1996 Miami Dolphins season

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The 1996 season was the Miami Dolphins' 31st season in the National Football League (NFL), their 27th overall, their seventh under general manager Eddie Jones and their first under head coach Jimmy Johnson. The Dolphins failed to improve upon their previous season's output of 9–7, winning only eight games.^[1] The team failed to qualify for the postseason.

This was the Dolphins' first season since 1969 without long-time head coach Don Shula, as he retired from coaching during the offseason despite having a year left in his contract. Shula retired as the winningest coach in NFL history, with 347 career wins in his 32-year head coaching career, and as the only coach (as of 2021) to have led his team to a perfect season since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.

The Dolphins home field, previously known as Joe Robbie Stadium, was renamed on August 26 to Pro Player Park after naming rights were sold to Pro Player, an apparel brand by Fruit of the Loom.

However, in a rare move, the stadium was renamed again following the Dolphins’ opening contest at Pro Player Park. On September 10 before the Dolphins returned home in week 3, the stadium was renamed Pro Player Stadium, a name which would remain through the 2004 season.

This marked the last time until the 2019 Season, that the Dolphins failed to have a pro bowler.