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Total BS: Bears’ Fox, Jets’ Bowles will lead best NFL revivals

By Russell S. Baxter

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Last week, co-editor Joe Soriano and I began a new series on the site called “Total BS” (a play on the fact that our last names are “Baxter” and “Soriano”). Our first installment took a look at the teams that we felt had the best chance of making the playoffs this upcoming season after posting a losing record in 2014.

Joe took the Atlanta Falcons and I opted for the New York Jets. We shall see.

Coincidentally, those are two of the seven clubs that made new head coaching hires this offseason as Dan Quinn takes over in Atlanta and Todd Bowles inherits the New York Jets.

As for the other five newbies, there’s Rex Ryan (Buffalo Bills), John Fox (Chicago Bears), Gary Kubiak (Denver Broncos), Jack Del Rio (Oakland Raiders) and Jim Tomsula (San Francisco 49ers).

So sit back and enjoy, and be sure to chime in with your own thoughts as well.

By the way, if you have a topic you would like to see discussed in the future, drop us a line in the comments section or leave us a suggestion on our Twitter feed.

So without any further adieu we ask this week’s question…

The most successful new NFL head coach will be?

May 8, 2015; Lake Forest, IL, USA; Chicago Bears head coach John Fox (center) watches warm ups during Chicago Bears rookie minicamp at Halas Hall. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Baxter says…

Last week, I wrote that the New York Jets could be the team that rebounds from a losing season to reach the playoffs. You would then think that new head coach Todd Bowles would be the logical answer to this question.

Think again.

That’s not to say that the 2014 NFL Assistant Coach of the Year won’t do a fantastic job. In fact, I apparently feel quite the opposite for obvious reasons.

When you think of the Chicago Bears and their storied history, more times than not hard-hitting defense is the prevailing theme.

In recent seasons, defense has been a distant memory when it comes to this franchise. Hence the hiring of John Fox figures to be the right man for the job at the right time for a team that has seemingly lost its way.

Over the last two seasons combined, Chicago has allowed more than 28 points per game and given up 93 offensive touchdowns. The defense has allowed the third-most yards in the league two straight years and now both Fox and new coordinator Vic Fangio hope to fix that in a big way.

Yes, the offense has its own issues and Adam Gase (the team’s new offensive coordinator) hopes to make life easier for inconsistent but talented quarterback Jay Cutler. However, it’s the other side of the ball where the Bears need to re-establish its identity. Chicago is loaded with offensive weapons and scoring points, for the most part, isn’t usually an issue (as long as you hold onto the football). But it is on defense that the Bears need to re-establish an attitude and Fox is perfectly suited for the task.

Yes, the veteran head coach has enjoyed successful stints with both the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos, leading the former to an appearance in Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2003 and the Broncos to four straight AFC West titles and a berth in Super Bowl XLVIII in 2013. His teams came up short in both instances but the bottom line is that he restored order to both clubs.

It may surprise some to know that Fox has won a total of 127 games as a head coach (including playoffs), tied with Mike Ditka for 25th on the all-time overall list. He may be the perfect tonic for a franchise that last won an NFL title 30 years ago via the Super Bowl shuffling Bears of 1985.

That’s an awfully long time between glasses of champagne.

What sayeth you, Joe?

Feb 18, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; New York Jets coach Todd Bowles speaks to the media during the 2015 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Soriano says…

Russell, John Fox is an excellent choice, because he immediately jumps into an excellent situation in Chicago despite the fact that the Bears were the worst team in the NFC North last season. Not only did they narrowly miss the playoffs back in 2013, but their team is much better than the squad that went on the near-playoff run a couple of seasons ago under Marc Trestman. They landed an impact player in Kevin White, upgraded their slot receiver by signing Eddie Royal, and added a host of much-needed difference-makers on defense in Pernell McPhee, Antrel Rolle, and rookie Eddie Goldman (just to name three).

I’m presuming that the word “successful” in this debate is based on the number of plaudits a new head coach will receive for his direct work on helping the team, because Denver Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak is the obvious favorite to have the best record among the new head coaching hires this offseason.

Again, Fox is an excellent pick, but I’m going to go with New York Jets head man Todd Bowles, who was one of the league’s best defensive coordinators while with the Arizona Cardinals. He managed to field a fierce Cardinals defense last season despite having a poor pass rush and being dealt several key injuries on his side of the ball. The Cardinals were a threat last year because of Bowles’s defense, and now he has a beyond-stacked secondary to go with one of the best defensive lines I have seen in my life.

Seriously, the Jets defense looks unfair on paper, and they could be downright overpowered if Quinton Coples can break out under Bowles and if second-year safety Calvin Pryor can become a difference-maker after taking some expected lumps as a rookie. Bowles gets to work with Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie (again), Buster Skrine, and a defensive line with three All-Pro talents (and likely four, as they now have Leonard Williams, too).

Heck, you even tabbed the Jets as the team with the best chance of making the playoffs in 2015 among the teams with a losing record in 2014. Of course, I picked Dan Quinn’s Atlanta Falcons, but that had a lot to do with the weak NFC South, Matt Ryan’s greatness, and the fact that Kyle Shanahan is the best offensive coordinator in the league.

Back to the larger point, which is Bowles being poised to have a successful first season in New York. He’s an expert at game-planning who knows how to get the most out of the players around him, because he develops young guys, hides weaknesses, and, as every great defensive mind does, takes away the opposition’s best players. Bowles doesn’t ask his stars to play in uncomfortable roles either, and all of this makes me excited to see how he takes his elite players (like Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson) to the next level. It also makes me excited to see if we’re about to see a breakout player on the Jets defense.

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That said, the Jets- and Bowles’s- success hinges on the offense, and that, by extension, hinges on how Geno Smith does, specifically when it comes to protecting the football. But the Jets have undeniable talent at the skill positions, and former Bills offensive coordinator Chan Gailey knows how to run an offense. After all, he coached the 2011 Bills team that got 3,800 yards out of Ryan Fitzpatrick. He got the most out of guys like Donald Jones and David Nelson in the passing game, so he knows how to maximize talent and use his spread-offense to help quarterbacks.

Bowles is smart enough to sit back and let Gailey do the work, and it will be interesting to see if Smith can turn it around with a new regime in place. The Jets gave Bowles some expensive toys on defense in the secondary to go with a “luxury” sixth overall pick, and that has this new head coach poised for success. While a poor season from Geno could undermine Bowles’s work on defense, it’s hard to bet on a defense-minded coach who has just about everything he could ask for on that side of the ball.

Next: Chicago Bears: 5 Best Offseason Moves

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