When the Houston Oilers departed for the Music City in 1997, most thought the NFL would never return. However, Bob McNair a wealthy oilman wanted to bring the NFL back to Houston, and when his efforts to bring the NHL to Houston failed in 1997, he stepped up his efforts for bringing back pro-football.

McNair and his business partner Chuck Watson put together a plane with the officials from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (HLS&R) say they will push for the building of a retractable roof stadium that the Rodeo will share with an NFL team, as opposed to renovating the Astrodome. However, despite the organized efforts the NFL wanted to expand to Los Angeles.

However, the politicians in LA could not agree on what plan to go with, and the NFL who was so impressed with Houston's plan started to consider putting the 32nd team in Houston. In March of 1999 the NFL gave the city of LA a 6-month deadline to get their plans together.

When the Los Angeles officials failed to get an organized plan together, the NFL decided to award Bob McNair and Houston the 32nd team that would begin play in 2002.