New Eagles defensive coordinator Todd Bowles (right) learned from one of the best, legendary NFL coach Bill Parcells. (US Presswire)

Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Todd Bowles works for Andy Reid now, but his coaching career was shaped by another long-time NFC East coach – Bill Parcells.

Bowles had just finished a nice eight-year career as a defensive back in the NFL, which included winning Super Bowl XXII with the Washington Redskins, when Parcells hired him in 2000 to be an assistant with the New York Jets.

Then, when Parcells took the coaching job with the Dallas Cowboys in 2005, Bowles went with him. And when Parcells was named vice-president of football operations of the Miami Dolphins in 2008, Bowles followed him there, as well.

Bowles, who played at Temple, had the title of assistant head coach-secondary coach in Miami and was the Dolphins’ interim head coach for three games at the end of last season.

Other players and coaches have influenced Bowles as far as the Xs and Os of the game are concerned, but it was Parcells who taught him the facts of NFL life.

“Bill kind of taught me how to see the whole game and how to see the team as a whole,’’ Bowles said. “He always wanted me to learn more than my position.’’

That has paid off now, as Bowles’ big-picture outlook and his knowledge of the defense beyond the secondary is a major reason Reid picked him to replace Juan Castillo on Tuesday.
And Parcells also made sure Bowles knew about the emotional tug-of-war coaches have to endure if they want to have a long career in the NFL.

“The biggest thing he taught me was, at the end of a game of a loss, the people who take the loss the hardest are the [assistant] coaches,’’ Bowles said. “The players can forget about them in two or three days, the head coach has to move on and stand in front of [the media], but the defensive coaches are pissed off because they know what really happened. You have to keep your coaches up to keep your players up.”

For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis on the Philadelphia Eagles from blogger Kevin Noonan, follow @CBSEagles.