The Titans Back to Looking Like the Tennessee Oilers

 By John Turney 

Tennessee Titans new uniforms

The Tennessee Titans rolled out their 2026 uniforms on March 12, and right off the bat, it's clear the franchise is leaning hard into its Houston Oilers heritage. The new set brings back that classic "Luv Ya Blue" vibe with a heavy dose of Titans Blue (that familiar Columbia/light blue) as the primary jersey color, red trim popping where it should, and a cleaner, more retro feel overall. The light blue is "Titans blue" not Columbia Blue. A distinction without a difference.

The home look features light blue jerseys that instantly recall the Oilers' powder-blue classics from the Earl Campbell days—simple, bold, and timeless. They've ditched much of the recent Nike-inspired navy-heavy schemes for this brighter palette, a direct nod to the AFL/NFL era in Houston without fully copying the old derrick logo or exact striping (though the shoulder/yoke elements and red accents clearly show the Oilers influence). 

 The jerseys feature a new, "guitar string" inspired stripe pattern on the sleeves, a "TN" monogram on the collar, and three navy blue stars on the uniform. In our view, the stripe is too thin, even though we get Nike's desire to "connect" with local culture in the explanations, the design still has to work. As a design element, to us, it does not work. It will look like a fat light blue stripe. The red stripe will not be noticeable. Oh well.

The white helmet with a white face mask is also a bit of a disappointment. Red would have been much better. Just not a fan of white lids and white makes. Contrast is king, makes uniforms pop.

Pants stay straightforward having the same stripe design as the sleeves on both the light blue and white models. Heck, we're just happy they have stripes. The socks look to be solid, sans any striping. Not our favorite but par for the course these days. 

It's not a straight throwback; it embraces the Oilers DNA while planting the flag firmly in Tennessee. No overdesigned gimmicks, no unnecessary swooshes cluttering things up—just solid, nostalgic football aesthetics.

Pros: The light blue revival looks sharp on the field, captures the retro vide without feeling forced and mostly does not smack too much of Nike. They are the ones who seemed to have wrecked so many uniforms in the decades. Overall,  a big step up from some of the more muddled recent Titans looks.

Cons:  A few minor tweaks—like perhaps bolder numbers or helmet logo placement—could push it higher. Also the thin red stripe on sleeve falls short.

Overall, solid work. Grading it out: B.