Once upon a time, there was no such thing as a “Jet decision.” Bill Parcells‘s arrival in 1997 created a clear football operations hierarchy. One boss was at the top, and the mere mention of his nickname made many tuna lovers hungry. (Come to think of it a bit randomly, Bumble Bee, StarKist and Chicken of the Sea must have loved Parcells’s larger-than-life stature at the time.)
In any event, Leon Hess introduced Parcells and the rest was history. He took a 4-28 team to nine and 12 wins, respectively, over the next two seasons. The Jets went on to qualify for the playoffs seven times from 1998 to 2010—the same number the organization experienced over the course of its 37-year history prior to when the man dubbed Big Tuna officially took control.