5 NFL teams that need to change their logos

5. Tennessee Titans

It’s not entirely the Titans‘ fault that their logo sucks. Younger football fans may not know just how much history this team actually has outside of Music City, but those born before 1990 will remember the Titans better as the Houston Oilers, an AFL charter franchise that is every bit as old and storied as classic franchises like the Chiefs, Raiders, Jets, and Bills.

In 1997, the late Bud Adams moved his team from Texas to Tennessee, and two years later the team was rechristened as the Tennessee Titans. Adams wanted a name that connoted power, strength, and heroism, and the word “Titans” certainly satisfies all those requirements, despite its relative lack of significance to the city of Nashville or the history of Tennessee and its residents.

Even looking past the randomness of choosing a deity figure from ancient Greek mythology to represent an American football team based in the South, what exactly is going on with that logo?

The three stars in a circle are a not-so-subtle nod to the state flag, and the ‘T’ very obviously stands for both Tennessee and for Titans. The way the letter is styled suggests it could be a sword of sorts, but those familiar with Greek mythology could probably point out that few, if any, titans ever had the need to wield a blade or any kind of man-made weapon. They were, after all, titans — gigantic monstrous gods that had to be slain with thunderbolts or imprisoned beneath the earth because they were just that dangerous on their own.

All this aside, why does the circle have flames coming off of it? What does that have to do with titans, Tennessee, or football whatsoever? It can get a little toasty in Nashville sometimes, sure, but beyond that, this whole logo design makes little sense at all, and really nothing about it screams either short-term marketability or long-term viability for a franchise still trying to find sustained success.

Next: 4. Washington Redskins