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Let’s go back to the beginning of the 2001 NFL season.
Miami Dolphins head coach Dave Wannstedt was entering his second season at the helm in place of the legendary Jimmy Johnson. Both the Cleveland Browns and New York Jets were starting over. The Browns hired Butch Davis to replace Chris Palmer as head coach and the Jets moved on from Al Groh and Bill Belichick’s debacle with Herm Edwards.
Hopes for all three teams were as high as ever. The future seemed bright.
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New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan speaks with the referees before the start of the game against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field on November 17, 2011. (Ron Chenoy/USA TODAY Sports)
After almost 25 years, none of the three franchises have made much progress. As the 2025 season nears its end, the Dolphins, Browns and Jets will finish with losing records, missing the playoffs and with a total of zero Super Bowl appearances.
NFL fans generally mock the Browns as a laughing stock franchise with the amount of futility the franchise has endured since the 2001 season began.
Cleveland was the second team in NFL history to go winless for a season. The Browns have had 39 starting quarterbacks in that span, including three different ones this season in Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. The Browns have had nine different head coaches in that span and have made three playoff appearances, including one playoff victory. The team was last in the postseason in 2023.
The situation in Cleveland is bad, but the only playoff victory in that span is exactly one more than the Dolphins have achieved since the 2001 season began.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders reacts on the sideline during the first half of an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
The Dolphins have only been to the playoffs five times and have had names like Jay Fiedler, Daunte Culpepper, Chad Pennington, Jay Cutler, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Tua Tagovailoa all start games in Miami. Quinn Ewers became the 26th starting quarterback the franchise has brought out. It’s been 27 since Dan Marino hung up his cleats after the 1999 season.
Mike McDaniel represented the eighth head coach the Dolphins have had on the bench, and while the team had shown bright spots with Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill connecting on the field, there simply hasn’t been the same amount of success in Miami since the Marino era.
New York has entered the same area. While the Browns and Dolphins have been up and down in recent years, most of New York’s success came in the 2000s.
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Darrelle Revis #24 of the New York Jets reacts with Jordan Jenkins #48 before a game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on December 24, 2016, in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Billie Weiss/Getty Images)
The Jets made six playoff appearances between 2001 and 2010 and were on the cusp of a Super Bowl twice with Mark Sanchez at quarterback, Darrelle Revis blocking wide receivers and Rex Ryan running down the sideline. Since 2010, the Jets have had 12 losing seasons. They haven’t made the playoffs and have only finished above .500 once.
Not to mention, New York has gone through seven head coaches in that span.
It’s disturbingly surprising how three storied franchises have shared similar futility with the parity that currently exists in the NFL. There have been 12 different Super Bowl winners and 19 different teams at least made an appearance in the game.
And it doesn’t mean that there isn’t enthusiasm in each franchise. The Jets’ acquisition of Brett Favre was major news. The Browns drafted Johnny Manziel, who was a polarizing figure in college football and the NFL. The Dolphins had an electric running back in Ricky Williams and defensive stars in Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas.
But it never bore fruit.
Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams (34) runs with the ball as Green Bay Packers safety Nick Collins (36) lines up to make the tackle during overtime at Lambeau Field on September 21, 2010. (Jeff Hanisch/USA TODAY Sports)
While 2001 was a big year of change for all three teams, more difficult decisions could be made once 2025 ends and the 2026 season officially begins.
McDaniel, Kevin Stefanski and Aaron Glenn are all on the bench with their respective teams. Only the Dolphins replaced their general manager (Chris Grier) in the middle of the year. Glenn is only in his first season as head coach, but rumors have diverged as to whether he will be hired through 2026.
All three teams could be in the market for a quarterback change.
The Dolphins benched Tagovailoa for the final games of the season despite his huge contract. The Browns didn’t seem set on either Sanders or Gabriel as QB1 heading into 2026, especially with Deshaun Watson and his contract albatross lingering. The Jets also tried three different quarterbacks in 2025, but a high draft pick could lead them to select someone like Fernando Mendoza.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Charlie Frye (9) is sacked by Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Napolean Harris (50) at Cleveland Browns Stadium on August 11, 2007. (Matthew Emmons/USA TODAY Sports)
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Things could always change for these three franchises, but as the 2025 season comes to a close, many things remain the same once the new millennium began and nothing seems to change anytime soon.
