A Dark Chapter of New York Jets Football Comes to an End
Week 17 for the New York Jets has only had playoff implications once in the past 10 seasons. It’s usually a time where the team’s draft order could move up or down a few spots, but not much else hangs in the balance. This year, the team had already locked up the number 2 pick, and even against the team that Jets fans hate the most, the New England Patriots, there was really no reason to root for a win. It was a game that represented the entire Adam Gase era. An encouraging start followed by a lack of adjustments and QB Sam Darnold making inexcusable mistakes. While the Jets demise was being televised, it was easy to see that Gase, Darnold, and many others on the team knew that this would likely be their last time on the sidelines representing Gang Green.
There should be a bonus stimulus check for anyone who watched all 16 Jets games this year
— Michael Nania (@Michael_Nania) January 3, 2021
It really is a testament to the Jets fans that stuck with this team throughout the Adam Gase era, which will be looked at in the history of Jets football as one of the worst two-year stretches in franchise history. One of the reasons to stick it out to the end was to watch what could have been the last moments of Sam Darnold in Green and White. The number 3 draft pick in 2018 had become more and more of a polarizing prospect as time had gone on; one thing that is for certain is that the Jets organization failed in helping him reach his potential during his time on the team. There will arguments about whether or not the Jets should still build around him, and we will leave that to Jets Twitter for now, but it feels like fans will look back on what could have been regarding a player that many believed to be the answer to the 50-year long question of which QB will lead the Jets to the promised land.
It’s official: New York Jets say GTFO to Adam Gase pic.twitter.com/cGcxO7xopa
— Concrete New York 🗽 (@concretenewyork) January 4, 2021
While the last two years were a mess for the franchise, the main reason for that result came down to the worst possible leader being hired to run the team in 2018. That man is now officially no longer employed by the Jets and the proverbial cloud has been lifted. Before the hire, Adam Gase was at the bottom of most fans wish list for Head Coach, and even with those low expectations, he proceeded to be even worse than many could have imagined. A list of more innovative candidates were interviewed and ultimately passed on because of a special phone call from Peyton Manning. This colossal mistake should serve as a reminder of exactly how they should not go about making the next decision to hire their next coach. Jets fans, who are typically never aligned seem to want the same thing here: let Joe Douglas take full control of the franchise and make his decision on the next Head Coach and work with him on the crucial decisions coming up this offseason including who the team will draft with their abundance of picks, who the team will sign with their bloated cap space, and of course, the most decision of them all who the team will have under center in Week 1 of the 2020-2021 NFL Season.