Walt Michaels Walt Michaels ( born October 16 , 1929 ) is a former professional football player and coach who is best remembered for his six - year tenure as head coach of the NFL ' s New York Jets from 1977 to 1982 . Early life and playing career . Collegiate and early NFL career . A son of a coal miner from Swoyersville , Pennsylvania , Michaels was a two - sport athlete at the local high school , then went on to play collegiately as a fullback at Washington & Lee University . During the 1950 season , he helped the Generals reach the Gator Bowl , but was unable to play in the contest due to an appendicitis attack he suffered one week before the New Year ' s Day game . In the 1951 NFL draft , he was selected in the seventh round by the Cleveland Browns , but was traded to the Green Bay Packers during the summer training camp . Michaels was used primarily on special teams during his rookie season in Green Bay . Return to Cleveland Browns ( 1952 – 61 ) . On April 29 , 1952 , Michaels was traded back to the Browns for three offensive linemen , and played a key role in the team ' s defense over the next decade at linebacker . Often used to call the defensive signals , Michaels intercepted 11 passes , including four in 1952 , and also returned two of them for touchdowns . In those 10 years , Michaels helped the Browns play in five NFL Championship games , winning consecutive contests in 1954 and 1955 . Coaching career . Oakland Raiders assistant ( 1962 ) . On April 3 , 1962 , Michaels entered the coaching ranks when he was hired by the American Football League ' s Oakland Raiders as the team ' s defensive back s coach . He would spend only one season there , with the success he enjoyed with the Browns nowhere to be found . The Raiders lost their first 13 games before winning the season finale , playing in Frank Youell Field , a renovated high school stadium . New York Jets assistant ( 1963 – 73 ) . At the start of the 1963 season , Michaels signed with the American Football League ' s New York Jets . After playing in just one game , Michaels accepted the defensive coordinator ' s position with the revamped Jets under Weeb Ewbank , who had coached him at Cleveland . Within six years , the team defeated the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III , with Michaels seemingly the heir apparent to replace Ewbank , following the departure of fellow assistant Clive Rush . Philadelphia Eagles assistant ( 1973 – 75 ) . However , Michaels ' career fortunes changed dramatically on February 1 , 1973 , when Ewbank hired his son - in - law , Charley Winner , and designated him his successor after the upcoming season . Michaels immediately resigned and within two weeks later had signed to become the defensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles , working under former Browns ' teammate Mike McCormack . Three mediocre seasons in Philadelphia followed , with McCormack and his staff dismissed at the end of the 1975 NFL season . After Winner was also dismissed as Jets head coach , Michaels returned to New York , again resuming his role as the main coach on defense under new head coach Lou Holtz . New York Jets assistant ( 1976 – 77 ) . Holtz ' s one season at the professional level turned out to be a disaster , leading him to resign in the days prior to the last game of the season . On January 4 , 1977 , Michaels was officially selected as head coach of the Jets , beginning six seasons of wildly contrasting results . New York Jets head coach ( 1977 – 83 ) . 1977 & 1978 Seasons Michaels ' first season saw the team win only three of 14 games , but over the next two years , the Jets managed to split their 16 contests in each year . The five - game improvement in 1978 was good enough to win Michaels the AFC Coach of the Year award . 1979 Season The 1979 season was another 8 – 8 campaign that was marred by a quarterback controversy . Starter Richard Todd was demoted and new starter Matt Robinson was named for the season opener against the Cleveland Browns . But days before the game , Robinson injured his throwing - hand thumb during horseplay with Joe Klecko and tried to hide the injury , but was forced to reveal it the night before the game . The thumb was treated and the Jets took a 22 – 19 lead in the final quarter . Robinson had the tape on his injured thumb removed thinking the game was over , but Brian Sipe led a game - tying Browns drive , and in overtime Robinson , unable to grip the ball , threw a sloppy pass for Wesley Walker that was intercepted and turned into a Browns game - winning field goal . Michaels never used Robinson again even as Richard Todd got injured . Another incident during 1979 illustrated the fragile dynamic of Michaels ' tenure with the Jets . On November 26 the Jets were crushed 30 – 7 by the Seattle Seahawks in the Kingdome ; one Seahawks score was set up when cornerback Cornell Webster blocked a Chuck Ramsey punt , this following a Jets turnover on a mishandled snap . Following the game Michaels called out Ramsey in front of teammates by snarling , " I can fart farther than you can kick ! " 1980 & 1981 Seasons : ' 81 season 1st playoff year since ' 69 A rough 4 – 12 season in 1980 was followed by an 0 – 3 start the following year , and it combined to put Michaels ' job in jeopardy , notably after a Monday press conference following a 31 – 30 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals where Michaels swore savagely at writer Bill Verigan and was widely reported to be drunk , but the Jets surged to a 10 - win season to secure their first playoff berth since 1969 . The year ' s success ended with a defeat to the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Wild Card game . 1982 Season : Jets march to AFC title game During the strike - shortened 1982 NFL season , the Jets went 6 – 3 , then pounded the Cincinnati Bengals 44 – 17 in the first round of that year ' s expanded playoff system . Traveling to face the top - seeded Los Angeles Raiders the following week , the Jets pulled off a 17 – 14 upset . One bizarre part of the game came off the field at halftime when Michaels received a call criticizing his team for dirty play . Michaels was incensed by the call and first accused Raiders ' owner Al Davis of making the call . However , the call was later traced to a bar near New York by a gambler who had bet against the Jets . One game away from Super Bowl XVII , the Jets arrived at Miami ' s Orange Bowl on January 23 , 1983 to find that the field had not been covered , despite a heavy rain storm . The subsequent AFC Championship game became known as the " Mud Bowl " , where the Jets lost 14 – 0 to the Miami Dolphins . Resignation from Jets job . On February 10 , 1983 , just 17 days after the loss to the Dolphins , Michaels unexpectedly resigned , citing a need for a break from football . He had been under severe emotional strain during the last weeks of the 1982 regular season , taking time each week to visit his terminally ill mother in Pennsylvania . However , conspiracy theorists believed that the team ' s success was due to offensive coordinator Joe Walton , and that the pursuit of several teams for Walton forced the Jets to fire Michaels . New Jersey Generals , USFL ( 1984 ) . Michaels would then coach the New Jersey Generals in the USFL for two years beginning in 1984 . One month after the conclusion of the 1985 season , Michaels and his staff were let go by Generals ' team owner Donald Trump after the team merged with the Houston Gamblers . ILAF ( International League of American Football ) . On December 21 , 1989 , Michaels was hired as coach of the Helsinki franchise in the new International League of American Football , a developmental league and the forerunner of the now defunct World League of American Football and NFL Europe . After his tenure in the developmental league had ended , Michaels began working for a gambling - oriented television program that would make selections on NFL games , making future job opportunities in the NFL slim . NFL coaching blacklist ? In February 1987 , Michaels claimed that he had been shut out of NFL coaching jobs after having been blackballed by the league ' s owners . See also . Other American Football League players