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Go back to the start 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. The Cleveland Browns and New York Jets were starting from scratch. The Browns hired Butch Davis to replace Chris Palmer as head coach and the Jets moved on from Al Groh and the Bill Belichick debacle with Herm Edwards.
The hopes of all three teams were as high as they got. The future looked 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)
Nearly 25 years later, none of the three franchises have made much progress. As the 2025 season comes to a close, the Dolphins, Browns and Jets will all end with losing records, playoff absences and a total of zero Super Bowl appearances.
The Browns are generally considered a ridiculous franchise by NFL fans due to the futility the franchise has gone through since the start of the 2001 season.
Cleveland was the second team in NFL history to go winless throughout a season. The Browns have had 39 starting quarterbacks during that span, including three different ones this season in Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. The Browns have had nine different head coaches during that span and made three playoff appearances, including one playoff victory. The team was last in the playoffs in 2023.
It’s bad in Cleveland, but the only playoff win in that span is exactly one more than the Dolphins have won since the start of the 2001 season.
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 made the playoffs five times and names like Jay Fiedler, Daunte Culpepper, Chad Pennington, Jay Cutler, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Tua Tagovailoa all came in and started games in Miami. Quinn Ewers marked the franchise’s 26th starting quarterback. There have been 27 since Dan Marino hung up his cleats after the 1999 season.
Mike McDaniel represented the eighth head coach the Dolphins had on the sidelines, and while the team showed some positives with Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill connecting on the field, there simply hasn’t been the same success in Miami since the Marino era.
New York has entered the same domain. While the Browns and Dolphins have both had their ups and downs 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 locking down the wide receivers and Rex Ryan on the sidelines. Since 2010, the Jets have had 12 losing seasons. They did not make the playoffs and only finished above .500 once.
Not to mention, New York has had seven head coaches in that span.
It’s oddly astonishing how three historic franchises have shared similar futility with the current level of parity in the NFL. There have been 12 different Super Bowl winners, with at least 19 different teams appearing in the game.
And that’s not to say that enthusiasm hasn’t run through 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 like Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas.
But it never paid off.
Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams (34) rushes with the football 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)
Although 2001 was a big year of change for all three teams, tougher decisions could be made once 2025 ends and the 2026 season officially begins.
McDaniel, Kevin Stefanski and Aaron Glenn are all in the hot seat with their respective teams. Only the Dolphins replaced their general manager (Chris Grier) mid-year. Glenn is only in his first season as head coach, but rumors vary as to whether he will be retained for 2026.
All three teams could be looking for a quarterback change.
The Dolphins benched Tagovailoa for the final games of the season despite his huge contract. The Browns didn’t seem committed to either Sanders or Gabriel as their QB1 through 2026, especially with Deshaun Watson and his lingering contract albatross. The Jets also tried three different quarterbacks in 2025, but a high draft pick could lead them to go for someone like Fernando Mendoza.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Charlie Frye (9) is sacked by Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Napolean Harris (50) at Cleveland Browns Stadium 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 draws to a close, a lot of things have remained the same once the new millennium kicked off and nothing appears to be changing anytime soon.
