1969 Baltimore Colts season
The 1969 Baltimore Colts season was the 17th season for the team in the National Football League. The Colts finished the National Football League's 1969 season with a record of 8 wins, 5 losses and 1 tie. Led by seventh-year head coach Don Shula, Baltimore finished second in the Western Conference's Coastal division, well behind the Los Angeles Rams (11–3).
| 1969 Baltimore Colts season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Carroll Rosenbloom |
| General manager | Harry Hulmes |
| Head coach | Don Shula |
| Home field | Memorial Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 8–5–1 |
| Division place | 2nd Coastal |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Many attributed the disappointing season to the hangover of losing to the heavy-underdog New York Jets in Super Bowl III in January 1969. It is one of the first instances of a Super Bowl hangover – in which the team that played in a Super Bowl the previous season, underperforms the next season.
A disappointing 20–17 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in week 9 dropped the Colts to a 5–4 record and put the Colts four full games behind the unbeaten Los Angeles Rams in the division. After the defeat head coach Shula declared, "It looks like we are out of it. I'm disappointed that we went without giving them [the Rams] a battle for it."
Two months after the season, Shula departed in February 1970 for the Miami Dolphins.