Here is my attempt at Part 2. I am going to try to be more detailed with each year with draft picks and coaches and things like that.
1966 Season:
The four new expansion teams in Miami, Minnesota, Atlanta, and Boston begin play. The Dolphins play in the Orange Bowl, the Vikings play in Metropolitan Stadium, the Pats play in Fenway Park, and the Falcons play in the new Fulton-County Stadium.
Also, there are now going to be four teams in the postseason instead of two. The two division winners of each conference will play in the conference title game, and the winners meet for the NFL title
Here is the new re-alignment (with home stadiums in parentheses)
American Conference:
East: Browns(Municipal Stadium), Steelers(Pitt Stadium), Eagles(Franklin Field), *Patriots, *Dolphins(I just mentioned)
West: Colts(Memorial Stadium), Oilers(Rice Stadium), 49ers(Kezar Stadium), Redskins(RFK Stadium)
National Conference:
East: Giants(Shea Stadium), *Falcons, Texans(Cotton Bowl), Gunners(New Busch Stadium)
West: Bears(Wrigley Field), Lions(Tiger Stadium), Packers(Lambeau), *Vikings(Metropolitan Stadium), Rams(L.A. Coliseum)
Important Coaching Hires:
Tom Landry, who was Lombardi's Defensive Coordinator with Green Bay from 1959-65, takes over as Coach for Allie Sherman with the Giants, who have struggled with age and retirement since their 1963 World Championship, with a 2-10-2 record in 64 and a 5-9 season in 65.
Al Davis, a USC Assistant since 1957, leaves to take an assistant job with the 49ers under Jack Christiansen out of frustration since he knows that John McKay is entrenched as the USC Coach for a long time.
Chuck Noll, who was an assistant in Cleveland since he retired from playing in 1960 under Paul Brown and Blanton Collier, takes the Defensive Coordinator position in Baltimore under Don Shula.
George Allen takes over the Ram HC job after a feud with the Bears. George Halas won a feud with Allen over the validity of his contract, but let him leave anyway after just wanting to teach him a lesson.
NFL Draft: Tommy Nobis goes first to Atlanta, Miami, picking second, takes Tom Mack, Boston takes FB Jim Grabowski, and Minnesota, under new GM Joe Thomas, trades his 66 #1 and #2 for Fran Tarkenton, a promising scrambling QB that is struggling on the bench in Detroit playing behind Tobin Rote. The Lion coach doesn't like his style, but Thomas likes him as his QB. The Lions use those picks to take G John Niland in round 1 and QB Rick Norton in round 2 to groom behind Rote. The World Champion Packers have two first round picks, and select T Gale Gillingham and DE Gary Pettigrew. They also trade a young QB named Daryle LaMonica to the Browns for a later round draft choice.
The NFL signs a new 4-year TV contract with CBS that lasts until the end of the 1969 season. In that contract, Rozelle, who is exploring the possibility of prime-time football, includes two Monday Night games per year, one Saturday Night game, and one Thursday Night Game.
NFL Season:
AFC: The Browns withstand a challenge by the Eagles in the East, and the Colts take the West by 3 games over an upstart Oiler team and the 49ers.
NFC: In the East, Landry and Namath struggle with a young Giant team and finish 3-11 while the upstart Gunners, with WR Lance Alworth and QB Roman Gabriel, products of their first draft class, give the Texans all they can handle before finishing a game behind the Stram and Dawson-led Texans, who added Mike Garrett in the draft. In the West, the Packers win another title by several games over the second place Bears.
AFC Championship: Colts 21, Browns 17
NFC Championship: Packers 31, Texans 24
NFL Championship: Packers 24, Colts 21
1967: New stadiums are the talk of the league:
Dallas: Lamar Hunt, seeking for a new stadium for his Texans, announces that a new stadium will open in suburban Arlington by 1970. It will be called Texans Stadium.
Pittsburgh: The Rooneys announce that a new stadium, called Three Rivers Stadium, will open in 1970.
Boston: Seeing Fenway Park as a temporary site, Owner Billy Sullivan finds a site outside Boston to build a new stadium near Brookline, Mass. It will be called Sullivan Stadium, and will open by the 1970 season.
Philadelphia: Veterans Stadium will open by 1971.
Also, the Oilers move into the Astrodome with the Baseball Astros after working out the lease problems they had when they were granted the expansion team in 1962.
NFL Draft: The Vikings pick #1 overall, and select Bubba Smith. Miami takes Steve Spurrier at #2, the Pats take Bob Griese #3, and the Falcons select Syracuse RB Floyd Little #4. In other notable picks, The World Champion Packers select WR Dave Williams of Washington, the Texans select Alan Page of Notre Dame, and the Giants take LB George Webster of Mich. St.
Coaching:
Bud Grant is hired by the Vikings at the request of GM Joe Thomas.
Season:
AFC: The Browns, behind the leadership of newly-anointed Daryle LaMonica, win a weak AFC East, and the Colts take a lackluster AFC West. The Colts beat Cleveland, 38-14 for the AFC Championship.
NFC: In the East, the Giants improve to 9-5, but can't overcome the Texans. In the West, the Packers, fighting age, can't hold off a young Ram team led by George Allen, Craig Morton, and Deacon Jones.
The Texans beat the Rams for the NFC Championship and the Colts for the World Championship.
1968: Several new players enter the league from the CFL. These players, playing at the small black colleges, were not given a chance by NFL teams before, but were catching scouts' eyes by their play in the CFL. Players like WR Otis Taylor, who signed with the Oilers, DT Buck Buchanan, who signed with the Rams, and G Gene Upshaw, a second-year player who left his CFL team to sign with the 49ers, would help the NFL take a second look at the small black colleges.
NFL Draft: The Vikings get the #1 overall pick for the second straight year, and select OT Ron Yary. The Falcons have the #2 pick, and select DE Claude Humphrey. New England selects Larry Csonka #3, and Miami gets a weapon for Spurrier by selecting WR Haven Moses first overall. Other notable first-round picks include QB Greg Landry by Detroit, DE Marvin Upshaw by the Texans, and OL John Williams by the Colts.
More expansion is announced for 1970. It will be a 2-team expansion, making the league a 20-team league by 1970. After looking at a long list of expansion candidates like Denver, New Orleans, Seattle, Buffalo, a second team for New York and LA markets, San Diego, Phoenix, Kansas City, and a Cincinnati entry by Paul Brown, the league decides on:
Seattle: They were just awarded the Sonics and Pilots. They are planning on building a new dome in the next few years. The team's name will be the Kings(Seattle is in King County). They will have Silver helmets. The logo will be an S with a King's crown around the middle. They will have purple jerseys and white pants at home, and white jerseys and silver pants for the road. The third color will be yellow.
Cincinnati: The NFL picks them because of Paul Brown's influence, and the fact that their stadium situation is better than any of the other candidates with the new Riverfront Stadium opening in time for the team's debut. They will be called the Bengals. The unis will be like in OTL. Paul Brown sells his share in the Browns to make it possible.
Realignment will come with this expansion, but the NFL hasn't figured out the exact details.
Coaching: Al Davis is named the new coach of the 49ers after the firing of Jack Christiansen.
Vince Lombardi resigns as the head coach of the Packers. Phil Bengtson takes his place.
Season:
AFC: The Browns, led by Leroy Kelly, Paul Warfield, and Daryle LaMonica, take the weak East, but the Patriots, led by QB Bob Griese and rookie Larry Csonka, start to mount a challenge. In the West, The Colts, Oilers, and 49ers get into a tough three-team race, but, in the end, the experienced Colts pull it out. The Browns, though, beat the Colts, and go to the NFL Championship game.
NFC: In the East, the Giants, champion Texans, and Gunners have a spirited three-team battle. In the end, though, the Texans pull it out. In the West, the Rams hold off the up-and-coming Vikings and Bears, but the Texans go on to the Championship game, where they beat Cleveland, 24-17.
1969:
Coaching: Chuck Noll is hired by the Steelers after Penn St. coach Joe Paterno turns them down.
49er Head Coach Al Davis brings a new assistant on his staff. His name: John Madden.
NFL Draft: The Eagles take the #1 pick, and select O.J. Simpson. The Steelers, picking second, select Mean Joe Greene. The Falcons, picking third, select QB Greg Cook from Cincinnati. Miami, picking fourth, picks RB Leroy Keyes of Purdue. Other notable selections: The Champion Texans select RB Ron Johnson, the Giants take DE Fred Dryer, the Browns would take Roger Wehrli, and the Niners would take Gene Washington.
NFL Season: Players wear NFL 50 patches on their sleeves to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the NFL.
AFC: In the East, The Lamonica-Warfield led Browns and Patriots, with Griese, Csonka, and Rookies Ted Kwalick and LB Bill Bergey, battled until the end, and the Pats won their first division title. In the West, the 49ers, under coach Al Davis and led by QB John Brodie and rookies WR Gene Washington and RB Calvin Hill, take the division over an aging Colt team that had several injuries, including missing Johnny Unitas for the last six games of the season.
NFC: In the East, the Giants, led by rookies Fred Dryer and Ted Hendricks on defense and Namath on offense, win their first division title in six years over an injury-riddled Texan team and a young Falcon team, led by Greg Cook, Jim Mitchell, Floyd Little, and Harmon Wages. In the West, the Rams are able to hold off the Vikings, but the Giants beat the Rams for the NFC Title and the Niners for the NFL Championship.
Next: Part III: 1970 and a 20-team league