When the National Football League returned to Houston for the 2002 season, five years after the Oilers moved to Tenneesee, the league made it clear the Oilers name was retired and no longer an option for the expansion team to revive. With that in mind owner Bob McNair announced three finalists for the new name - Texans, Apollos, and Stallions. Texans, chosen as a nod to the state Houston is in, was a name which had been used several times in football in recent years, for example the Dallas Texans had been both an American Football League team (now the KC Chiefs) and an Arena Football team.
