History of The New York Jets

January 6, Deal Herm Out
A half-season of speculation ended when head coach Herm Edwards was traded to Kansas City for the Chiefs' fourth-round draft choice. General manager Terry Bradway immediately began setting up interviews to find "Coach Herm's" successor.

January 17, Eric Era
Eric Mangini was hired as the team's 14th full-time head coach. Mangini, a Jets defensive assistant under Bill Parcells from 1997-99 and a Patriots defensive coach under Bill Belichick from 2000-06, became the 15th-youngest head coach in league history, holding his introductory news conference two days before his 35th birthday.

February 7, T, Too
Owner Woody Johnson continued the remodeling of the Jets' front office when he announced that assistant general manager Mike Tannenbaum was assuming the GM duties, with Bradway, the general manager for five years, shifting his responsibilities to player personnel consultant.

March 21, Abe Traded
The Jets completed a three-team trade with Atlanta and Denver that sent DE John Abraham, one of their first-round picks in 2000, to the Falcons for the 29th overall pick, which the Broncos traded to the Falcons.

April 29, Brick And Nick
In the first round of Tannenbaum and Mangini's first draft, the Jets rebuilt their O-line by selecting tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson with the fourth overall pick and center Nick Mangold with the 29th pick from the Abraham deal.

June 2, No. 80 Says Goodbye
Wayne Chrebet, one of the most popular players in franchise history, announced his retirement from football. Since arriving as an undrafted free agent WR in 1995, Chrebet caught 580 regular-season passes, second only to Don Maynard's 627 in club annals.

September 10, Back In The Saddle
Chad Pennington rose up again, winning the four-way QB competition against Patrick Ramsey, Brooks Bollinger and second-round rookie Kellen Clemens, starting the season opener at Tennessee, and putting up a strong game (24-for-33, 319 yards, two TDs) in leading the Jets past the Titans, 23-16, for the first win of the Mangini regime.

November 12, Pats On The Back
After a 4-4 first half, the Jets opened the second half of the season with a 17-14 upset of the Patriots at Gillette Stadium, Mangini's "home office" for the previous four seasons.

December 31, Fantastic Finish
The Jets picked up speed with five wins in their last six games to gain the AFC's fifth seed and first Wild Card in the playoffs. The victory that locked it up was the solid 23-3 home win over the Raiders on New Year's Eve that secured a 10-6 record and clinched the postseason berth.