Imagine walking into a locker room where the ghost of Joe Namath is basically still hanging up his fur coat. That was the reality for Richard Todd. It wasn't just a job. It was a setup.
The New York Jets spent the sixth overall pick in 1976 on a kid from Alabama, specifically because he looked like the next coming of "Broadway Joe." He had the pedigree. He had the arm. Honestly, he even had the flowing blonde hair. But the transition from the Bear Bryant wishbone to the media meat grinder of New York City was anything but smooth.
For most modern fans, Richard Todd NY Jets is a search term that usually leads to a list of interceptions. They see the 161 career picks and wince. They remember the Mud Bowl. They might recall the time he shoved a reporter. But if you actually look at the context of the early '80s, Todd wasn't just a "bust." He was a guy who nearly dragged a cursed franchise to a Super Bowl, only to have the weather and a defensive lineman named A.J. Duhe ruin his legacy forever.
The Impossible Shadow of No. 12
You've got to feel for the guy, sort of. Joe Namath wasn't just a quarterback; he was a cultural deity in Queens. When the Jets drafted Todd out of Alabama, the comparison was immediate and suffocating. Both played for Bear Bryant. Both were first-rounders.
The rookie year was a disaster. Todd completed about 40% of his passes. He threw 12 interceptions and only three touchdowns. He was essentially a deer in headlights. The Jets went 3-11. Namath was still there that first year, acting as a mentor, but the torch passing felt more like a fire being dropped on Todd’s head. When Namath left for the Rams in '77, Todd was the guy. No safety net. No more "Broadway Joe" to deflect the boos.
The pressure turned Todd into a bit of a lightning rod. He was a "country boy" in a city that eats outsiders for breakfast if they don't win. By 1980, the frustration reached a boiling point. After a string of losses, Todd got into a physical altercation with New York Post writer Steve Serby, famously shoving him into a locker. Why? Because Serby had the audacity to suggest that backup Matt Robinson should be the starter. That’s the kind of pressure we’re talking about—the kind that makes a pro athlete snap in front of the cameras.
That 1980 Season Was Pure Chaos
Statistically, 1980 is a fever dream. Richard Todd threw 30 interceptions. Read that again. In the modern NFL, a guy throwing 30 picks is benched by Week 8 and never seen again. But Todd stayed in.
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Oddly enough, that same year, he set an NFL record that stood for 14 years. In a game against the San Francisco 49ers, the Jets were getting killed. Todd just kept throwing. He finished with 42 completions, a record that wasn't broken until Drew Bledsoe came along in 1994. It was the ultimate "empty calorie" stat line. He had the talent to complete passes at a historic rate, but he also had a knack for finding the other team at the worst possible moments.
The Jets finished 4-12 that year. They even lost to a winless New Orleans Saints team late in the season. Todd was the undisputed villain of New York sports. People wanted him gone. They wanted a savior. Little did they know, 1981 was about to change the narrative—temporarily.
The Sack Exchange and the 1981 Turnaround
Everything clicked in 1981. This is the year Richard Todd finally looked like the guy the Jets thought they drafted. He threw for 3,231 yards and 25 touchdowns against only 13 interceptions. Those are legitimate, top-tier numbers for that era.
He had help, of course. This was the birth of the New York Sack Exchange. With Joe Klecko, Mark Gastineau, Marty Lyons, and Abdul Salaam terrorizing quarterbacks, Todd didn't have to win games by himself anymore. The Jets went 10-5-1, making the playoffs for the first time since 1969.
The Wild Card game against the Buffalo Bills was a heartbreaker. The Jets fell behind 24-0. Todd, to his credit, didn't quit. He led a furious comeback and had the Jets within striking distance at the end of the game. He finished with 377 passing yards. But, in classic Todd fashion, a late interception sealed the 31-27 loss. It was a "what if" game that still haunts older fans. If he makes that one last throw, the 1980s Jets history looks completely different.
The Mud Bowl: A Career-Defining Nightmare
If you want to know why Richard Todd isn't in the Ring of Honor, look no further than the 1982 AFC Championship. It’s known simply as the Mud Bowl.
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The Jets were on fire. They had just crushed the Bengals and the Raiders in the playoffs. They were one win away from the Super Bowl. The only thing in their way was the Miami Dolphins and a stadium that looked more like a swamp than a football field.
Dolphins coach Don Shula famously left the tarp off the field during a torrential rainstorm. The Orange Bowl was a mess. Passing was impossible. Todd struggled, but "struggled" is an understatement. He threw five interceptions. Three of them went to Dolphins linebacker A.J. Duhe. One of those was a screen pass that Duhe intercepted and ran back for a touchdown, basically ending the game.
The Jets lost 14-0. Todd was the scapegoat. Fair or not, he became the face of that failure. You can't throw five picks in the biggest game of your life and expect the New York media to be kind.
Life After the Jets and the Pivot to Banking
By 1983, the relationship was over. Joe Walton took over as head coach, and the chemistry just wasn't there. Todd threw 26 interceptions that year, and the Jets traded him to the New Orleans Saints. He spent a couple of years there, eventually losing his job to Bobby Hebert, before a very brief (and non-playing) return to the Jets in 1986.
Then, he did something most NFL players don't do: he disappeared into the world of high finance.
Todd didn't stay in football. He didn't become a commentator or a coach. He went to Wall Street. He got his Series 7 license and spent over two decades at Bear Stearns before moving to J.P. Morgan. He became a bond salesman. It’s a wild career pivot—from throwing interceptions in front of 70,000 screaming fans to managing institutional bond sales. Honestly, he’s probably made more money in the "real world" than he ever did in the NFL.
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The Realistic Legacy of Richard Todd
Was Richard Todd a failure? It depends on who you ask.
If you compare him to Namath, yes, he fell short. He didn't win the big one. He threw way too many interceptions. But if you look at the raw numbers, he’s still third all-time in Jets passing yards (over 18,000) and touchdowns (110). He led them to their most successful period between the 1960s and the Parcells era.
The guy was tough as nails, too. He made 86 consecutive starts. In an era where defensive linemen could basically clothesline a quarterback without a penalty, that’s insane.
Why You Should Re-evaluate Richard Todd
- The Era Factor: Interception rates were higher in the late 70s. Defensive backs could be much more physical.
- The Playoff Peak: In the 1982 playoffs, prior to the Mud Bowl, Todd was actually playing elite football.
- Versatility: People forget he was a running threat early on, rushing for over 900 yards in his career.
If you’re looking to understand the history of the Jets, you can’t skip the Todd era. It was the bridge between the glory of the 60s and the "Same Old Jets" era of the late 80s and 90s. He was a talented player who probably would have thrived in a different city or a different system, but he was destined to be the guy who followed a legend.
To truly understand his impact, you should look up highlights of the 1981 season. Watch the way he moved in the pocket before the knee injuries slowed him down. He wasn't a "bust" in the traditional sense; he was a very good quarterback who had some of his worst moments on the biggest stages.
The next time you hear a Jets fan complaining about their current quarterback, remind them of 1980. Remind them that things can always be more chaotic. But also remind them that Richard Todd was the last guy to get them within one game of the Super Bowl for nearly 30 years. That counts for something.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Check out the 1981 Jets vs. Dolphins regular-season footage to see Todd at his absolute peak.
- Research the "New York Sack Exchange" to see the defensive context Todd was playing in.
- Compare Todd’s 1981 stats to other AFC quarterbacks like Dan Fouts or Ken Anderson to see how he actually stacked up against his peers.