Zach Wilson's magic and the top 5 moments for the NY Jets in 2021

5. The NY Jets hire Robert Saleh to replace Adam Gase

Many fans would say that Adam Gase should have been fired after year one. Some would even say that he should have never have been hired in the first place. Both sides of that argument were satisfied on January 3rd of 2021 when Gase was shown the door.

Then came a pivotal moment in the franchise's recent history. After botching the hiring in 2019, the Jets needed to make up for lost time. There was plenty of speculation about who the head coach would be.

Would they focus on offense and pursue Bills' offensive coordinator Brian Daboll? Would they continue on the trend of uninspiring retread hires like Doug Pederson?

While fans were in the midst of guessing, rumors started swirling that they could land one of the hottest names on the market — 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. It seemed too good to be true. It was then that things started getting a little wild.

From the fear that the Eagles would sweep Saleh from underneath the Jets' noses, to somebody even camping out in the bushes near the facility to give live updates, it was the pinnacle of NY Jets Twitter.

The nerves, the emotions — it was a chaotic, yet thoroughly entertaining time. The pure joy that came when the official announcement was made is still a pleasant memory.

Now at the end of his first season, there are obviously areas of criticism. His time management certainly seems to be the glaring issue. However, the team was competitive during the final few weeks of the season.

It will likely be another year or two before we look back on the Saleh hire with either joy or disdain. For the moment, it was one of the most jubilant moments of the year.