The 1976 Kansas City Chiefs season was the

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

's seventh season in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

, the fourteenth as the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

, and the seventeenth overall. It ended with a third consecutive 5–9 record and the Chiefs missed the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.

Buck Buchanan Junious "Buck" Buchanan (September 10, 1940 – July 16, 1992) was an American professional football player who was a defensive tackle with the Kansas City Chiefs in the American Football League (AFL) and in the National Football League (NFL). ...

announced his retirement in February, while

Len Dawson Leonard Ray Dawson (June 20, 1935 – August 24, 2022) was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Kansas City Chiefs franchise. Aft ...

announced his own departure on May 1. Off the field,

Jack Steadman Jack W. Steadman (September 14, 1928 – July 5, 2015) was an American football executive who served as chairman, vice president, president and general manager for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. Steadman retired as vice c ...

was promoted to team president and

Jim Schaaf Jim Schaaf is a former American football executive in the National Football League (NFL). He served as general manager for the Kansas City Chiefs from 1976 to 1988. Alongside his son, Schaaf now owns and operates Jim Schaaf & Associates (establishe ...

was named general manager in August. On the field, Kansas City's fortunes didn't improve in the second year of the Wiggin regime. The club dropped three straight home games, including an embarrassing 27–17 loss in Week 3 to the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

, the first win with the Saints for former Kansas City coach

Hank Stram Henry Louis Stram (; January 3, 1923 – July 4, 2005) was an American football coach. He is best known for his 15-year tenure with the Dallas Texans / Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (N ...

(who refused to shake hands with Wiggin following the game and rode off on the shoulders of his players as he did after the Chiefs' victory in

Super Bowl IV Super Bowl IV was an American football game played on January 11, 1970 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was the fourth and final AFL–NFL World Championship Game in professional football prior to the AFL–NFL merger taking eff ...

) before suffering a 50–17 setback at Buffalo on October 3, opening the season at 0–4 for the first time in team history. The team registered a 3–1 record during a successful midseason stretch, but like most preceding seasons, could not maintain that momentum. After lingering in Len Dawson's shadow for eight seasons,

Mike Livingston Michael Paul Livingston (born November 14, 1945) is a former American football player, a quarterback in the American Football League and National Football League for twelve seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs. Early years Born and raised in Dal ...

was firmly entrenched as the team's starting quarterback, becoming the first QB to start every regular season game since Dawson in

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

. Although Livingston played well and rallied the squad for wins in two of the season's final three games, the Chiefs still ended the year with their third consecutive 5–9 record. Running back

MacArthur Lane MacArthur Lane (March 16, 1942 – May 4, 2019) was an American professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons, from 1968 to 1978 for the St. Louis Cardinals, Green Bay Packers, and K ...

was the club's top offensive threat, becoming the only player at the time in franchise history to lead the league in receptions (66).

Offseason

NFL Draft

Roster

Schedule

Preseason

Regular season

Standings

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. San Diego Chargers

Week 2: vs. Oakland Raiders

Week 3: vs. New Orleans Saints

Week 4: at Buffalo Bills

Week 5: at Washington Redskins

Week 6: at Miami Dolphins

Week 7: vs. Denver Broncos

Week 8: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 9: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 10: at Oakland Raiders

Week 11: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Week 12: at San Diego Chargers

Week 13: at Denver Broncos

Week 14: vs. Cleveland Browns

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1976 Kansas City Chiefs Season

Kansas City Chiefs seasons

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...