1996 New York Jets season

1996 season of NFL team New York Jets; worst record in franchise history November 2013 March 2026 New York Jets 1996 1–15 5th AFC East Rich Kotite Ron Erhardt Jim Vechiarella Leon Hess The Meadowlands Did not qualify None Jets seasons The 1996 New York Jets season was the franchise's 27th season in the National Football League (NFL) and the 37th overall. They failed to improve upon its league-worst 3–13 record from 1995 as they finished 1–15, which is the worst record in franchise history. As a result, head coach Rich Kotite stepped down before the season ended. The Jets tied an NFL record that the New Orleans Saints set in 1980 and became the fifth team and first since the 1991 Indianapolis Colts to finish a season with fifteen losses. The record would be equaled by the 2000 San Diego Chargers, 2001 Carolina Panthers, and the 2007 Miami Dolphins before the 2008 Detroit Lions eclipsed it by becoming the first team to go through a sixteen-game season without a single victory. Offseason After three seasons with quarterback Boomer Esiason as the starter, the Jets decided to go in a different direction and released Esiason in the offseason. They signed Neil O'Donnell, who had just led the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Super Bowl, to replace him in the hopes he would duplicate his success with the Steelers. The Jets received the first pick in the NFL draft in April and drafted wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson out of the University of Southern California. The Jets also signed offensive tackles Jumbo Elliott and David Williams and receivers Jeff Graham and Webster Slaughter. The Jets spent $70 million in the offseason on free-agent and rookie contracts. Additions SubtractionsQB Neil O'Donnell (Steelers) QB Boomer Esiason (Cardinals)QB Frank Reich (Panthers) T James Brown (Dolphins)RB Reggie Cobb (Jaguars) TE Johnny Mitchell (Dolphins)T Jumbo Elliott (Giants) FS Anthony Prior (Vikings)G Harry Galbreath (Packers) WR Jeff Graham (Bears) WR Webster Slaughter (Chiefs) NFL draft 1996 NFL draft 1996 New York Jets 1 1 Keyshawn Johnson Wide receiver USC yes yes 2 31 Alex Van Dyke Wide receiver Nevada yes 3 62 Ray Mickens Cornerback Texas A&M yes 5 133 Marcus Coleman Cornerback Texas Tech yes 6 168 Hugh Hunter Defensive end Hampton 7 210 Chris Hayes Safety Washington State yes no Personnel Staff/coaches 1996 New York Jets staff Front office Owner – Leon Hess Team president & CEO - Steve Gutman General manager - Rich Kotite Coaching staff Head coach - Rich Kotite Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator - Ron Erhardt Wide receivers Coach - Richard Mann Offensive line Coach - Bill Muir Running backs - Dick Wood Tight ends - Pat Hodgson  Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator - Jim Vechiarella Defensive line Coach - Ray Hamilton Defensive backs - Peter Giunta Quality control /defensive Assistant Coach - Tom Gamble Scouting department Assistant scout - Todd Haley Roster 1996 New York Jets 4  4 Glenn Foley 14 Neil O'Donnell 10 John Paci y  7 Frank Reich 20 Richie Anderson American football 28 Reggie Cobb KR 27 Lou D'Agostino y FB 33 Ronald Moore American football 29 Adrian Murrell 85 Henry Bailey American football KR 80 Wayne Chrebet PR 81 Jeff Graham 19 Keyshawn Johnson y 87 Webster Slaughter 86 Alex Van Dyke y KR 84 Fred Baxter 88 Kyle Brady 83 Tyrone Davis American football 69 Harry Boatswain G/T 62 Roger Duffy American football C/G 76 Jumbo Elliott American football T 68 Dave Fiore y G 64 Harry Galbreath G 75 Siupeli Malamala T 70 Matt O'Dwyer G 60 Casey Wiegmann y C 73 David Williams offensive lineman T 94 Matt Brock American football player DT 71 Mike Chalenski DE 99 Hugh Douglas American football DE 98 Mark Gunn DE/DT 92 Bobby Hamilton American football DE 93 Marc Spindler DT 97 Marvin Washington DT 58 Aubrey Beavers OLB 53 Chad Cascadden OLB 59 Kyle Clifton MLB 56 Rick Hamilton MLB 55 Bobby Houston American football OLB 54 Marvin Jones linebacker MLB 38 Lance Brown CB/S 42 Marcus Coleman y CB 31 Aaron Glenn CB 21 Victor Green SS 22 Carl Greenwood CB 25 Gary Jones American football FS 24 Ray Mickens y CB 44 Lonnie Young SS 23 Eric Zomalt FS  8 Nick Lowery K 11 Brian Hansen American football P 65 John Hudson American football LS  5 Don Silvestri K 47 Brian Gaine y TE 95 Brad Keeney y DT 53 Chip Daniels y DT 63 Troy Stark y T 72 David Alexander American football C IR 78 Lou Benfatti DT IR 74 Erik Howard DT IR 57 Mo Lewis LB IR 51 Eddie Mason LB IR 53 5 Season O'Donnell was the starter for the first six games of the season, but they went 0–6 under him. He suffered a season-ending shoulder injury during pregame warmups before the seventh game. Longtime Buffalo Bills backup quarterback Frank Reich replaced him, but he didn't fare much better. They lost to Jacksonville and Buffalo, before the now lowly 0–8 Jets beat former Jets QB Boomer Esiason and his new team, the Arizona Cardinals (although Esiason didn't play for Arizona in that game), at Sun Devil Stadium for what would become their only win of the season in their first game against the Cardinals since 1978.Arizona Cardinals v New York Jets Kotite announced his resignation on December 20. Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 1 at Denver BroncosL 6–31 0–1 Mile High Stadium 70,595 2 September 8 Indianapolis Colts L 7–21 0–2 Giants Stadium 63,534 3 September 15 at Miami Dolphins L 27–36 0–3 Pro Player Stadium 68,137 4 September 22 New York Giants L 6–13 0–4 Giants Stadium 58,339 5 September 29 at Washington Redskins L 16–31 0–5 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium 52,068 6 October 6 Oakland Raiders L 13–34 0–6 Giants Stadium 63,611 7 October 13 at Jacksonville JaguarsL 17–21 0–7 Alltel Stadium 65,699 8 October 20 Buffalo Bills L 22–25 0–8 Giants Stadium 49,775 9 October 27 at Arizona Cardinals W 31–21 1–8 Sun Devil Stadium 28,088 10 Bye 11 November 10 New England Patriots L 27–31 1–9 Giants Stadium 61,843 12 November 17 at Indianapolis Colts L 29–34 1–10 RCA Dome 48,322 13 November 24 at Buffalo Bills L 10–35 1–11 Rich Stadium 60,854 14 December 1 Houston Oilers L 10–35 1–12 Giants Stadium 21,731 15 December 8 at New England Patriots L 10–34 1–13 Foxboro Stadium 54,621 16 December 14, 1996 Philadelphia Eagles L 20–21 1–14 Giants Stadium 29,176 17 December 22 Miami Dolphins L 28–31 1–15 Giants Stadium 49,933 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Game summaries Week 6: vs. Oakland Raiders New York Jets 1996 2; text-align:center collapsed Week Six: Oakland Raiders at New York Jets – Game summary October 6 1:00 p.m. EDT Raiders 0 13 0 21 Jets 0 3 3 7 Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey 63,611 53 F C NBC Box score, Box score First quarter No scoring Second quarter OAK – Cole Ford 26-yard field goal, 13:04. Raiders 3–0. NYJ – Nick Lowery 43-yard field goal, 11:23. Tie 3–3. OAK – Rickey Dudley 23-yard pass from Jeff Hostetler (Cole Ford kick), 6:43. Raiders 10–3. OAK – Cole Ford 35-yard field goal, 0:21. Raiders 13–3. Third quarter NYJ – Nick Lowery 24-yard field goal, 10:11. Raiders 13–6. Fourth quarter OAK – Daryl Hobbs 3-yard pass from Jeff Hostetler (Cole Ford kick), 14:25. Raiders 20–6. OAK – Rickey Dudley 2-yard pass from Jeff Hostetler (Cole Ford kick), 7:25. Raiders 27–6. NYJ – Alex Van Dyke 3-yard pass from Frank Reich (Nick Lowery kick), 3:48. Raiders 27–13. OAK – Joe Aska 30-yard run (Cole Ford kick), 3:20. Raiders 34–13. Top passers OAK – Jeff Hostetler – 17/28, 188 yards, 3 TD, INT NYJ – Frank Reich – 15/31, 177 yards, TD, 2 INT Top rushers OAK – Joe Aska – 21 rushes, 136 yards, TD NYJ – Adrian Murrell – 20 rushes, 102 yards Top receivers OAK – Rickey Dudley – 4 receptions, 60 yards, 2 TD NYJ – Henry Bailey – 3 receptions, 42 yards Week 9: at Arizona Cardinals New York Jets 1996 2; text-align:center collapsed Week Nine: New York Jets at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary October 27 4:00 p.m. EST/2:00 p.m. MST Jets 3 14 0 14 Cardinals 0 0 14 7 Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona 28,088 53 F C Box score First quarter NYJ – Nick Lowery 37-yard field goal, 2:47. Jets 3–0. Second quarter NYJ – Keyshawn Johnson 34-yard pass from Frank Reich (Nick Lowery kick), 14:53. Jets 10–0. NYJ – Richie Anderson 1-yard run (Nick Lowery kick), 0:16. Jets 17–0. Third quarter ARI – Larry Centers 1-yard pass from Kent Graham (Greg Davis kick), 7:35. Jets 17–7. ARI – Larry Centers 2-yard pass from Kent Graham (Greg Davis kick), 5:47. Jets 17–14. Fourth quarter NYJ – Adrian Murrell 1-yard run (Nick Lowery kick), 12:51. Jets 24–14. ARI – Rob Moore 6-yard pass from Kent Graham (Greg Davis kick), 11:47. Jets 24–21. NYJ – Reggie Cobb 2-yard run (Nick Lowery kick), 4:55. Jets 31–21. Top passers NYJ – Frank Reich – 22/31, 254 yards, TD, 2 INT ARI – Kent Graham – 17/32, 255 yards, 3 TD, INT Top rushers NYJ – Adrian Murrell – 31 rushes, 199 yards, TD ARI – LeShon Johnson – 12 rushes, 85 yards Top receivers NYJ – Keyshawn Johnson – 7 receptions, 94 yards, TD ARI – Rob Moore – 7 receptions, 143 yards, TD The 0-8 Jets were desperately looking for their first win of the season as they faced the Cardinals in Arizona. In the first quarter, Nick Lowery opened the score for the Jets with a 37-yard field goal. By the second quarter, the Jets powered through with two touchdowns from Keyshawn Johnson and Richie Anderson. However, by the third quarter, the Cardinals scored two touchdowns of their own, cutting the Jets' lead to three. Fortunately, in the fourth quarter, the Jets scored two more touchdowns, en route to their first victory of the season as they defeated the Cardinals 31–21. Standings External links 1996 statistics Category:New York Jets seasons New York Jets New York Jets season Category:20th century in East Rutherford, New Jersey Category:Meadowlands Sports Complex