New York Jets match 1996 start, Le’Veon Bell signing was doomed from the start

The New York Jets move to 0-5 for the first time since Rich Kotite‘s 1996 team and the Le’Veon Bell signing was doomed from the start.

The New York Jets‘ ho-hum 30-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals this past Sunday at MetLife Stadium put them in rarified air. Not since 1996 has a Jets squad started 0-5.

Adam Gase’s 2020 club has now reached Kotitan levels.

Rich Kotite’s ’96 team started 0-5 and eventually finished 1-15. Adding that to his unimpressive 3-13 season the year prior gives Kotite a 4-28 career mark, terrible enough for a .125 winning percentage.

Statistically speaking, Gase would need to lose his next 35 games (straight) to match that .125 percentage (current 7-14 record morphing into a 7-49 mark), but there are so many factors at play when comparing the two sideline bosses.

This one is for the old-school Jets fans who had to live through both misery eras (Kotite, Gase):

Rich Kotite: 4-28 (.125)
Adam Gase: 7-14 (.333)

For Gase to reach the Kotitian level, he'd have to lose the next 35 games (7-49, .125). *All 1996 to 2020 comparisons are valid.

— Robby Sabo (@RobbySabo) October 12, 2020

Gase is encroaching; there’s no question about it. While Kotite probably had the much more talented team (Bill Parcells quickly stepped in and won nine games a year later), Gase’s elimination of hope has placed him in the hearts and minds of Jets fans everywhere.

The Sam Darnold selection at No. 3 a few years ago equaled hope. Finally, after years of Geno Smith, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Josh McCown, the Jets possessed a young franchise quarterback ready to take the league by storm. (That was at least the overwhelming thought.) Gase all-but-eliminated much of that hope over the last 21 games, which puts both head coaches near the top of the all-time worst lists.

Elsewhere, the Jets are now trying to trade running back Le’Veon Bell, whose recent social media antics make it clear he wants out. No matter the team any fan may be committed to, this marriage was doomed from the start.

Competent organizations do not sign a veteran running back to big money. It’s just that simple.

Look around at the consistently great franchises. Each does not spend big bucks on the position. It’s tremendously devalued for a variety of reasons, including the idea that by the time a player at the position hits free agency, he’s already an old man.

At age 26 or 27, most backs are either already out of their prime or are ready to leave their prime. A Frank Gore or Adrian Peterson may hang on for years, but each has left his prime a long time ago.

Most importantly, the Jets signed Bell at a time when they had no offensive line to speak of. That, by itself, is a recipe for disaster.

It’s unfortunate. Bell did a great job off the field a year ago, for the most part, but this marriage was doomed from the start for obvious reasons.

That and more on Sabo Radio 66: