NY sports history: Dec. 13, 1953

THIS DAY IN NY SPORTS HISTORY

Friday, Dec. 20, 1996

Kotite steps down

Rich Kotite resigned as head coach of the Jets, ending one of the darkest periods in franchise history. However, Kotite still had one game left to coach before his resignation became official. Kotite lost a 31-28 nailbiter to the Dolphins in the Dec. 22 season finale. Kotite finished his Jets coaching career with a 4-28 mark, a .123 winning percentage. He was replaced by former Giants coach Bill Parcells, who led the Jets to a 9-7 mark the following season. Kotite never coached in the NFL again.