The New York Jets signed New Jersey native, Head Coach Todd Bowles to begin a brand new era in New York. Jets fans have mixed emotions about this, and for good reasons. When a team wins just four games in a sixteen game season, change is necessary. Whether the team went in the right direction with the Bowles signing is now irrelevant because what’s done is done. Whether you like it or not, this will be the New York Jets’ head coach for at least one season. If it is a one-year era, that would mean the Jets actually get worse next year, which is highly unlikely.
Todd Bowles is similar to previous New York Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan in that he uses a 3-4 scheme on defense, and is very blitz-happy. While Bowles was the defensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals last season, they blitzed on 49% of all defensive snaps. With the Jets’ elite front 3 (the Sons of Anarchy), including two 2014-2015 Pro Bowlers, aggressive blitzing will get the Jets in their opponents’ backfield constantly. While Bowles blitzed a lot in Arizona, his area of expertise is the secondary, as he has 8 years of NFL player experience as a safety, and has been the defensive back coach of several NFL teams. His experience as a safety will help 2013-2014 first round strong safety Calvin Pryor progress, as well as the rest of the Jets’ young secondary. Bowles has experience as a nickel-package coach so he can help develop the Jets’ nickel-specializing cornerbacks like Kyle Wilson. Hopefully he makes the most out of Wilson, who hasn’t had much success since being drafted.
Todd Bowles’ NFL Resume:
Player:
Washington Redskins (1986-1990)
San Francisco 49ers (1991)
Washington Redskins (1992-1993)
Staff:
Green Bay Packers- Player Personnel Staff (1995-1996)
Coach:
New York Jets- Defensive Backs Coach (2000)
Cleveland Browns- Defensive Backs Coach and Nickel Package Coach (2001-2004)
Dallas Cowboys- Defensive Backs Coach (2005-2007)
Miami Dolphins- Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Backs Coach (2008-2011)
Miami Dolphins- Interim Head Coach and Defensive Backs Coach (2011)
Philadelphia Eagles- Interim Defensive Coordinator and Defensive Backs Coach (2012)
Arizona Cardinals- Defensive Coordinator (2013-2014)
Todd Bowles began his long NFL coaching career for the New York Jets in Giants Stadium and returns to Gang Green in Metlife Stadium in his first full Head Coaching job. As the Interim Head Coach of the Jets’ division-rival Miami Dolphins, Bowles went 2-1. One small cause for concern about Bowles is he has not stayed with one team as a coach for longer than four years. There are many factors that go into keeping an assistant coach so it doesn’t necessarily mean he was a bad coach. The biggest concern with Bowles is in his 2014 season as the Arizona Cardinals’ defensive coordinator, they had a terrible defense. You bring in a defensive specialist who just had the 24th ranked defense in the NFL to be in charge of your whole team? That makes no sense. If you are going to bring in a defensive specialist, you should at least grab a successful one.
With that said, Bowles is actually a great fit for the Jets because he is blitz-happy, which will utilize the Sons of Anarchy, and he is a secondary expert. With the Jets’ biggest need being cornerback, and a coach specializing in defensive backs in charge of the team, you can expect him to influence Mike Maccagnan, newly signed General Manager of the New York Jets, to fill the Jets’ holes in the secondary. With a good secondary, he will be able to blitz without wide receivers open all over the field. So not only will Todd Bowles help develop the Jets’ defensive backs, but he will also sign better personnel so that the secondary isn’t the Jets’ biggest liability.
Todd Bowles is expected to hire successful defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers as the Jets’ defensive coordinator, which is an amazing fit, as a Bowles-Rodgers combination specializes in both the defensive line and the secondary. Only the linebacker corpse is omitted there, and the Jets are in need of a couple outside linebackers. If the Jets draft Vic Beasely, star outside linebacker out of Clemson University, that will help fill a large hole in the Jets’ defense.
If the Jets pick up a good wide receiver in the offseason and improve their offensive line, while giving Geno Smith some real competition, they will have a very talented offense. The Jets are expected to sign Chan Gailey as their offensive coordinator. This is a great sign because he has more experience than most coaches in the league, and he has experience as a head coach for many teams, offensive coordinator for several teams, and receivers coach for some other teams. Gailey has a losing record as an NFL coach but has had his share of very good seasons. With good talent and coaching, this offense can live up to it’s potential and be very dangerous.
Todd Bowles is similar to previous New York Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan in that he uses a 3-4 scheme on defense, and is very blitz-happy. While Bowles was the defensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals last season, they blitzed on 49% of all defensive snaps. With the Jets’ elite front 3 (the Sons of Anarchy), including two 2014-2015 Pro Bowlers, aggressive blitzing will get the Jets in their opponents’ backfield constantly. While Bowles blitzed a lot in Arizona, his area of expertise is the secondary, as he has 8 years of NFL player experience as a safety, and has been the defensive back coach of several NFL teams. His experience as a safety will help 2013-2014 first round strong safety Calvin Pryor progress, as well as the rest of the Jets’ young secondary. Bowles has experience as a nickel-package coach so he can help develop the Jets’ nickel-specializing cornerbacks like Kyle Wilson. Hopefully he makes the most out of Wilson, who hasn’t had much success since being drafted.
Todd Bowles’ NFL Resume:
Player:
Washington Redskins (1986-1990)
San Francisco 49ers (1991)
Washington Redskins (1992-1993)
Staff:
Green Bay Packers- Player Personnel Staff (1995-1996)
Coach:
New York Jets- Defensive Backs Coach (2000)
Cleveland Browns- Defensive Backs Coach and Nickel Package Coach (2001-2004)
Dallas Cowboys- Defensive Backs Coach (2005-2007)
Miami Dolphins- Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Backs Coach (2008-2011)
Miami Dolphins- Interim Head Coach and Defensive Backs Coach (2011)
Philadelphia Eagles- Interim Defensive Coordinator and Defensive Backs Coach (2012)
Arizona Cardinals- Defensive Coordinator (2013-2014)
Todd Bowles began his long NFL coaching career for the New York Jets in Giants Stadium and returns to Gang Green in Metlife Stadium in his first full Head Coaching job. As the Interim Head Coach of the Jets’ division-rival Miami Dolphins, Bowles went 2-1. One small cause for concern about Bowles is he has not stayed with one team as a coach for longer than four years. There are many factors that go into keeping an assistant coach so it doesn’t necessarily mean he was a bad coach. The biggest concern with Bowles is in his 2014 season as the Arizona Cardinals’ defensive coordinator, they had a terrible defense. You bring in a defensive specialist who just had the 24th ranked defense in the NFL to be in charge of your whole team? That makes no sense. If you are going to bring in a defensive specialist, you should at least grab a successful one.
With that said, Bowles is actually a great fit for the Jets because he is blitz-happy, which will utilize the Sons of Anarchy, and he is a secondary expert. With the Jets’ biggest need being cornerback, and a coach specializing in defensive backs in charge of the team, you can expect him to influence Mike Maccagnan, newly signed General Manager of the New York Jets, to fill the Jets’ holes in the secondary. With a good secondary, he will be able to blitz without wide receivers open all over the field. So not only will Todd Bowles help develop the Jets’ defensive backs, but he will also sign better personnel so that the secondary isn’t the Jets’ biggest liability.
Todd Bowles is expected to hire successful defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers as the Jets’ defensive coordinator, which is an amazing fit, as a Bowles-Rodgers combination specializes in both the defensive line and the secondary. Only the linebacker corpse is omitted there, and the Jets are in need of a couple outside linebackers. If the Jets draft Vic Beasely, star outside linebacker out of Clemson University, that will help fill a large hole in the Jets’ defense.
If the Jets pick up a good wide receiver in the offseason and improve their offensive line, while giving Geno Smith some real competition, they will have a very talented offense. The Jets are expected to sign Chan Gailey as their offensive coordinator. This is a great sign because he has more experience than most coaches in the league, and he has experience as a head coach for many teams, offensive coordinator for several teams, and receivers coach for some other teams. Gailey has a losing record as an NFL coach but has had his share of very good seasons. With good talent and coaching, this offense can live up to it’s potential and be very dangerous.