After viewing about half of the episodes that have aired in the past year, a common storyline is turning around a horrible franchise by hiring a new coach or drafting a key player. It got me wondering what Super Bowl winning team had the worst record the prior year to being crowned the best in the league. I found that most teams had decent, if not great, records the year before winning the championship. However, there were a few out there with some pretty putrid records.
We begin with the 1980 San Francisco 49ers. The team that dominated the 80s with four Super Bowl championship seasons in that decade started off with a losing record. In 1980, the Joe Montana-led 49ers finished with a 6-10 record, equating to a .375 winning percentage. Despite a losing record for the year, the season resulted in Montana's first big comeback game (which was a record at the time) against the New Orleans Saints and winning the starting job as quarterback, receiver Dwight Clark stepping up as a go-to player and running back Earl Cooper.
It took nearly two decades for the St. Louis Rams to set the a new low season record for a team who would go on to win the Super Bowl the next year. In 1998, before being labeled the "Greatest Show on Turf," the Rams could only put up a 4-12 record, resulting in a .250 winning percentage. Following this dismal year, the Rams acquired quarterback Trent Green (who would end up sitting on the bench due to injury in 1999 allowing for Kurt Warner's rise to stardom) and running back Marshall Faulk.
Mentioning the New England Patriots in the new millenium and the majority of football fans can't avoid using the word dynasty. Yet, in 2000, Bill Belichick, in his first season as the Patriot's head coach, could only obtain a .313 winning percentage with a 5-11 record. Those in the know expected the same from the Patriots the next year as the team's quarterback coach died of cardiac arrest during training camp, offensive tackle Bruce Armstrong retired, receiver Terry Glenn held out for more money and was hit with a four-game drug suspension, and an injury sidelined Drew Bledsoe early in the season, resulting in a then-unknown Tom Brady stepping up as the leader behind center.
There were some other teams in history that had 8-8 records the season prior to winning the big game, but these three were the lowest of the low.
We begin with the 1980 San Francisco 49ers. The team that dominated the 80s with four Super Bowl championship seasons in that decade started off with a losing record. In 1980, the Joe Montana-led 49ers finished with a 6-10 record, equating to a .375 winning percentage. Despite a losing record for the year, the season resulted in Montana's first big comeback game (which was a record at the time) against the New Orleans Saints and winning the starting job as quarterback, receiver Dwight Clark stepping up as a go-to player and running back Earl Cooper.
It took nearly two decades for the St. Louis Rams to set the a new low season record for a team who would go on to win the Super Bowl the next year. In 1998, before being labeled the "Greatest Show on Turf," the Rams could only put up a 4-12 record, resulting in a .250 winning percentage. Following this dismal year, the Rams acquired quarterback Trent Green (who would end up sitting on the bench due to injury in 1999 allowing for Kurt Warner's rise to stardom) and running back Marshall Faulk.
Mentioning the New England Patriots in the new millenium and the majority of football fans can't avoid using the word dynasty. Yet, in 2000, Bill Belichick, in his first season as the Patriot's head coach, could only obtain a .313 winning percentage with a 5-11 record. Those in the know expected the same from the Patriots the next year as the team's quarterback coach died of cardiac arrest during training camp, offensive tackle Bruce Armstrong retired, receiver Terry Glenn held out for more money and was hit with a four-game drug suspension, and an injury sidelined Drew Bledsoe early in the season, resulting in a then-unknown Tom Brady stepping up as the leader behind center.
There were some other teams in history that had 8-8 records the season prior to winning the big game, but these three were the lowest of the low.
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