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http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/keyshawn-johnson-jets-bad-awful-rich-kotite-one-win-blunders-article-1.1999619

We already know the Jets are really bad — but are they 1-15 bad?

Until Sunday, this year’s Jets were always one win up on the worst team in team history: the 1-15 1996 Jets who won their only game in Week 9. Now, at 1-8, they’ve joined their miserable company.

But there is good news, according to two members of the 1996 squad — Rich Kotite isn’t the coach.

True, Rex Ryan is having a miserable year, but no one, says Keyshawn Johnson, could match the ineptitude of Kotite.

“The coaches on the field were piss poor,” Johnson, now an analyst for ESPN, said. “I’ve never seen anything like it in organized football.”

Marvin Washington, a defensive lineman who was with the team from 1989-1996, said with the coaches before Kotite the team had always been ready heading into games. That changed with his hiring in 1995.

“I just didn’t feel like that. I felt unprepared,” Washington said. “We were unprepared from the coaching standpoint, (and also) from the preparation standpoint, which was on the players.”

The Daily News tried to reach Kotite for his version of events, but couldn’t: A woman answering Kotite’s phone said “Don’t bother” upon mention of the ’96 Jets, before abruptly hanging up.

Both former players said they believed Ryan is a good head coach. Johnson said he doesn’t want to see Ryan get fired, and Washington added that he believes the team will pick up a couple of wins in the final seven games of the season and avoid matching the ’96 Jets for the worst Gang Green season in history. And the fans haven’t turned on Ryan quite the way they did for Kotite — after a 35-10 loss to the Oilers in December, a fan hurled a beer at the coach. He said afterward that he had been doused before and didn’t feel it because he was wearing his Gore-Tex jacket. Kotite resigned before the last game of the 1996 season, which he still coached, and never worked in the NFL again.

Even if the Jets have a competent coach now, they’re still on an eight-game losing streak. And Washington and Johnson know exactly how that feels. “It was the worst year of my athletic life,” Washington said. “I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy.”

Many years from now, that may be how players on the current roster look back on 2014. If the Jets lose Sunday against the Steelers, they’ll set the franchise record for the longest losing streak in a single season. The ’96 team lost its first eight games before beating the Cardinals on the road in Week 9 for its lone win.

“After a while we were so far in a hole there was just no way out,” Washington said. “Last third of the season, we were just ready for the end.”

Johnson said it’s only human for effort to wane as the losses pile up and the end of the season creeps nearer.

4701021p-rich-kotite-jets.jpgAL BELLO/GETTY IMAGESRich Kotite during the awful 1996 season.

“It’s tough when at 1-8 to think you’re going to turn it around,” Johnson said. “You can fool yourself.

“But the players, start to . . . disappear on you. Because that’s just the nature of it.”

Johnson thought Ryan wasn’t given enough talent on offense and described the Jets as having two backup quarterbacks in Geno Smith and Mike Vick.

“They went out and paid big money for (Eric) Decker, but Decker’s just a guy,” he said.

Though the former receiver thought Ryan should shake up his coaching staff — assuming he keeps his job — Johnson focused the majority of the blame on the hiring of GM John Idzik a year and a half ago.

“I like John Idzik . . . but he is a capologist,” Johnson said. “Just because his dad was in the league . . . stop the good ol’ boy network thing (or) you’ll stay in the cellar. Get some people that know football

 
 
 
 

 

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I also believe that the Jets will win another game or two before the season is over. Still in the running for a top 10 pick. Please pick an o-lineman.. first two rounds....

I wouldn't rule out the OL problems on a QB that doesn't know where to throw the ball and maybe not being coached well.

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Both former players said they believed Ryan is a good head coach.

[..]

“I like John Idzik . . . but he is a capologist,” Johnson said. “Just because his dad was in the league . . . stop the good ol’ boy network thing (or) you’ll stay in the cellar. Get some people that know football.

How bad the Jets current coaching staff is, that's what that article was about.

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Rich Kotite was the Eric Mangini of his day.

Huh? Kotite didn't coach / prepare / discipline at all. Mangini was accused by the poor players as disciplining / coaching too much. How does a record of 23-26 w/1 playoff berth and 2 yrs above .500 compare to 4-28 with the worst record 2 straight yrs.

A case can be made that Rex's record is similar to Mangini's.

The biggest difference the players, media and fair amount of the fanbase loves Rex while the opposite can be said of Mangini.

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