1976 New York Jets season

The 1976 New York Jets season was the seventeenth season for the team and the seventh in the National Football League. It began with the team trying to improve upon its 3–11 record from 1975 under new head coach Lou Holtz. The Jets again finished with a record of 3–11, which combined with the resignation of Holtz with one game left in the season to become coach at the University of Arkansas, prompted John Facenda to say about the Jets during the NFL Films highlight film for that season “Perhaps the best thing to say about the 1976 New York Jets season is that it’s over”.

1976 New York Jets season
Head coachLou Holtz (resigned following Week 13, 3–10 record
Mike Holovak (interim, 0–1 record)
OwnerLeon Hess
Home fieldShea Stadium
Results
Record3–11
Division place4th AFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlersnone

The only teams that the Jets defeated in 1976 were the 2–12 Buffalo Bills (twice) and the 0–14 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Jets were 0–9 vs. teams with a winning record.

The 1976 season was also the twelfth and final year with the Jets for quarterback Joe Namath.[note 1]

Offseason

Draft
1976 New York Jets draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 6 Richard Todd  QB Alabama
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted free agents
1976 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
Jim Rosecrans Linebacker Penn State
Howard Satterwhite Wide Receiver Sam Houston State

Personnel

Staff
1976 New York Jets staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Roster
1976 New York Jets final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists



Practice squad



Rookies in italics
 active, inactive, practice squad

Schedule
WeekDateOpponentResultGame siteAttendance
1 September 12, 1976at Cleveland BrownsL 38–17Cleveland Stadium
67,496
2 September 19, 1976at Denver BroncosL 46–3Mile High Stadium
62,669
3 September 29, 1976at Miami DolphinsL 16–0Miami Orange Bowl
49,754
4 October 3, 1976at San Francisco 49ersL 17–6Candlestick Park
42,961
5 October 10, 1976Buffalo BillsW 17–14Shea Stadium
59,110
6 October 18, 1976at New England PatriotsL 41–7Schaefer Stadium
50,883
7 October 24, 1976Baltimore ColtsL 20–0Shea Stadium
59,576
8 October 31, 1976at Buffalo BillsW 19–14Rich Stadium
41,285
9 November 7, 1976Miami DolphinsL 27–7Shea Stadium
53,344
10 November 14, 1976Tampa Bay BuccaneersW 34–0Shea Stadium
46,426
11 November 21, 1976New England PatriotsL 38–24Shea Stadium
49,983
12 November 28, 1976at Baltimore ColtsL 33–16Memorial Stadium
44,023
13 December 5, 1976Washington RedskinsL 37–16Shea Stadium
46,638
14 December 12, 1976Cincinnati BengalsL 42–3Shea Stadium
31,067

Week 1 at Cleveland Browns

The Lou Holtz era began in cleveland, but it didn't start out that way. Reggie Rucker, the veteran wide receiver who led the Browns with 60 receptions in 1975, caught 5 against the jets in the season opener, three of them we're for touchdowns. Quarterback Mike Phipps threw two of those and three scoring passes in all before departing early in the third period with what team officials called either a mild separate shoulder or sprain.

Standings
AFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Baltimore Colts(2) 11 3 0 .786 7–1 11–1 417 246 W1
New England Patriots(4) 11 3 0 .786 6–2 10–2 376 236 W6
Miami Dolphins 6 8 0 .429 5–3 6–6 263 264 L1
New York Jets 3 11 0 .214 2–6 3–9 169 383 L4
Buffalo Bills 2 12 0 .143 0–8 2–10 245 363 L10
  • The television series Barney Miller referenced the game between the Buccaneers playing at the Jets, in the third season episode “The Recluse”, in which Yemana (Jack Soo) had tickets to the Jets/Tampa Bay game. When asked “Why?’, his response, “They were on sale”. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished 0–14 the same season.

Notes
  1. Namath would play one final season with the 1977 L.A. Rams

References
    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.