The franchise formed in 1959 as the New York Titans. Harry Wismer, a Big Apple sportscaster for Mutual Radio, attended the inaugural organizational meeting of the fourth edition of an NFL rival league named the American Football League. Wismer proclaimed that it was time for the large metropolis to field a second professional team that would compete with the long-established Giants.

Wismer stated that the team would be called the Titans because Titans were bigger and stronger in ancient lore than Giants. It was only a short time after the team nailed down a contract to call the vaunted Polo Grounds as their home field. The venue was falling apart due to age, and the fans needed to be more receptive to attending games or seeing the product put on the field. Thus, financial woes hit the franchise hard in its first three seasons, so much so that Wismer had to hand control over to the AFL to finish the season.

A business group of five bought the rights for a mere $1, saving the franchise from certain bankruptcy, and ran the squad for the 1963 season. The syndicate, headed by Sonny Werblin, wanted to distance themselves and the team from the failures of the first three seasons in the AFL. Werblin and company also took the team out of the dilapidated Polo Grounds to a new venue, Shea Stadium, which would be shared with another new New York team, the MLB NY Mets. The Mets were touted as a team for the younger generation from the old-school Yankees, and this appealed to Werblin's group to do the same with their competition with the Giants. The name Jets seemed very fitting to associate themselves closer with their new stadium roommates and honor their close location to Laguardia Airport.

The owners also transitioned to a new coaching staff by hiring a proven winner in Weeb Ewbank, who would be the team's Head Coach and General Manager. The moves were a positive strategy that would provide some success for future seasons.