NY Jets

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, a place where the team struggled financially and on the field during its first three years. In their first two seasons of existence, coached by Sammy Baugh, the Titans went 7–7 in both 1960 and 1961. 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 $1 million in 1963. Werblin renamed the team the New York Jets since the team would play near LaGuardia Airport and because it rhymed with the New York Mets as they would be playing in Shea Stadium. The new name was intended to reflect the modern approach of his team. The Jets' 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, and the emergence of the popular New York Sack Exchange. Walt Michaels and Joe Walton coached the team throughout the decade.

The early 1990s saw the team 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 a 4–28 record over the next two 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 resigned the very next day (leaving a napkin at the stage for his introduction, on which he had written "I resign as HC of the NYJ") 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 coaches: Herm Edwards, Eric Mangini, and Rex Ryan. Rex Ryan was hired in January 2009. In the draft that year the Jets would take USC quarterback Mark Sanchez with the fifth overall pick with the intent of making him the franchise centerpiece. Ryan and Sanchez led the team to back-to-back AFC Championship Game appearances during their first two years, but the team never made the playoffs again during their tenure. The Jets had a 6–10 season in 2012 and a 8–8 season in 2013. After a 4–12 season in 2014, Sanchez was released, while Ryan and general manager John Idzik were fired.

Prior to the 2015 season, Todd Bowles was hired to replace Ryan as head coach. In his first season, he led the Jets to a 10–6 record that finished second in the AFC East but failed to qualify for the postseason. However, the Jets followed up the 2015 season with three consecutive last place finishes in the AFC East from 2016 to 2018, winning no more than five games each season. Bowles was fired following the third consecutive losing season. The Jets used their first round pick, third overall, on quarterback Sam Darnold from USC. Adam Gase was hired to replace Bowles prior to the 2019 season. Gase's tenure saw the Jets go 7–9 in 2019 and 2–14 in 2020, missing the postseason both years. Gase was fired following the 2020 season. Prior to the 2021 season, the Jets hired former 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh as head coach. The Jets used their first round pick, second overall, on BYU quarterback Zach Wilson. The 2021 season saw the Jets go 4–13 to finish last in the AFC East. The 2022 season saw improvement for the Jets with a 7–10 record with another last place finish in the division. In the 2023 season, the Jets once again finished 7–10 in a season that started hopeful with the signing of Aaron Rodgers, who later suffered a season-ending Achilles tear on the first offensive series of the regular season.