After hiring former Houston Texans Director of College Scouting Mike Maccagnan as the team's new general manager earlier on Tuesday, the New York Jets are set to name Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles as their next head coach.
Bowles takes over for the departed Rex Ryan, who had been the team's head coach since 2009 and recently agreed to become the head coach of the Buffalo Bills. Bowles, of course, will now have to face off with Ryan (and Bill Belichick and Joe Philbin) twice a year.
1. Continuing a trend
Bowles makes the sixth straight defensive coach hired by the Jets. Since New York fired Rich Kotite after he went 4-28 across the 1995 and 1996 seasons, the Jets have hired a defensive coach every time they've had an opening: Bill Parcells, Al Groh (after they first tried to go with Bill Belichick), Herman Edwards, Eric Mangini, Rex Ryan and now Bowles.
2. Bowles' background
Bowles spent eight years in the NFL as a safety, playing for the Washington Redskins and San Francisco 49ers from 1986 to 1993. He worked as a defensive backs coach for numerous teams after retiring from the NFL, including the Jets themselves back in 2000, Woody Johnson's first season as the owner.
Bowles served as the interim head coach of the Miami Dolphins 2011, winning two of the season's final three games after Tony Sparano was fired. He then moved on to the Philadelphia Eagles, where he coached defensive backs for half a season before being promoted to defensive coordinator after Juan Castillo was let go.
When Chip Kelly came in and brought a new staff with him to Philly, Bowles moved on to Arizona, where he spent the last two seasons coordinating one of the NFL's best defenses. The Cardinals ranked second and seventh in defensive DVOA in two years under Bowles.
He showed a knack for getting the most out of scrap heap talent, coaxing excellent seasons out of under-the-radar free agent signings in both of his seasons with Arizona. Players like Tommy Kelly, Larry Foote, Antonio Cromartie and Karlos Dansby have recognizable names, but they weren't coveted in free agency before winding up with the Cardinals. Bowles put them all in a position to succeed and they responded accordingly.
3. Innovative schemes
Bowles is also well-known for being very creative in how he schemes his defenses. The Cardinals sent pressure more than almost any team in the league this year, with Bowles trying to manufacture a pass rush out of spare parts as front seven players kept sustaining injuries.
Coaching ad hoc to his personnel, Bowles unveiled defensive formations with as many as four safeties on the field at a time this season, working to get Tyrann Mathieu, Rashad Johnson, Tony Jefferson and Deone Bucannon out there all at the same time.
For most of the season, the Cardinals were able to withstand the losses of players like Darnell Dockett, John Abraham and Daryl Washington, but they did begin to backslide toward the end of the year.
4. Speaking of personnel
Bowles will have some pretty good personnel to get creative with in New York, at least along the defensive line. Muhammad Wilkerson, Damon Harrison and Sheldon Richardson are each among the best in the league at their positions. Wilkerson and Richardson ranked as Pro Football Focus' second- and third-best 3-4 defensive ends in 2014, behind only J.J. Watt, who may or may not be a human person. Harrison rated as the third-best run-stopping defensive tackle in football by the same metrics.
Calvin Pryor, the team's first round pick in 2014, should be someone who is helped a lot by Bowles' hire, and the same is true of restricted free agent Jaiquawn Jarrett and unrestricted free agent Dawan Landry if they return. Bowles could come up with all kinds of creative ways to deploy those three safeties if they are all on hand.
They'll need to get much better at cornerback, though, if they want to show any sort of defensive improvement next season. Despite a strong pass rush and some solid play from safeties, the Jets still ranked as one of the worst pass defenses in the league (21st in yards per attempt allowed, 30th in quarterback rating allowed and 24th in pass defense DVOA) in 2014 due in large part to comically bad performance from their corners. They should get Dee Milliner back from injury next season, but the rest of the group needs a massive upgrade.
5. And what of the offense?
Maybe the most important question for Bowles -- and Maccagnan -- to answer is who their starting quarterback will be. The two are inheriting former second-round pick Geno Smith, but it's possible they want to bring in their own guy. The Jets do have the sixth pick in the NFL Draft this year, right in the range where you can usually expect the second or third quarterback to come off the board. This year, Oregon's Marcus Mariota and Florida State's Jameis Winston are considered the top signal-callers in the draft.
Factoring into that decision will likely be whoever Bowles and Maccagnan decide to hire as the offensive coordinator. The Jets have been a power running team for a while now, and it will be interesting to see if they go away from that under the Bowles regime.
