New York Jets - Franchise History

Franchise History

The first organizational meeting of the American Football League took place on August 14, 1959. Harry Wismer, representing the city of New York at the meeting, proclaimed the state was ready for another professional football team and that he was more than capable of running the daily operations. Wismer was granted the charter franchise later dubbed the Titans of New York as Wismer explained, "Titans are bigger and stronger than Giants." He secured the Titans' home field at the decrepit Polo Grounds, where the team struggled financially and on the field during its first three years. By 1962, the debt continued to mount for Wismer, forcing the AFL to assume the costs of the team until season's end.

A five-man syndicate, headed by Sonny Werblin, saved the team from certain bankruptcy, purchasing the lowly Titans for one million dollars. Renamed the Jets, the new owners hired Weeb Ewbank as the general manager and head coach. Ewbank and quarterback Joe Namath led the Jets to prominence in 1969 when New York defeated the heavily-favored Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III and solidified the AFL's position in the world of professional football.

When the AFL and NFL merged, the team fell into a state of mediocrity along with their star quarterback, Namath, who only had three successful post-merger seasons after injuries hampered much of his career. The Jets continued to spiral downward before enjoying a string of successes in the 1980s which, included an appearance in the 1982 AFC Championship Game.

The early 1990s saw New York struggling. After firing coach Bruce Coslet, owner Leon Hess hired Pete Carroll who struggled to a 6–10 record and was promptly fired at the end of the season. Thereafter, Rich Kotite was selected to lead the team to victory; instead he led the Jets to the NFL's worst record for two consecutive years. Kotite stepped down at the end of his second season forcing the Jets to search for a new head coach.

Hess lured then-disgruntled New England Patriots head coach Bill Parcells to New York in 1997. Parcells led the team back to relevance and coached them to the AFC Championship Game in 1998. Hess died in 1999 while the team, plagued by injuries, produced an eight win record, falling short of a playoff berth. At the end of the season, Parcells stepped down as head coach deferring control to his assistant, Bill Belichick; Belichick immediately resigned and went on to accept the head coaching position with the Patriots.

The franchise obtained a new owner in Woody Johnson in 2000. Additionally, through the 2000s the Jets visited the playoffs five times, a franchise record, under the direction of three different coaches. The Jets's current head coach, Rex Ryan, was hired in January 2009. Ryan led the team to back-to-back AFC Championship appearances during his first two years.