1996 New York Jets season

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.

1996 New York Jets season
Owner	Leon Hess
Head coach	Rich Kotite
Home field	The Meadowlands
Results
Record	1–15
Division place	5th AFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	None

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	Subtractions
QB 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

Main article: 1996 NFL draft

1996 New York Jets draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	1	Keyshawn Johnson *	Wide receiver	USC
2	31	Alex Van Dyke	Wide receiver	Nevada
3	62	Ray Mickens	Cornerback	Texas A&M
5	133	Marcus Coleman	Cornerback	Texas Tech
6	168	Hugh Hunter	Defensive end	Hampton
7	210	Chris Hayes	Safety	Washington State
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

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 roster

Quarterbacks (QB)  4 Glenn Foley 14 Neil O'Donnell 10 John Paci  7 Frank Reich Running backs (RB) 20 Richie Anderson 28 Reggie Cobb KR 27 Lou D'Agostino FB 33 Ronald Moore 29 Adrian Murrell Wide receivers (WR) 85 Henry Bailey KR 80 Wayne Chrebet PR 81 Jeff Graham 19 Keyshawn Johnson 87 Webster Slaughter 86 Alex Van Dyke KR Tight ends (TE) 84 Fred Baxter 88 Kyle Brady 83 Tyrone Davis

Offensive linemen (OL) 69 Harry Boatswain G/T 62 Roger Duffy C/G 76 Jumbo Elliott T 68 Dave Fiore G 64 Harry Galbreath G 75 Siupeli Malamala T 70 Matt O'Dwyer G 60 Casey Wiegmann C 73 David Williams T Defensive linemen (DL) 94 Matt Brock DT 71 Mike Chalenski DE 99 Hugh Douglas DE 98 Mark Gunn DE/DT 92 Bobby Hamilton DE 93 Marc Spindler DT 97 Marvin Washington DT

Linebackers (LB) 58 Aubrey Beavers OLB 53 Chad Cascadden OLB 59 Kyle Clifton MLB 56 Rick Hamilton MLB 55 Bobby Houston OLB 54 Marvin Jones MLB Defensive backs (DB) 38 Lance Brown CB/S 42 Marcus Coleman CB 31 Aaron Glenn CB 21 Victor Green SS 22 Carl Greenwood CB 25 Gary Jones FS 24 Ray Mickens CB 44 Lonnie Young SS 23 Eric Zomalt FS Special teams  8 Nick Lowery K 11 Brian Hansen P 65 John Hudson LS  5 Don Silvestri K

Practice squad 47 Brian Gaine TE 95 Brad Keeney DT 53 Chip Daniels DT 63 Troy Stark T Reserve 72 David Alexander C (IR) 78 Lou Benfatti DT (IR) 74 Erik Howard DT (IR) 57 Mo Lewis LB (IR) 51 Eddie Mason LB (IR) Rookies in italics 53 active, 5 reserve, 4 practice squad

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. Kotite announced his resignation on December 20.

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 1	at Denver Broncos	L 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 Jaguars	L 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	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

Week Six: Oakland Raiders at New York Jets – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Raiders	0	13	0	21	34
Jets	0	3	3	7	13

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

• Date: October 6
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: 53 °F (12 °C)
• Game attendance: 63,611
• TV: NBC
• Box score, Box score

Game information

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

Week Nine: New York Jets at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Jets	3	14	0	14	31
Cardinals	0	0	14	7	21

at Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona

• Date: October 6
• Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST/2:00 p.m. MST
• Game weather: 53 °F (12 °C)
• Game attendance: 28,088
• Box score

Game information

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

AFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
(2) New England Patriots	11	5	0	.688	418	313	W1
(4) Buffalo Bills	10	6	0	.625	319	266	W1
(6) Indianapolis Colts	9	7	0	.563	317	334	L1
Miami Dolphins	8	8	0	.500	339	325	W2
New York Jets	1	15	0	.063	279	454	L7

External links

• 1996 statistics