No matter what you think of the current Tennessee Titans uniforms, most people can probably agree they might benefit from a redesign.
Today, reader Sean “Superfly” Walsh will share his concepts for a Titans redesign. Enjoy!
Tennessee Titans Concept
by Sean Walsh
With a Titans make-over, I wanted to create a uniform that was simple and classic (or classical, with ancient Greek influences/elements), using Columbia blue as the primary color, and navy as the secondary, but when I was done, I was pretty underwhelmed with what I came up with, so I set it aside, and created a faux-back instead, using all my favorite elements from the Oilers’ uniform history, specifically, their initial 1960 font, the late 60s / early 70s silver helmet and pants, and the stripe pattern from the “Luv Ya Blue” era, for an old-school AFL look. I promoted the Titans’ secondary sword logo to the primary logo, replacing red with light blue, I’ve always thought it was the better logo.
Once done with the faux-back, I started fresh on the Titans main uniform, and went in a different direction. As I was re-reviewing ancient Greek images/art/AI-generated stuff, I started to focus on the laurel, often given to winners of athletic contests in Ancient Greece. I dropped the light blue and added old gold to the palette (inadvertently mimicking the old Titans of New York’s colors), and went all in on the gold leaf laurel motif. It’s probably not most people’s cup of tea, but I like it, both different and classic. All elements are interchangeable, but only mono-white is possible, no mono blue or gold.
Thanks, Sean!
So what do you think of Sean’s concepts?
Designers and concepters: If you have any concepts or proposed tweaks or redesigns, for any sport, I’d love to share them with the Uni Watch community. Please send me your concepts, with writeups/descriptions. E-mail me: Phil.Hecken@gmail.
Really like the fauxback concept. The silver and baby blue pair nicely, and feel more *uniform* than the current set that can’t decide if it’s navy or baby or grey.
I can’t say I’m a huge fan of the helmet symbol, but I can understand using the one you chose over their current logo. My only critique would be that this doesn’t feel quite like the Titans. But, that’s maybe not a bad thing! Nice job.
Good concepting, Sean.
I love the laurels and return to navy and gold…no, that doesn’t mean that Houston NFL can take over the Oilers color scheme.
Speaking of which-all the Titans need do is go back to being the Oilers…short of that, just promote the throwback to primary, add a white variant and slap the sword logo (which is based on the Derrick, right?) on the helmet. Fixed!
I really appreciate how you want the Titans to get a proper uniform and for you I know that means lots of other elements. It just seems that the reputation of Amy Adams is one which will not allow Houston to use those color combos and yet she’s probably never going to use them in their makeover set.
The faux back is a great idea, but it really needs some red. Otherwise, it reads heavily as “Detroit Lions.” Terrific work, Sean!
I agree on the red. It would really help this pop and set them apart from other blue and silver teams.
The first thing I saw here was a Lions uni. Some red might help, but it’s still too close.
I like the first concept quite a bit. Nicely done.
I don’t like the designs, but I would like Nashville to follow Pittsburgh in uniform colors. The Titans should take over navy/yellow(gold) that the Predators and Nashville SC use. It would allow for a better looking uniform.
Since they moved to Tennessee they kinda owned the navy/columbia blue yoke look, and it kinda worked. They are just doing too much with the grey sword shoulder look. They should definitely have an oiler’s throwback look, but IMO all they need to fix their current uniform is get rid of the two tone shoulder sword and get rid of the different color armpit situation. If they want to rework the logo I wouldn’t be mad about that either.
I always thought their previous uniforms were pretty good. Only thing I would suggest, would be to add some more red. Maybe the pants striping and go with a red/navy/red helmet stripe. Red accents around the numbers?????
The laurel concept offers a ton of potential.
Handsome design. If you tuned in to a game with no chyron, you’d immediately know who they were. (High praise.)
-C.
I think the silver is overstated in their newer duds. Many other blue teams already swim in that pond. The Titans are an easy fix. As long as they go classic and not attempt Falcons type silliness again. Oilers standards with a navy helmet. A little more red than what they use currently and they are gold. Since The Texans are now essentially black/navy I dont think they can get too close to their vibe even w more red.
The second concept looks really good, perhaps too good for the NFL
The second concept is great, would love to see them go with that, and leave Columbia blue and references to Blanda and other guys that never played in Nashville in Houston where they belong.
The current logo design is the biggest issue. The flames look like something I drew above the Stussy symbol on my math binder in 6th grade! Love the sword logo you used, but would have angled it, similar to Florida State
I like the second one a little more and the wreath would be interesting to see on the field. Great idea and good execution!
In a vacuum, the redesign is solid, but I don’t think the color choice works in a city that also has Vanderbilt University, which rocks a very similar-looking black and gold.
Needs some red I think. Looks too similar to the Lions right now
I think if you are keeping the Tennessee flag motif in the logo, you have to keep the red accents.
I think if they tried to use “titans” and the blue/gold, the jest will file for trademark infringement. They have not long ago done New York Titans throwbacks, which are Navy and Gold. If you dont like Houston cant use the Oilers, you cant then have the titans steal from another team.
Cassie, I was initially confused by your “jest” — my first thought was is that a jab at Goodell & Co.? — but I soon realized you meant the Jets. That said, the Jets brass had no objections of letting the Titans use their former name starting in 1999. The Jets had an alternate white NY Titans jersey in 2009 in honoring the AFL’s 50th season, but would Sean’s gold laurel with navy combination really be of issue to the Jets? I would hope not, but this is all in fun anyway.
The NY Jets’ and the NFL’s trademark claim in “New York Titans” has been abandoned.
Maybe the NFL’s informal, internal rules wouldn’t allow it, but it’s just an unused (for over 60 years) color scheme at this point, and they already allow the name’s use, so don’t think it would be an issue if Tennessee wanted to use the colors, which are a unique scheme in the NFL as of today.
I love that laurel concept. I especially like it around the TV numbers. Maybe a hybrid of both concepts with the sword T on the helmet.
I think the best navy/sky blue uniforms I’ve seen are various Toronto Argonauts uniforms over the years.
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Nice job. The first ones look like the Lions, and the second looks like the Saints. Or I should say, how the Lions and Saints should look.
Yeah, both teams have practically abandoned their best looks, each having one of the better color schemes in the league, to go mono-color and mono-white more often than not.
Use it or lose it, right?
Since I live in Mountain time, I am usually behind others in making comments. It can be an advantage, though, since I get to read a great variety of posts. That is especially true with today’s reviews.
Great work, Sean! Love the laurel wreath concept, especially on a navy helmet. What an alternate uni that would make, although I know that the Titans love trolling the Oilers alternates, especially against the Texans.
And I agree on moving the alternate logo to the helmet, and with others who say to return the red accents and maybe angle it, a la the WLAF Scottish Claymores.
For their own sakes, hoping that the Titans brass is going for a better look when they open their new stadium later in the decade.
I think you are onto something. The flaming thumbtack needed to go away a decade ago. Love the baby blue, but I’m not sure about that particular shade of gray. It might be nice to use at least a little bit of red, since they’re apparently keeping the Oilers’ history forever. This is a great first draft, but I don’t think it’s quite a finished product. They’re not my team, but I do like Tennessee, and especially miss those beautiful Oilers uniforms of the eighties and nineties. I’d love to see it developed further and any other redesign proposals from you. You’re very talented.
Wasn’t black and gold the color scheme of the original New York Titans?
It was navy, not black. A dark navy, for sure, but not black.
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I feel like a uniform reboot is coming. They’ve been wearing way more of the light blue elements than they have in the past.
I love the wreath design. I dislike logos with the first and last letters larger than the rest – that looks so high school-ish.
Navy and gold look is clean, really like the helmets, well done!
Love the TV numbers on the second concept, but the overall “look” is way too close to the Saints.
I know folks are down on white helmets since so many teams have added them, but c’mon: the Titans [literally] OWN White/Columbia/White/Columbia with red stripes and outlined numbers. I’d go with Columbia helmets on the road and match the pants, and leave Two-Tone Blue to the Argonauts and Silver & Blue to the Lions.
But I love the bevelled numbers on the Mt. Olympus uniforms.
For a re-design, since they won’t let the Texans have the Oilers brand back, I’d just go with that uniform, just change the helmet to the T shaped sword and TN flag logo. The jersey and pants are generic enough so they’d work with that helmet.
I like the idea of the laurels, but I don’t think it works on a football uniform. The design is good as well, but it just doesn’t say Titans to me. I’ve started to prefer the sword logo a lot more in the last 5-10 years over the current fireball logo and think the sword should be the primary and helmet logo. It’s symmetrical and far easier to center on merchandise as well than trying to decide if the circle of the fireball is the center or the edge of it is. But as far as the throwback uniform goes, I like it, but it should have just a little bit of red trim somewhere. Probably on the jersey and pant stripes.
Agree about the concept of the second uniform. It feels better suited for something like the Ottawa Senators than the Titans. Granted I don’t actually know what the Titans were like but still.
Also, I’m not the biggest fan of this redesigned Titans uniform being a giant throwback to the Oilers. I know it’s part of their history, but it feels less like it’s trying to be a good Titans uniform and more like it’s wearing the skin of the Oilers as a coat.
Agree about the concept of the second uniform. It feels better suited for something like the Ottawa Senators than the Titans. Granted I don’t actually know what the Titans were like but still.
Also, I’m not the biggest fan of this redesigned Titans uniform being a giant throwback to the Oilers. I know it’s part of their history, but it feels less like it’s trying to be a good Titans uniform and more like it’s wearing the skin of the Oilers as a coat.
The sword logo with the navy and gold could really work for me.
Like the T logo better than their main. Needs some red. Not a fan of the laurel or the navy and gold, sorry. They’re not the Roman emporers.
They just need to go back to their original uniforms with the white helmets…the ones from their Super Bowl run. Those were beautiful. There was no need for a uniform change.
A couple of responses to a few common themes in the comments:
First, including red trim on the Faux-back would have simply created an Oilers throwback, instead of a Titans “faux-back.” The point was to create a uniform as if the Titans had been the original AFL team, not the Oilers.
Second, as to the Saints and Lions comparisons, at this point, the Saints are essentially a mono-black and mono-white team, with some Vegas Gold trim, I don’t see how midnight blue and old gold are too close to their look, and the Lions aren’t too far behind, wearing more and more mono-unis, which is unfortunate as well. The Saints and Lions have two of the best color combos/looks in the league, but refuse to wear them, I’d say to them, use it or lose it.
I love the designs and understand your take about these designs being distinct because of
their Jersey pant combos and being a non mono look…
Unfortunately the reality would be if the team scooped up one of your designs today they would mono it to Hell next year….
Woof. Stick with the currents.
It’s a good concept, but it’s too close to the Lions’ unis for me.
Very soon we should have computers, (yeah AI,) that can allow us to customize NFL games for uniforms…
and even announcers…