<P> The quarterback controversy between Smith and Sanchez was settled when Sanchez was injured in the 2013 preseason; he subsequently had surgery that ended his year . The Jets were inconsistent behind Smith, and finished 8--8, though knocking the Dolphins out of the playoff picture with a final - week victory . Ryan's contract was due to expire after 2014, but the head coach was given a multi-year extension on January 16 of that year . Sanchez was released on March 21, 2014, allowing the Jets to sign controversial former Falcons and Eagles quarterback Michael Vick . In 2014, the Jets went 4--12, last in passing until a final - game victory at the Dolphins . Both Idzik and Ryan were fired on December 29, 2014, the day after the season ended . </P> <P> On January 13, 2015, the Jets announced the hiring of Mike Maccagnan, scouting director of the Houston Texans, as general manager . The following day, the Jets announced they had hired Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles as head coach . Smith was injured in a locker room brawl in training camp, and journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick took over . After a slow start, the Jets got hot late in the season and had their playoff fate in their own hands going into a final week game at the Bills, coached by Ryan . The Jets lost, and a victory by the Steelers over the Browns put the Jets out of the playoffs, though they finished 10--6 . The year 2016 began with high hopes, but a locker room altercation in Week 3, ineffective play by Fitzpatrick and the two other quarterbacks who started during the season, and key injuries led to a 5--11 record . There were rumors Bowles and Maccagnan would be fired; the Jets quickly announced their retention after a final - game victory versus the Bills . In 2017, the Jets were expected to be among the worst in the league, but did a little better than that, finishing 5--11, for the most part with Josh McCown at quarterback . </P> <P> Sportswriter Eskenazi, in his history of the Jets, wrote: </P> <P> The Jets are in that pantheon (of teams that have won championships). And they are housed there despite having only one title, one defining image . Because they have never repeated, there is the constant of failed expectations . Unfair, perhaps...But this is the nature of sports . The Jets achieved such fame, such notoriety, became such a product and symbol of their times, that they also became a frozen icon . They can have life breathed back into them only by another great success . In the meantime, they and their fans have had to live with their moment in the sun . </P>

When was the last time the new york jets made the playoffs