New York Jets: Todd Bowles a good fit for Gang Green
By Matt Reed
It didn’t take the New York Jets to fill the voids in their front office. On Tuesday afternoon, former Houston Texans director of college scouting Mike Maccagnan was named general manager, while Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles officially signed on as head coach Wednesday morning. Over the past few weeks, rumors had put former Buffalo Bills head coach Doug Marrone, then Seattle defensive coordinator Dan Quinn in the driver’s seat for the team’s head coaching vacancy.
Jets brass were so impressed with Bowles though that they called an impromptu second meeting with Bowles on Tuesday evening, prior to his scheduled appearance with the Atlanta Falcons on Wednesday. ESPN’s Josina Anderson first reported the hire just four hours after the Jets welcomed Maccagnan to Florham Park.
It cannot be overstated how important these two hires are for Gang Green. Obviously former head coach Rex Ryan had had immediate success in New York, but his final four seasons were progressively worse than the last, culminating in 2014 with a 4-12 record. While Bowles only has three games under his belt as a head coach, he brings a familiarity to this team. Bowles is a New Jersey native, growing up in Elizabeth. He also served as a defensive backs coach for the Jets back in 2000, and was brought into the organization by legendary football mind Bill Parcells.
Bowles has been highly respected for his entire coaching career, which includes time in Philadelphia, Miami, and most recently in Arizona. He is similar to Rex Ryan in that he and his players are said to have very strong bonds. The Temple graduate differs from Ryan in one distinct way though, that being his demeanor in public settings. Bowles is very confident and isn’t afraid to get in his player’s faces, but he won’t be guaranteeing any Super Bowls in the near future. While with the Cardinals in 2014, his defense finished fifth in points allowed (18.7) despite being decimated with injuries.
"Antonio Cromartie on Todd Bowles: “He’s one of the smartest coaches I’ve been around from a scheme standpoint.”"
Even though the Jets opted in the direction of yet another defensive-minded head coach, I believe that Bowles is a great hire for the organization. So long as Gang Green can find a viable option at offensive coordinator, this team could be much closer to success than originally expected. It has been reported that Bowles plans to bring in Chan Gailey as the team’s offensive coordinator, but nothing had been made official on that front as of yet.
The New York Jets ranked 22nd this past season in total yards per game (326.6), as well as 28th in points per game (17.7). While it would’ve been nice to have an offensive-minded head coach in charge in the Big Apple, the Jets will remain sound on the defensive side of the ball, which will ease the jobs of the offensive players to some degree. Bowles will receive immediate help though with the addition of new general manager Mike Maccagnan.
Maccagnan has over twenty years of experience in scouting and various other areas of NFL front office work. What’s the one area that the Jets have struggled at most in recent years? If you guessed the draft, you are correct. When was the last time that this organization has had a franchise quarterback? The beauty of having Maccagnan with the Jets is that he is a football mind, unlike former general manager John Idzik, who just dealt with the financial side of the game.
Although they haven’t had a great deal of success, the Houston Texans had kept Maccagnan around from their inception in 2002, until his departure this offseason. He played an integral role in drafting players like defensive end J.J. Watt, wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, and offensive lineman Derek Newton. New head coach Todd Bowles will benefit mightily from having Maccagnan at the helm, and combining their creative minds can only put great things in store for the New York Jets.