When the Jets first hired Todd Bowles to be the 18th head coach in their team’s history, my first reaction was — as Hall of Fame tennis player John McEnroe once said, — “You can’t be serious!” Since 1997, the Jets have always hired defensive-minded coaches; Bill Parcells (1997-1999), Al Groh (2000), Herman Edwards (2001-2005), Eric Mangini (2006-2008) and Rex Ryan (2009-2015), specifically.
I assumed Bowles would fit the same bill. But, after doing a lot of research, I immediately changed my mind. The former Arizona defensive coordinator has a “no-nonsense” professional approach, ensuring every player and coach is held accountable. He had a great first year as the New York Jets’s coach and led the team to a 10-6 record, but it didn’t come without challenges.
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Earlier on in his tenor, Bowles was faced with adversity. Early on, Jets starting quarterback Geno Smith got punched in the face by IK Enemkpali during training camp. Bowles barely talked about the subject and said the issue would be handled internally. The Jets released Enemkpali immediately after, and in doing so, Bowles established his leadership right away.
Bowles has a quiet demeanor, but make no mistake about it, he is beyond intense and is a stickler for details. When coordinators become head coaches, they sometimes struggle to coach the other side of the ball. For example, Rex Ryan has proven to be a horrible offensive coach; Norv Turner has had tremendous success as an offensive coordinator but has struggled to run the team and the defense. The problem with these coaches is that Ryan is very aggressive on defense and very conservative on offense. Turner is very aggressive on offense but very passive on defense. Bowles, in contrast, has been sensational on both sides of the ball.
The Jets were 10th in offensive yards per game (370.3) and 11th in total points per game (24.2) last season. On defense, they were tied for 4th in the league in allowing 19.6 points per game, and 4th in the league in yards per game, only giving up 318.6. Under Bowles’s leadership, the Jets defense also showed tremendous discipline; they were the least penalized D-unit in the NFL (with only 90 penalties in 16 games).
Bowles has brought something to the Jets that we haven’t seen in decades: A balanced, aggressive attack on offense and defense. His team doesn’t beat themselves by committing silly penalties and they don’t make mental mistakes. When Patriots coach Bill Belichick came into the NFL, he quickly gained a reputation as a defensive mastermind. But since then, he has changed his style and has become an offensive guru as well. I am not saying Bowles is in the same conversation as Belichick, but he has proven after one year to be a very good coach that has the potential to be great.
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