Who was the Worst Coach in NY Jets history?

Discussion in 'New York Jets' started by patleahy, May 20, 2021.

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Worst coach in Jets history

  1. Richie Kotite

    20 vote(s)
    40.0%
  2. Adam Gase

    30 vote(s)
    60.0%
  1. major33

    major33 Well-Known Member

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    Surprisingly no. It just never worked out even though my aunt and uncle moved to Syracuse around 1980. For some reason, Buffalo was never on the schedule when I was able to go to Syracuse. I would have made that short trip.

    My Uncle got caught up in the air traffic controller strike and lost his job. My Aunt was from Syracuse so they decided to move up there. They were huge fans of Syracuse and had great season tickets to everything in the Carrier Dome, so I was able to visit them and see a ton of games. Mainly Basketball though.

    Buffalo was also never on my list of sports stadiums to visit. Growing up it was very dull and grey. I never liked when we played them there. Always bad vibes when we play at Buffalo.

    How was your experience there?
     
  2. HomeoftheJets

    HomeoftheJets Well-Known Member

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    Here's the image, hidden as a spoiler so those who want to forget can.

    [​IMG]
     
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  3. mrjet80

    mrjet80 Well-Known Member

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    It was an experience. The fans in general aren’t bad until they start drinking. I went incognito - not looking for problems. I was there for the 2008 game - a little chilly but nice and I was there in 2010 (tix right behind the Jets bench) but it rained in the first half. There were more fights in the parking lot after the 2008 game then during. Just drunks hanging around and getting pissed off at things that’s wouldn’t piss off a normal person. The 2010 game was nice the Jets blew them out, the players including Rex and Tanny were all in good moods even joking with some of the fans as time ran down. Sanchez pretended to take a snap, went pass to pass and went into a throwing motion towards the fans holding a football making us duck .... and my young son and I sat right next to the fan holding the sign “ Just give me a gd snack “ which was shown on ESPN highlights that night ....by the second quarter the fans were chanting “ LETS GO SABRES” LOL.

    I would say a favorable experience for overall but DONT wear opposing jerseys if you want to enjoy yourself.
     
    #83 mrjet80, May 23, 2021
    Last edited: May 23, 2021
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  4. patleahy

    patleahy Well-Known Member

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  5. major33

    major33 Well-Known Member

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    So basically similar to every NFL stadium when you're an opposing fan. LOL It's not worth getting into it with fans when you're on the opposing side in their stadium. It never ends well. Something about the NFL makes fans want to fight. Also, the fans are lunatics by the time the game starts, and in Buffalo you have to be drunk to sit in that stadium.

    It does look like they improved the stadium a lot since the 80s, so probably not as brutal as I imagine it once was. But still Buffalo, dark and grey. I was going through my extensive ticket stub collection last night and was surprised at many Jets-Buffalo games I went to at Shea and Giants Stadium.

    I went through my collection since we were talking about Foxboro yesterday because I knew somewhere I still had this beauty...

    [​IMG]
     
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  6. patleahy

    patleahy Well-Known Member

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    @HomeoftheJets thanks for posting the pic, ..holy shit, you guys were right...he does look frail and feeble in that pic. I know he is obviously much older now, but I wasn't expecting him to look that bad. I honestly would not have recognized him unless someone pointed him out to me. I wouldn't instantly know that was Rich Kotite if he just walked past me or anything or was sitting by me.
     
    #86 patleahy, May 23, 2021
    Last edited: May 23, 2021
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  7. mrjet80

    mrjet80 Well-Known Member

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    I imagine he is about 80 now.....
     
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  8. patleahy

    patleahy Well-Known Member

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    @mrjet80 good guess mrjet.....he will turn 79 in October.
     
  9. mrjet80

    mrjet80 Well-Known Member

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    You know after he left the Jets - right after - I saw him in a commercial - a regular tv commercial. He was an agent for a young athlete, possibly a college athlete. I don’t remember how the commercial went or what exactly the advertisement was but I do remember the athlete being extremely excited and rambling nonsense and Kotite looking at him with that same ‘deer in the headlights’ look he often displayed on the sideline. I believe that look was supposed to be the comedic part. Anyway I saw it once then and never saw it again .....
     
  10. RPOZ51

    RPOZ51 Well-Known Member

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    It was my recollection that he went on to coach at Wagner.

    I just checked their website, and it seems that I wrong. He did play there though.

    EDIT:

    He is in the Wagner sports HOF:

    https://wagnerathletics.com/honors/hall-of-fame/rich-kotite/6
     
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  11. patleahy

    patleahy Well-Known Member

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    @RPOZ51 @mrjet80 @major33 I thought you guys would appreciate this snippet, since we seem to be the only guys who remember the forgotten "Kotite era" lol... NY Jets Flashback.....NY Jets hire and the fire Kotite...or Kotite just decides to "leave" but not "quit" as he phrased it...

     
    #91 patleahy, May 23, 2021
    Last edited: May 23, 2021
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  12. KWJetsFan

    KWJetsFan Well-Known Member

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    For me, it has to be Kotite. Those are easily two of the worst seasons for any team I've ever rooted for. My dad's in his early 80s and he says without question it's Lou Holtz.
     
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  13. RPOZ51

    RPOZ51 Well-Known Member

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    You saying that I'm old @patleahy??? Haha!! ;)

    Actually, I didn't remember that Kotite just "left" the Jets. Thanks! I do remember that Terry Bradway "stepped aside," and then never really went away.

    The idea that Kotite wasn't "fired" is probably a reflection of Uncle Leon's loyalty. Leon just liked him for some reason.

    After the Jets canned Pete Carroll for starting the 1994 season at 6-5, and finishing at 6-10, Leon just had to have "Richie" Kotite. Kotite had previously been the Jets OC, before he systematically ruined the Eagles.

    The Eagles had been a playoff team when Kotite first took over. Kotite was fired by the Eagles after they started their 1994 season at 7-2, and finished at 7-9.

    So, Carroll finished out 1994 with 5 straight losses, and Kotite finished 1994 with 7 straight losses.

    Leon just had to have Kotite, and never even talked to anyone else, like Jimmy Johnson, who was out there at the time.
     
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  14. RPOZ51

    RPOZ51 Well-Known Member

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    Holtz was a piece of work, too. He resigned 13 games into a 14 game season.

    There is no shortage of guys like this in Jets history. Not easy to pick the "winner."
     
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  15. Jonathan_Vilma

    Jonathan_Vilma Well-Known Member

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    Question for all you guys who lived through the Kotite era enough to remember it.

    Was he as much of a standoffish douche as Gase was? Or was he just a bad coach who did his best (even if that was awful).
     
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  16. patleahy

    patleahy Well-Known Member

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    @RPOZ51 lol and Belichick resigned before even coaching a game lol Given the Jets history it is surprising they didn't hire Bobby Petrino, lol.
     
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  17. patleahy

    patleahy Well-Known Member

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    I will defer to @mrjet80 @major33 @RPOZ51 , but as I recall, Kotite wasn't a "standoffish socially awkward douche" like Gase was. Kotite's personality was much more of a "big lunkhead, nasally, deep voiced, New Yorker galoot/buffoon, who in spite of his best efforts, just never came across as too "bright", god love him.
     
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  18. RPOZ51

    RPOZ51 Well-Known Member

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    I’d have to say no.

    Kotite seemed like a down to earth guy, but just seemed to be in over his head as a head coach. I remember him as being a decent OC with the Jets.

    As a head coach, Kotite would be asked after a game what went wrong. He used to just shrug his shoulders sometimes, and more or less say I don’t know.

    Gase on the other hand just seems to be a bit of a dick. I never met either one of them, but with some people you can just tell.
     
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  19. patleahy

    patleahy Well-Known Member

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    I remember NFL Network's "Top 10 Coaches who should have stayed in College" List from several years ago...Holtz was obviously high up on it....they played a clip of him doing a magic trick with a coin at training camp and talked about how he came up with his own "NY Jets fight song" and tried to teach the Jets players how to sing it in Training Camp. He expected them to memorize it and sing it together as a rallying cry. Then they showed Don Shula in an interview, laughing his ass off about that, saying something akin to: "yeah Lou was kind of strange....the whole teaching players fight songs at this level...I could just imagine how guys like Manny Fernandez or Larry Csonka would have reacted if I had tried to teach them a Dolphins fight song and expected them to sing it on demand."
     
  20. mrjet80

    mrjet80 Well-Known Member

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    That is correct but Johnson would never had come to NY. He wanted the Miami job - he lived in the keys. He had taken over for one legend - Landry - and won two SBs - he wanted to do it again but failed.
     
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