In this series, I will be looking at the history of coaches, quarterbacks, rushers, and receivers for all 32 franchises. For coaches and quarterbacks, I will be looking at how much their franchise’s career records (regular season only) would change if we removed the games with that person. For rushers and receivers, I will note how many times that player was the team’s leading rusher/receiver over the course of their time with that franchise (regular plus postseason).
Previous Teams:
The Jets have not had a storied history when it comes to head coaches. If Adam Gase wins his first game, he will be just the third head coach in Jets history with more wins than losses. Bill Parcells has the best winning percentage in franchise history, and Weeb Ewbank — who led the team to its only Super Bowl — is probably the best head coach in its history. But other than those two Hall of Famers, the pickings are slim in Jets history… and even Ewbank had a losing record! Meanwhile, Rich Kotite appropriately stands out as the worst coach in franchise history. But #2 is Todd Bowles, who went 24-40 with New York over the last four years.
Ovr Rk | Coach | G | W | L | T | HC Win % | FrG | FrW | FL | FrT | Fr W% | Win% w/o HC | Diff |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
68 | Bill Parcells | 48 | 29 | 19 | 0 | 0.604 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.45 | 0.441 | 0.9% |
86 | Weeb Ewbank | 154 | 71 | 77 | 6 | 0.481 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.45 | 0.444 | 0.6% |
99 | Joe Walton | 111 | 53 | 57 | 1 | 0.482 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.45 | 0.446 | 0.4% |
112 | Herm Edwards | 80 | 39 | 41 | 0 | 0.488 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.45 | 0.446 | 0.4% |
115 | Rex Ryan | 96 | 46 | 50 | 0 | 0.479 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.45 | 0.447 | 0.3% |
135 | Al Groh | 16 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 0.563 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.45 | 0.448 | 0.2% |
141 | Eric Mangini | 48 | 23 | 25 | 0 | 0.479 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.45 | 0.448 | 0.2% |
142 | Sammy Baugh | 28 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0.5 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.45 | 0.448 | 0.2% |
172 | Walt Michaels | 87 | 39 | 47 | 1 | 0.454 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.45 | 0.45 | 0% |
208 | Mike Holovak | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.45 | 0.451 | -0.1% |
256 | Pete Carroll | 16 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 0.375 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.45 | 0.451 | -0.1% |
257 | Ken Shipp | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0.2 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.45 | 0.451 | -0.1% |
258 | Bulldog Turner | 14 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 0.357 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.45 | 0.451 | -0.1% |
262 | Charley Winner | 23 | 9 | 14 | 0 | 0.391 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.45 | 0.452 | -0.2% |
329 | Lou Holtz | 13 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0.231 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.45 | 0.453 | -0.3% |
333 | Bruce Coslet | 64 | 26 | 38 | 0 | 0.406 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.45 | 0.453 | -0.3% |
395 | Todd Bowles | 64 | 24 | 40 | 0 | 0.375 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.45 | 0.456 | -0.6% |
489 | Rich Kotite | 32 | 4 | 28 | 0 | 0.125 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.45 | 0.462 | -1.2% |
Meanwhile, the Jets success hasn’t been much better at the quarterback position. Vinny Testaverde, who only had a winning percentage of 0.574, has moved the needle the farthest in the right direction for the team. After him, it’s actually Joe Namath — who was one game under .500 for his career — who helped the franchise’s winning percentage the most. And when Mark Sanchez ranks third, you know the history has not been very good.
Meanwhile, Boomer Esiason is the quarterback whose starts most harmed the franchise’s career record. The full list, below.
Ovr Rk | QB | G | W | L | T | QB Win % | FrG | FrW | FL | FrT | Fr W% | Win% w/o QB | Diff |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
69 | Vinny Testaverde | 61 | 35 | 26 | 0 | 0.574 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.441 | 0.9% |
81 | Joe Namath | 125 | 60 | 61 | 4 | 0.496 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.443 | 0.7% |
90 | Mark Sanchez | 62 | 33 | 29 | 0 | 0.532 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.444 | 0.6% |
97 | Chad Pennington | 61 | 32 | 29 | 0 | 0.525 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.445 | 0.5% |
134 | Ken O'Brien | 106 | 50 | 55 | 1 | 0.476 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.446 | 0.4% |
157 | Pat Ryan | 19 | 11 | 8 | 0 | 0.579 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.447 | 0.3% |
179 | Ray Lucas | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0.667 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.448 | 0.2% |
191 | Brett Favre | 16 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 0.563 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.448 | 0.2% |
262 | Al Dorow | 27 | 13 | 14 | 0 | 0.481 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.449 | 0.1% |
263 | Ryan Fitzpatrick | 27 | 13 | 14 | 0 | 0.481 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.449 | 0.1% |
291 | Quincy Carter | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.667 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.449 | 0.1% |
302 | Dick Jamieson | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.449 | 0.1% |
394 | Richard Todd | 94 | 42 | 51 | 1 | 0.452 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.450 | 0% |
395 | Dick Wood | 24 | 10 | 12 | 2 | 0.458 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.450 | 0% |
401 | Matt Robinson | 13 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0.462 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.450 | 0% |
410 | Butch Songin | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.500 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.450 | 0% |
411 | Jack Trudeau | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.500 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.450 | 0% |
442 | Kellen Clemens | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0.444 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.450 | 0% |
467 | Mike Taliaferro | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0.429 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.450 | 0% |
502 | Bill Demory | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0.333 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.450 | 0% |
503 | Michael Vick | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0.333 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.450 | 0% |
553 | Pete Liske | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.000 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.451 | -0.1% |
554 | J.J. Jones | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.000 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.451 | -0.1% |
555 | Kyle Mackey | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.000 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.451 | -0.1% |
556 | Greg McElroy | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.000 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.451 | -0.1% |
666 | Johnny Green | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0.375 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.451 | -0.1% |
667 | Bob Davis | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0.375 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.451 | -0.1% |
682 | Rick Mirer | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0.333 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.451 | -0.1% |
706 | Lee Grosscup | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0.250 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.451 | -0.1% |
707 | Bubby Brister | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0.250 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.451 | -0.1% |
731 | Galen Hall | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.000 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.451 | -0.1% |
732 | Marty Domres | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.000 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.451 | -0.1% |
733 | David Norrie | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.000 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.451 | -0.1% |
734 | Tony Eason | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.000 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.451 | -0.1% |
775 | Neil O'Donnell | 20 | 8 | 12 | 0 | 0.400 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.451 | -0.1% |
892 | Geno Smith | 30 | 12 | 18 | 0 | 0.400 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.452 | -0.2% |
944 | Sam Darnold | 13 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 0.308 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.452 | -0.2% |
967 | Brooks Bollinger | 9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0.222 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.452 | -0.2% |
978 | Frank Reich | 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0.143 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.452 | -0.2% |
979 | Bryce Petty | 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0.143 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.452 | -0.2% |
988 | Josh McCown | 16 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 0.313 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.452 | -0.2% |
1025 | Glenn Foley | 8 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0.125 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.453 | -0.3% |
1049 | Browning Nagle | 13 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0.231 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.453 | -0.3% |
1090 | Al Woodall | 19 | 5 | 14 | 0 | 0.263 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.454 | -0.4% |
1110 | Boomer Esiason | 42 | 15 | 27 | 0 | 0.357 | 900 | 401 | 491 | 8 | 0.450 | 0.455 | -0.5% |
At running back, HOF Curtis Martin laps the field in terms of how often he led the Jets in rushing yards. Freeman McNeil and Thomas Jones were very good running backs for the Jets, while the franchise hopes its next star running back is about to enjoy a long and successful tenure in New York.
Rusher | First Yr | Last Yr | Leading Rusher | Total Games | % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Curtis Martin | 1998 | 2005 | 120 | 130 | 92% |
Freeman McNeil | 1981 | 1992 | 88 | 152 | 58% |
Matt Snell | 1964 | 1972 | 48 | 89 | 54% |
Adrian Murrell | 1993 | 1997 | 47 | 73 | 64% |
Emerson Boozer | 1966 | 1975 | 46 | 121 | 38% |
Thomas Jones | 2007 | 2009 | 41 | 51 | 80% |
Johnny Hector | 1983 | 1992 | 38 | 128 | 30% |
Shonn Greene | 2009 | 2012 | 37 | 67 | 55% |
John Riggins | 1971 | 1975 | 36 | 61 | 59% |
Bill Mathis | 1960 | 1969 | 36 | 139 | 26% |
Chris Ivory | 2013 | 2015 | 31 | 46 | 67% |
Bilal Powell | 2011 | 2018 | 30 | 96 | 31% |
Clark Gaines | 1976 | 1980 | 26 | 65 | 40% |
Brad Baxter | 1989 | 1995 | 23 | 95 | 24% |
Johnny Johnson | 1993 | 1994 | 22 | 31 | 71% |
Scott Dierking | 1977 | 1983 | 21 | 106 | 20% |
Blair Thomas | 1990 | 1993 | 19 | 51 | 37% |
Kevin Long | 1977 | 1981 | 16 | 74 | 22% |
Matt Forte | 2016 | 2017 | 15 | 26 | 58% |
Leon Washington | 2006 | 2009 | 14 | 56 | 25% |
LaDainian Tomlinson | 2010 | 2011 | 12 | 32 | 38% |
Dick Christy | 1961 | 1963 | 10 | 39 | 26% |
Similarly, the Jets have one HOF WR, and Don Maynard leads the group here. Also noteworthy: Al Toon, Laveranues Coles, and Keyshawn Johnson all easily eclipsed a 40% rate here, and each had short stints of greatness with the Jets. Undrafted free agent and fan favorite Wayne Chrebet had a memorable career as a slot receiver, and exceeded expectations at every step of the way.
Receiver | First Yr | Last Yr | Leading Receiver | Total Games | % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Don Maynard | 1960 | 1972 | 71 | 175 | 41% |
Wesley Walker | 1977 | 1989 | 58 | 161 | 36% |
Al Toon | 1985 | 1992 | 52 | 111 | 47% |
Laveranues Coles | 2000 | 2008 | 48 | 109 | 44% |
Jerricho Cotchery | 2004 | 2010 | 38 | 112 | 34% |
Wayne Chrebet | 1995 | 2005 | 37 | 158 | 23% |
Rich Caster | 1970 | 1977 | 32 | 107 | 30% |
Rob Moore | 1990 | 1994 | 31 | 77 | 40% |
Keyshawn Johnson | 1996 | 1999 | 29 | 64 | 45% |
Mickey Shuler | 1978 | 1989 | 27 | 167 | 16% |
George Sauer | 1965 | 1970 | 25 | 87 | 29% |
Jerome Barkum | 1972 | 1983 | 24 | 162 | 15% |
Bake Turner | 1963 | 1969 | 19 | 93 | 20% |
Art Powell | 1960 | 1962 | 18 | 42 | 43% |
Santana Moss | 2001 | 2004 | 18 | 56 | 32% |
Robby Anderson | 2016 | 2018 | 17 | 46 | 37% |
Dustin Keller | 2008 | 2012 | 17 | 78 | 22% |
Brandon Marshall | 2015 | 2016 | 15 | 31 | 48% |
Justin McCareins | 2004 | 2007 | 15 | 67 | 22% |
Jeremy Kerley | 2011 | 2017 | 15 | 82 | 18% |
Johnny Mitchell | 1992 | 1995 | 14 | 53 | 26% |
Lam Jones | 1980 | 1984 | 14 | 64 | 22% |
Bruce Harper | 1977 | 1984 | 12 | 102 | 12% |
Santonio Holmes | 2010 | 2013 | 11 | 46 | 24% |
Chris Burkett | 1989 | 1993 | 11 | 77 | 14% |
Eric Decker | 2014 | 2016 | 10 | 33 | 30% |
Quincy Enunwa | 2014 | 2018 | 10 | 40 | 25% |
David Knight | 1973 | 1977 | 10 | 58 | 17% |
Clark Gaines | 1976 | 1980 | 10 | 65 | 15% |
Eddie Bell | 1970 | 1975 | 10 | 81 | 12% |
Pete Lammons | 1966 | 1971 | 10 | 86 | 12% |
Derrick Gaffney | 1978 | 1987 | 10 | 104 | 10% |
That’s it for the Jets version of this series. Please leave your thoughts in the comments.