The 2006 New York Jets season was the franchise's 37th season in the National Football League (NFL), the 47th season overall, and the first under new head coach Eric Mangini.
The season began with the team trying to improve on their 4–12 record in 2005. The season marked the first for rookie head coach Eric Mangini, who replaced Herman Edwards after the latter left the Jets to coach the Kansas City Chiefs. Although expectations were low for the team, the Jets managed to go 10–6, including winning five of their final six games, and clinched their first playoff berth since 2004 and the fifth seed in the playoffs. They fell in the wild card round to the division rival New England Patriots by a score of 37–16.
Offseason
Coaching changes Head coach Herman Edwards left the Jets on January 8, when he was announced as the successor to coach Dick Vermeil for the Kansas City Chiefs, despite Edwards’ insistence during the season that he would finish the remainder of his contract with the Jets. The Jets received a fourth-round pick in the 2006 NFL draft from the Chiefs for the right to negotiate with Edwards, which was roundly criticized as unsubstantial for the loss of a head coach. On January 17, the Jets announced that New England Patriots defensive coordinator Eric Mangini had been signed as head coach. Mangini became the youngest head coach in the NFL, turning 35 on January 19. Mangini's first order of business was to reorganize the coaching staff. Offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger and defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson were both released from the Jets staff. Special Teams Coordinator Mike Westoff was retained. A full staff was announced on February 20. Linebackers coach Bob Sutton was named defensive coordinator and the team signed Jim Herrmann to replace Sutton as the linebackers coach. Herrmann was the defensive coordinator at the University of Michigan for twenty years before arriving in New York.
General Manager Terry Bradway announced that he was stepping down as Jets GM on February 7. Assistant GM Mike Tannenbaum was named the new GM on the same day. Bradway continues to be employed by the Jets organization as a scouting consultant.
Player transactions The Jets moved quickly to get under the salary cap as they were over by $25 million. On February 22, tackle Jason Fabini, quarterback Jay Fiedler, linebacker Barry Gardner, defensive tackle Lance Legree, fullback Jerald Sowell and wide receiver Harry Williams were placed on waivers. The team chose not to tender an offer to Mark Brown. Cornerback Ty Law also parted ways with the Jets, as the organization decided not to exercise the contract option to extend his contract through 2008. Running back Curtis Martin agreed to an undisclosed restructured contract.
Pro Bowl Center Kevin Mawae was released on March 5. Mawae disagreed with the assertion that his release was for salary cap reasons, as his cut would only be a savings of $1.1 million, and felt that it was simply a change in direction for the team, and Mawae later signed with the Tennessee Titans.
The Jets also restructured the contract of quarterback Chad Pennington. Pennington's contract was cut from a base salary of $6 million to $3 million. Pennington will be able to make back the $3 million through incentives. He also had to forfeit his $3 million roster bonus that was due at the start of free agency.
John Abraham was designated the team's franchise player. He would later be traded to the Atlanta Falcons involving a 3-way trade between the Jets, Falcons, and the Denver Broncos. The Falcons traded their first-round draft pick (#15) to the Broncos for the Broncos first (#29), third (#93) and 2008 fourth-round pick. The Falcons traded the #29 overall pick to the Jets in exchange for Abraham.
Patrick Ramsey was traded to the Jets on March 17 for their sixth-round draft pick. Tight end Chris Baker, who became an unrestricted free agent in the offseason, re-signed with the Jets, his hometown team, on March 24. Andre Dyson was signed by the Jets on March 29 for a five-year, $11.5 million deal, including $3 million in signing and roster bonuses.
Other notable signings include linebackers Matt Chatham, a former New England Patriot, ex-Tennessee Titan Brad Kassell, ex-Pittsburgh Steeler defensive end Kimo von Oelhoffen, another ex-Patriot wide receiver, Tim Dwight, ex-Denver Bronco defensive tackle Monsanto Pope, ex-Buffalo Bill center Trey Teague, and ex-Arizona Cardinal Offensive Tackle Anthony Clement.
The club also signed former longtime Jets Victor Green and Richie Anderson. Both intend to retire in a Jets uniform. Kevan Barlow was acquired from the San Francisco 49ers for an undisclosed draft pick in the 2007 NFL draft, after the Jets’ trade of defensive back Derrick Strait to the Cleveland Browns for running back Lee Suggs on August 14 fell through because Suggs failed his physical.
On the eve of the Jets pre-season finale, they sent quarterback Brooks Bollinger to the Minnesota Vikings for C.J. Mosley. Backup tight end Doug Jolley was also traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for an undisclosed draft pick. The team also picked up Cowboys tight end Sean Ryan for an undisclosed draft pick and claimed former Texas standout Sloan Thomas from the Titans.
2006 NFL draft As a result of their 4–12 2005 record, the Jets were granted the fourth pick in the first round of the NFL draft, which was held on April 29 and 30. When the Houston Texans announced they would take defensive end Mario Williams of North Carolina State instead of Heisman Trophy-winning running back Reggie Bush of USC, some observers felt the Jets should trade up to the second pick and draft him. However, it appeared that making such a trade would have been too prohibitive for the team, and Bush would be drafted second by the New Orleans Saints. Instead, the Jets decided to focus on their offensive line with the draft and took offensive tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson from Virginia. With their other first-round pick acquired in the John Abraham trade, they took center Nick Mangold of Ohio State.
Staff
Roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 3–16 0–1 Raymond James Stadium Recap 2 at Washington Redskins W 27–14 1–1 FedExField Recap 3 New York Giants L 7–13 1–2 Giants Stadium Recap 4 Philadelphia Eagles W 20–17 2–2 Giants Stadium Recap
Regular season In addition to their regular games with AFC East rivals, the Jets played teams from the AFC South and NFC North as per the schedule rotation, and also played intraconference games against the Cleveland Browns and the Oakland Raiders based on divisional positions from 2005.
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 10 at Tennessee Titans W 23–16 1–0 LP Field Recap 2 September 17 New England Patriots L 17–24 1–1 Giants Stadium Recap 3 September 24 at Buffalo Bills W 28–20 2–1 Ralph Wilson Stadium Recap 4 October 1 Indianapolis Colts L 28–31 2–2 Giants Stadium Recap 5 October 8 at Jacksonville Jaguars L 0–41 2–3 Alltel Stadium Recap 6 October 15 Miami Dolphins W 20–17 3–3 Giants Stadium Recap 7 October 22 Detroit Lions W 31–24 4–3 Giants Stadium Recap 8 October 29 at Cleveland Browns L 13–20 4–4 Cleveland Browns Stadium Recap 9 Bye 10 November 12 at New England Patriots W 17–14 5–4 Gillette Stadium Recap 11 November 19 Chicago Bears L 0–10 5–5 Giants Stadium Recap 12 November 26 Houston Texans W 26–11 6–5 Giants Stadium Recap 13 December 3 at Green Bay Packers W 38–10 7–5 Lambeau Field Recap 14 December 10 Buffalo Bills L 13–31 7–6 Giants Stadium Recap 15 December 17 at Minnesota Vikings W 26–13 8–6 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Recap 16 December 25 at Miami Dolphins W 13–10 9–6 Dolphin Stadium Recap 17 December 31 Oakland Raiders W 23–3 10–6 Giants Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Standings
Regular season game summaries
Week 1: at Tennessee Titans
Game summary After the teams traded punts on the first four possessions of the game, Pennington led the Jets on a 9-play, 76-yard drive, aided by a pass-interference call on Titans linebacker Peter Sirmon that negated an interception by defensive back Reynaldo Hill, capped off by a 1-yard touchdown run from Kevan Barlow.
After another Titans punt, Tennessee head coach Jeff Fisher grew impatient with starting quarterback Kerry Collins, pulling him in favor of rookie quarterback Vince Young. Young drove the Titans to the Jets’ 32-yard line, but underthrew receiver David Givens on the next play, and Andre Dyson intercepted. Pennington drove the Jets into the Titans’ red zone, completing a 10-yard pass to Sean Ryan, but Ryan was hit hard by Keith Bulluck and fumbled, with Tennessee recovering. However, two plays later, the Jets would get the ball right back, as Collins, inserted back into the game, was intercepted by Dyson, his second of the quarter. Setting up shop at the Titans’ 36-yard line, the Jets would capitalize, as Pennington threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Jerricho Cotchery with 18 seconds left in the first half, but kicker Mike Nugent shanked the extra-point attempt wide right to leave the Jets with a 13–0 halftime lead.
When the second half started, Collins was intercepted again, this time by Kerry Rhodes, who returned the ball 25 yards to the Tennessee 22. Nugent nailed an 18-yard field goal as the drive stalled at the one-yard line. On the Jets’ next possession, Pennington drove to the red zone again, but Nugent missed a 34-yard field goal attempt wide right. On the Jets’ next possession, Pennington appeared to find Cotchery on a 2-yard touchdown pass, but the touchdown was nullified by a holding penalty on D'Brickashaw Ferguson. When the drive stalled, Nugent missed another field goal, hitting the right upright from 30 yards out.
Tennessee finally capitalized, with Travis Henry scoring on a 3-yard touchdown run with 10:48 left in the game. Tennessee went for two, and brought in Young. Young's pass intended for Bobby Wade was incomplete, but Jets defensive back Derrick Strait was flagged for pass interference, giving the Titans second life. They would take advantage, with Collins handing off to Henry for the conversion. After a trade of punts, the Jets took over on their own 11 with 7:28 to go. On third down, Pennington was sacked by Cortland Finnegan, and Tennessee's Randy Starks recovered at New York's 1-yard line. Tennessee went for two and converted, with Collins finding Drew Bennett open, and the game was tied, 16–16.
The Jets came right back, first with Justin Miller returning the ensuing kickoff 41 yards, and then Pennington steadily driving downfield, finding Baker on the 12-yard touchdown pass to cap a 7-play, 57-yard drive. The Jets had to hold on because on the next possession, Collins found Bennett on a 26-yard completion moving the ball to midfield, and he then completed long passes to Ben Troupe and Wade to move the ball to the Jets’ 12-yard line with 1:11 to play. The Jets locked down, and on 4th-and-6 from the Jets’ 8-yard line, Collins’ pass for Bo Scaife was knocked away by Rhodes, ending the game.
Scoring Summary Second quarter NYJ – Barlow 1 run (Nugent kick), 13:17. NYJ 7–0 NYJ – Cotchery 8 pass from Pennington (kick failed), :17. NYJ 13–0
Third quarter NYJ – FG Nugent 18, 12:47. NYJ 16–0
Fourth quarter TEN – Henry 3 run (Henry run), 10:46. NYJ 16–8 TEN – Henry 1 run (Bennett pass from Collins), 5:58. Tied 16–16 NYJ – Baker 12 pass from Pennington (Nugent kick), 2:10. NYJ 23–16
Week 2: vs. New England Patriots