Why Todd Bowles chose Chan Gailey as Jets' offensive coordinator
FLORHAM PARK — Todd Bowles had said in the past he likes that Chan Gailey runs a balanced offense, and that Gailey has had some success with quarterbacks like Kordell Stewart and Ryan Fitzpatrick—and, oh by the way, the Jets have since traded for Fitzpatrick to compete with Geno Smith this summer.
But on Saturday, following the second day of practice at the Jets' three-day rookie minicamp, Bowles, the Jets' head coach, elaborated on why he brought Gailey, the 63-year-old former Cowboys, Bills, and Georgia Tech head coach, out of semi-retirement to be his offensive coordinator.
Bowles likes that Gailey places emphasis on trying to run the ball as much he throws it. But the decision to hire Gailey was about much more than that.
"He's a great guy, he's a great individual, he's easy to talk to," Bowles said. "He can reach players and he can span the young ones as well as the old ones, so that made it a very good choice for me as far as the fit that I wanted and what I wanted my offense to look like and Chan was the guy."
It was with the Bills that Gailey coached Fitzpatrick for 2010-12, years in which Fitzpatrcik twice completed more than 60 percent of his passes.
"Playing against [Gailey] over a couple of years when I was in Miami and he was in Buffalo, I kind of liked some of the things he did and some of the adjustments he made so that made him very appealing to me," Bowles said.
SEE ALSO: 10 things to know about Chan Gailey
But Bowles also particularly liked Gailey's past work as an offensive coordinator, a title Gailey had with the Steelers in 1996-97—he reached the AFC championship game in '97 with Stewart at quarterback—and with the Dolphins (2000-01) and Chiefs (2008).
Jets rookie minicamp 5/8/15 Jets wide receivers go through drills at rookie minicamp in Florham Park on Friday. No. 84, who appears in the first two clips, is Devin Smith, the team's second-round draft pick. (Dom Cosentino | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
The two men had never worked together, but that didn't much matter.
"We knew a lot of the same people," Bowles said. "Over the years you talk and you get to know people in passing, so it was kind of easy for me."
Bowles also said he began thinking about hiring Gailey about a year ago, when Bowles started interviewing seriously for head coaching vacancies around the NFL.
"Until you get a bunch of interviews, you start taking it more seriously and you kind of narrow guys down that you want or guys that you could get because most of the good ones are taken," Bowles said. "And Chan, obviously, I thought he was a very good one before he was a head coach and it was a good pick for me."
The Jets conclude their rookie minicamp on Sunday, though the session is closed to the media. They next get together for the first of three weeks of organized team activities on May 19.
Dom Cosentino may be reached at
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