San Francisco 49ers 38-16 in Super Bowl XIX. That same year, Don Shula was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as head coach of that year’s champion Miami Dolphins squad; he is still considered today to be one of best coaches ever to grace an NFL sidelines. Following his induction into Canton, Shula retired from coaching altogether following that season’s completion; his assistant Dave Wannstedt was promoted to head coach for next season.
Notable Players
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The Dolphins play their home games at Hard Rock Stadium in the northern suburb of Miami Gardens and are headquartered in Davie, Florida.
The Dolphins were founded by attorney-politician Joe Robbie and actor-comedian Danny Thomas. They began play in the AFL in 1966. The region had not had a professional football team since the days of the Miami Seahawks, who played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in 1946 before becoming the first incarnation of the Baltimore Colts. For their first four seasons, the Dolphins’ full-time training camp and practice facilities were at Saint Thomas University inMiami Gardens, Florida. In 1970 the dolphins moved to Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College (Now Northeastern State University) in Miami, Oklahoma, where they held training camp for two years. Following the 1972 season, a dispute over stadium funding resulted in Robbie relocating the team to Miami.[1][2]
In 2007, long-time Dolphins linebacker Zach Thomas was selected for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.[3][4] This made him onlythe second Dolphin honored by that organization; wide receiverPaul Warfieldhad been inducted ten years earlier.[5][6] In 2008, defensive end Jason Taylor was awardedthe Defensive Player of the Year Award.[7]
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are an American professional football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The team plays its home games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. Founded in 1976 as an expansion team, the Bucs joined the NFL as part of the 1976–77 merger of the rival American Football League (AFL) and NFL.
Team History
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers began play in the National Football League (NFL) in 1976 as an expansion team. The Buccaneers played their first season in the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. They won their first game against the Houston Oilers, but finished the season with a dismal record of 0–14. The following year, they switched to the NFC Central division, where they spent the next 15 seasons. During that time, they made it to the playoffs four times: in 1979, 1981, 1982, and 1997. They had a breakout season in 1979 when they won 10 games and made it to the NFC Championship game; however, they lost to the Los Angeles Rams 9-0. In 1981 and 1982, they again made it to the NFC Championship game, but lost both times: first to Dallas 27-26 on a last-second field goal by then-rookie Efren Herrera, and then to San Francisco 28-27 on another last-second field goal by Ray Wersching. In 1997, they finally broke through and made it to Super Bowl XXXVII after winning 12 games. They defeated the Oakland Raiders 48–21 for their first and only Super Bowl victory to date.
Team Record
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had arough few years, posting a record of 9-7 in both the 2010 and 2011 seasons. In 2012, the team went 7-9. These mediocre records were good enough for the Buccaneers to finish second in the NFC South behind the New Orleans Saints in 2010 and 2011, but third behind the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints in 2012.
Notable Players
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The club joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team, along with the Seattle Seahawks.
The Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football franchise based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. They play their home games at TIAA Bank Field.
Team History
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional football franchise based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team plays its home games at TIAA Bank Field.
The Jaguars and the Carolina Panthers joined the NFL as expansion teams for the 1995 season. Since their inception, the Jaguars have won division championships in 1998 and 1999 (as members of the now-defunct AFC Central) and 2017 (as members of the AFC South). The team has also qualified for the playoffs seven times, most recently in 2019. The Jaguars have won four NFL West/AFC Central championships and one AFC South championship. They have also never lost a home playoff game.
Team Record
The Jaguars have had a checkered history since their establishment in 1995. They have had only two winning seasons and made the playoffs just twice. In recent years, they have been hampered by personnel turnover and infighting between the front office and coaching staff. The team’s fortunes seem to be on the upswing, however, as they have made some shrewd moves in free agency and the draft in recent years. They are currently in rebuilding mode and erasing the record of futility that has plagued them for much of their existence will take some time.
Notable Players
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football franchise based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team plays its home games at TIAA Bank Field.
