Tasker heard that "the visiting locker room was like a funeral home" after the game. Oiler Cris Dishman told an interviewer, "It was the biggest choke job in history ... I think we have to put another word in the English dictionary to describe this loss because "devastated" doesn't do it". Melanie Hauser of the "Houston Post" recalled Dishman "fighting back the tears and refusing to cry", and how "you felt the shock. You heard the anger. You watched some of the players vent; others bite back the tears". While Moon refused to say "choke", "more than a few players" said it; "One even spelled the word out". McDowell said "I apologize to the offense because we lost the damn game. They had them beat". The day after the game, the Oilers fired defensive coordinator Jim Eddy and defensive backs coach Pat Thomas; defensive back Sean Jones said, "To blow a 32-point lead, you need a lot of help". Eddy was replaced by Buddy Ryan.