Monday 31 December 2018 07:03, UK
New York Jets fired head coach Todd Bowles on Sunday in a move that has been on the cards for several weeks.
The decision came a few hours after the Jets lost 38-3 to New England Patriots in the season finale.
"I would like to thank Coach Bowles for his dedication to the New York Jets for the last four years," Jets CEO Christopher Johnson said in a statement.
"After carefully evaluating the situation, I have concluded that this is the right direction for the organization to take. I would like to wish Todd, Taneka and their family only the best."
The team dismissed the fourth-year coach amid a 4-12 season characterised by losses to some of the NFL's worst teams.
Following a stunning performance in the season opener against the Lions that seemed to suggest Sam Darnold and the Jets were poised to make a run at a potential playoff berth this season, blunder-filled losses to the Browns, Jaguars and Bills annihilated any real chance of New York evolving into a contender for the postseason.
While Darnold has shown some progress under Bowles in his rookie season, it was not enough to help the coach keep his job.
In Bowles' first season, the Ryan Fitzpatrick-led Jets came painfully close to a postseason berth, narrowly missing the playoffs by losing to Buffalo in Week 17 and finishing on the wrong end of a tie with Pittsburgh for the final wild-card spot.
Expectations were high, but came crashing down the following season when most of the Jets returned to the ground. Fitzpatrick held out for a new contract, received it and promptly proved he was not worth it. The season's results followed suit.
The Jets also announced they are retaining general manager Mike Maccagnan, and he will lead the search for a new head coach along with Johnson.
