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" Jets hit paydirt with Todd Bowles/Mike Maccagnan tandem " ~ ~ ~


kelly

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Charley Casserly called Woody Johnson as soon as he heard Todd Bowles was heading to Atlanta the next morning to interview for — and possibly accept — the Falcons’ head coaching job. It was around 10 p.m. on Jan. 12, and Casserly, the former longtime NFL general manager hired by Johnson as a consultant in the team’s search for a new coach and GM, feared his top choice might get away.

He knew the Jets owner needed to make a move. Immediately.

“Woody said, ‘Change his flight and get him in here,’ ” Casserly recalled on Tuesday about the moment that ultimately changed the Jets’ fortunes and set them on the path to where they are today — within a game of reaching the playoffs in Bowles’ first season. “[Johnson] didn’t waffle for a minute. When the time came to make a decision, he acted decisively.”

Johnson also acted on Casserly’s recommendation that he hire Mike Maccagnan to replace John Idzik as general manager, and within a whirlwind 24-hour period, the Jets had their new football operations team in place. The Bowles/Maccagnan partnership could not have gone any better, as the Jets appear to be on the right path for long-term success.Casserly and former Packers general manager Ron Wolf, who also participated in the exhaustive offseason search to fill the two most important roles in the Jets’ organization, couldn’t be happier at the way things turned out. While they may be surprised at how quickly the turnaround happened, especially in light of the circumstances surrounding the quarterback situation, they are hardly shocked that the Jets are in a far better place than before Bowles and Maccagnan took over.

“I think it’s a remarkable job that they’ve done,” Wolf said. “I think they’ve been exceptional. It’s a great tribute to how good they really are. The Jets have a good thing going.”

The Jets are on the verge of reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2010, when Rex Ryan led the team to a second straight playoff berth. The Jets can clinch an AFC wild-card berth with a win or tie against Ryan’s Buffalo Bills, or if the Steelers lose to or tie with the Browns.Both Casserly and Wolf, who was selected for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame earlier this year, were immediately impressed when they first met with Bowles. Wolf, in fact, suggested that Johnson hire him after his first meeting with the Jets, although it wasn’t until after his second interview that Bowles got the job.“His preparation was outstanding in his interview,” Wolf said. “He knew the AFC East. He knew the Jets, and he had just finished the playoffs [as the Arizona Cardinals’ defensive coordinator] in an entirely different conference. He had no time off, but he studied, prepared and made his presentation and truly knew the Jets. It was very impressive.”

Casserly believed Bowles’ skill set, not only as a coach but as a human being, would serve him well.

“Excellent defensive coach. Excellent at adjustments, adapting personnel to scheme,” Casserly said. “Leadership. The ability to take control of the room. That, to me, is very important. I had a real good feeling on that, and that’s been evident.”

“Smart guy in dealing with the media,” Casserly continued. “The job wasn’t going to be too big for him, because he’s a smart guy and he’s mature and he’s been around a while. I thought he would have a vision for the team and you can see that now.”

Two things stood out for Casserly during the interview process.

“I heard a story out of Miami [where Bowles had been the interim head coach near the end of the 2011 season],” Casserly said. “The guy stops practice right in the middle of it and makes them start all over. As an interim coach, that said something. And then I asked him to give me a speech he would make to the Jets when he took over the team.“He went in there and said, ‘All right men, we’re going to throw the ball 27 times in the first half, and we’re not going to throw it at all in the second half.’ The point is he was giving a vision of what he wanted with the team. This is how we’re going to operate.”

One of Bowles’ biggest strong points: communication.

“He gets more said in a few words than anybody I’ve ever been around,” Casserly said. “That’s an asset. He’s man-to-man with people, and I think the players appreciate that. He isn’t afraid of anybody.”

Maccagnan makes all right moves

Casserly’s recommendation of Maccagnan — and Johnson’s willingness to hire him — has been equally important to the equation. Maccagnan, a longtime scout, goes back to Casserly’s early days in Washington, and he was Casserly’s first hire when he became GM in Houston in 2000.“Mike came in with a plan, starting with free agency,” Casserly said. “They didn’t get everybody they wanted, but they filled the positions of need, starting with cornerback.“You get Buster Skrine, then the Darrelle Revis thing falls into their lap and they execute the contract, then Antonio Cromartie follows Revis. They re-signed David Harris out of the box and Marcus Gilchrist was a guy Todd wanted in his system.”

And then the two trades that have been so instrumental in the team’s success: the first for Bears receiver Brandon Marshall and then the deal for Texans quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. The two have since gone on to form one of the best quarterback-receiver tandems in the league — but only after Fitzpatrick took over at quarterback because Geno Smith suffered a broken jaw in a locker-room fight with IK Enemkpali on Aug. 11.“Marshall was the right place at the right time,” Casserly said. “And with Fitzpatrick, the light went on for him, finally. He’s a smart guy who didn’t always play smart. Now he’s a smart guy who’s playing smart. Nobody would have said in August you’d win 10 games with him as your quarterback, but it’s a credit to him and the guys around him.”

Terrific work all around by Bowles, Maccagnan and the roster they’ve assembled so quickly yet so meticulously.And credit to Casserly and Wolf for recommending to Johnson the right guys for the job.“They’ve done a heck of a job,” Wolf said of Bowles and Maccagnan. “To be part of something like that makes you feel really good.”

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Great stuff! Thanks Kelly

Had no idea that the Bowles hire went down that way, afraid of losing him to Atlanta. I just thought they felt they couldn't wait any longer on Quinn.

I remember reading at the time that during the interview, Bowles said he wanted to bring in Chan as his OC and explained to the Jets why. Talk about thinking out of the box.

That also makes me think trading for Fitz was Chan's idea. Nice job by MacDaddy to get him on the cheap.

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I am happy as anyone about this FO and their first season together, but lets wait a few years to be sure.  This pairing seems special, but I was pretty happy with the results of the Mike/Rex pairing their first 2 years.  Again, this feels different, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

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Let's also remember that this past draft was done w/ Idzik's scouts (who I believe were all fired after the draft - customary when switching GM from what I understand).  But the Fitz and Marshall acquisitions were definitely critical for this team (though Leonard WIlliams kind of fell into our lap).

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Let's also remember that this past draft was done w/ Idzik's scouts (who I believe were all fired after the draft - customary when switching GM from what I understand).  But the Fitz and Marshall acquisitions were definitely critical for this team (though Leonard WIlliams kind of fell into our lap).

He def. fell into our lap; as I understand it we tried to trade out to get a bunch of picks.  You have to recognize that Macc had the strength to pick BPA even though we were stacked at DL and had other needs.  Clearly, the Redskins didn't have the same discipline.

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I am happy as anyone about this FO and their first season together, but lets wait a few years to be sure.  This pairing seems special, but I was pretty happy with the results of the Mike/Rex pairing their first 2 years.  Again, this feels different, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Was gonna say the same thing. Very happy so far, but I've been happy before. Lol. 

Let's also remember that this past draft was done w/ Idzik's scouts (who I believe were all fired after the draft - customary when switching GM from what I understand).  But the Fitz and Marshall acquisitions were definitely critical for this team (though Leonard WIlliams kind of fell into our lap).

No, it wasn't. Maccagnan shook up the personnel department right away, which was surprising being that isn't how it's generally done. Sure, there were some hold-overs that were moved out later, but he had his own little circle of trust in place. 

Also interesting in that article that they site the Harris resigning as one of Mac's top moves. Probably of the most (if not the most) criticized moves they made around here. Another move that was roundly criticized at the time was the Bilal Powell resigning, which looks pretty genius lately. 

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He def. fell into our lap; as I understand it we tried to trade out to get a bunch of picks.  You have to recognize that Macc had the strength to pick BPA even though we were stacked at DL and had other needs.  Clearly, the Redskins didn't have the same discipline.

I'm sure the Bears, Falcons and Giants thought Leo would fall to them because the re was NO way Jets would take another DL with the #1 pick.

Big Balls by MacDaddy to stick to the "BAP" model.

We'll really get a feel for how it plays out over the next season or two with regarde to the Wilkerson/Richardson contract/Trade scenarios.

MacDaddy is holding a "Full House" but how he bluffs and plays his hand will be the big test of his Football Intellect and Big Picyure IQ

Don't blow this MacDaddy!!

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He def. fell into our lap; as I understand it we tried to trade out to get a bunch of picks.  You have to recognize that Macc had the strength to pick BPA even though we were stacked at DL and had other needs.  Clearly, the Redskins didn't have the same discipline.

The long time former scout completely understands that BAP is the only way to go, especially high in the draft where there's more separation between prospects. He valued Williams, and when he was unable to get the value for him that he felt he should get in a trade, he pulled the trigger himself. 

So glad that Scherff love landed in Washington. What a dumb pick that was. 

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2 comments to this topics in response to some past comments:

1) REX/TANN made moves that were very short term thinking all the way around. Trade ups to get blue chip players and large contracts with no way out of the contracts for bad performances. That's why you saw great success early and it all fall apart after that. There moves supplied no depth and long term growth. MAC/BOWLES have made their moves thinking short and long term. You can see that in the trades i.e Fitz/Marshall, FAs Revis/Cro/Skrine/Ghilcrist/Carpenter, and draft picks Williams/Mauldin/Smith/Petty. All all contracts they gave out were reasonable for both sides short and long term and gave the team an out for performances/injuries going forward like Cromartie. Now the jury is still out, but if they maintain this approach as shown by Bowles coaching to have things always done in similiar fashion never going off the deep end, it should continue as we have been seeing. 

2) Jets and Skins both have had good success with the way they drafted with their 1st picks this year, us getting DL Williams and Skins getting OL Shereif(sp?) who has been a big impact/reason why Cousins has played as well and that O scores enough for them to be able to win when they need to.  

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2 comments to this topics in response to some past comments:

1) REX/TANN made moves that were very short term thinking all the way around. Trade ups to get blue chip players and large contracts with no way out of the contracts for bad performances. That's why you saw great success early and it all fall apart after that. There moves supplied no depth and long term growth. MAC/BOWLES have made their moves thinking short and long term. You can see that in the trades i.e Fitz/Marshall, FAs Revis/Cro/Skrine/Ghilcrist/Carpenter, and draft picks Williams/Mauldin/Smith/Petty. All all contracts they gave out were reasonable for both sides short and long term and gave the team an out for performances/injuries going forward like Cromartie. Now the jury is still out, but if they maintain this approach as shown by Bowles coaching to have things always done in similiar fashion never going off the deep end, it should continue as we have been seeing. 

2) Jets and Skins both have had good success with the way they drafted with their 1st picks this year, us getting DL Williams and Skins getting OL Shereif(sp?) who has been a big impact/reason why Cousins has played as well and that O scores enough for them to be able to win when they need to.  

While I completely agree with you on #1 - this team has a long term/short term approach and good disciplined coaching, I have to disagree with #2.  We received a few trade offers for williams so I assume the skins did too; they could have traded down a few spots (or more), got an extra player (or 2) and still drafted their guard.  I don't think you draft a guard in the top 10/15.  I think the Giants messed up too.

Either way, you have to respect Macc for drafting the BPA in a position where the Jets were deep.  You have to also respect the way Bowels (and staff) got Williams the playing time with such a stacked DL.

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Great article Kelly, thank you for that. I truly believe in my heart of hearts that the Jets are FINALLY on the right path that will lead to a Super Bowl win in the near future. Couldn't have found a better pair than Big Mac and Bowles. J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets.

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2 comments to this topics in response to some past comments:

1) REX/TANN made moves that were very short term thinking all the way around. Trade ups to get blue chip players and large contracts with no way out of the contracts for bad performances. That's why you saw great success early and it all fall apart after that. There moves supplied no depth and long term growth. MAC/BOWLES have made their moves thinking short and long term. You can see that in the trades i.e Fitz/Marshall, FAs Revis/Cro/Skrine/Ghilcrist/Carpenter, and draft picks Williams/Mauldin/Smith/Petty. All all contracts they gave out were reasonable for both sides short and long term and gave the team an out for performances/injuries going forward like Cromartie. Now the jury is still out, but if they maintain this approach as shown by Bowles coaching to have things always done in similiar fashion never going off the deep end, it should continue as we have been seeing. 

2) Jets and Skins both have had good success with the way they drafted with their 1st picks this year, us getting DL Williams and Skins getting OL Shereif(sp?) who has been a big impact/reason why Cousins has played as well and that O scores enough for them to be able to win when they need to.  

Rex and Tanny were reachers. They fell in love with measureables and thought that with his "great coaching" the player would become what they envisioned. Not so with Vlad Ducasse, Kyle Wilson, Stephen Hill, Quentin Coples and several others. Maccagnan does his homework and watches film and makes no 'projections' that backfire. He is a pro where Tanny/Rex were not.

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Was gonna say the same thing. Very happy so far, but I've been happy before. Lol. 

No, it wasn't. Maccagnan shook up the personnel department right away, which was surprising being that isn't how it's generally done. Sure, there were some hold-overs that were moved out later, but he had his own little circle of trust in place. 

Also interesting in that article that they site the Harris resigning as one of Mac's top moves. Probably of the most (if not the most) criticized moves they made around here. Another move that was roundly criticized at the time was the Bilal Powell resigning, which looks pretty genius lately. 

He also came here as a scout.  He already had his list in place of college players that he scouted personally, had intel on from the rest of his meetings in Houston and the info he added in from the holdover Jet scouts.  

Then HE pulled the trigger on picks, not the Jet scouts that were still cashing checks

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I'm still not totally convinced. As Jets fans, we have seen plenty of first year HC success that didn't end well in the long run

I'll say I like what I have seen so far tho. I just hope it end differently than the previous regimes

Neither am I. Bowles I feel has been the shining star at this point.  He has changed the culture of this team.  He is no nonsense, reserved and is still a 'player's coach'. He wasn't hired by Mac whose grade is still pending IMO.  Mac has made some interesting moves that have really panned out however. The Marshall signing was 'risky' but Marshall has been a saint and a total team player.  He has grown up big time.  Signing Fitzy as insurance was a very smart move which has paid huge dividends.  Instantly, I knew he would be our starter. It was just a matter of time before Geno imploded.  Those 2 moves alone warrant a high five.  His first draft was good to what could be spectacular if it pans out. Time will tell. FA signings were somewhat suspect to me. I would not have spent so much on Revis, resigned Harris or Cro.  All have contributed, some more than others.  Hard to screw up FA signings with the gazillions he had at his disposal.    Next draft, FA signings, cuts and  reforming the roster next year will speak more volumes about his ability as a GM. Mac seems to be a guy whose daring and cautious at the same time, an interesting dichotomy.   

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Neither am I. Bowles I feel has been the shining star at this point.  He has changed the culture of this team.  He is no nonsense, reserved and is still a 'player's coach'. He wasn't hired by Mac whose grade is still pending IMO.  Mac has made some interesting moves that have really panned out however. The Marshall signing was 'risky' but Marshall has been a saint and a total team player.  He has grown up big time.  Signing Fitzy as insurance was a very smart move which has paid huge dividends.  Instantly, I knew he would be our starter. It was just a matter of time before Geno imploded.  Those 2 moves alone warrant a high five.  His first draft was good to what could be spectacular if it pans out. Time will tell. FA signings were somewhat suspect to me. I would not have spent so much on Revis, resigned Harris or Cro.  All have contributed, some more than others.  Hard to screw up FA signings with the gazillions he had at his disposal.    Next draft, FA signings, cuts and  reforming the roster next year will speak more volumes about his ability as a GM. Mac seems to be a guy whose daring and cautious at the same time, an interesting dichotomy.   

I disagree about hard to screw up when you have millions: Duh to Miami (who also overpaid for Tannehill); every year a team tries to buy a playoff spot by throwing ridiculous money at a player, Mac didn't do that.

As far as Marshal goes, giving up a 5th (and getting back a 7th) for a guy with his talent wasn't all that risky.  He could have been a cancer, but it was a low cost / high reward play.

A good draft that may turn great is a good job IMO for a first time guy that had to hit the ground running.  He did well in FA (I think he spent too much on Cro but we are free if we want next year).

The only real mistake, if you ask me, wasn't resigning Fitz with a 1 year extension when he came to camp.  It would have been short money to extend what appeared to be a backup QB and we would be sitting with much more leverage now.  Not sure if Fitz would have gone for it coming off of injury, but not sure he would have had much choice in turning down the signing bonus...

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Neither am I. Bowles I feel has been the shining star at this point.  He has changed the culture of this team.  He is no nonsense, reserved and is still a 'player's coach'. He wasn't hired by Mac whose grade is still pending IMO.  Mac has made some interesting moves that have really panned out however. The Marshall signing was 'risky' but Marshall has been a saint and a total team player.  He has grown up big time.  Signing Fitzy as insurance was a very smart move which has paid huge dividends.  Instantly, I knew he would be our starter. It was just a matter of time before Geno imploded.  Those 2 moves alone warrant a high five.  His first draft was good to what could be spectacular if it pans out. Time will tell. FA signings were somewhat suspect to me. I would not have spent so much on Revis, resigned Harris or Cro.  All have contributed, some more than others.  Hard to screw up FA signings with the gazillions he had at his disposal.    Next draft, FA signings, cuts and  reforming the roster next year will speak more volumes about his ability as a GM. Mac seems to be a guy whose daring and cautious at the same time, an interesting dichotomy.   

And there's the difference.  You wouldn't have signed Revis, Harris or Cro.  And the team would be a whole lot worse without them.  

Hard to screw up FA by spending millions????  Haven't been paying much attention to sports, every sport?  

Yankees, Mets, Knicks, Rangers, Dodgers, Marlins, Mariners, Redskins, the list goes on and on

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Great stuff! Thanks Kelly

Had no idea that the Bowles hire went down that way, afraid of losing him to Atlanta. I just thought they felt they couldn't wait any longer on Quinn.

I remember reading at the time that during the interview, Bowles said he wanted to bring in Chan as his OC and explained to the Jets why. Talk about thinking out of the box.

That also makes me think trading for Fitz was Chan's idea. Nice job by MacDaddy to get him on the cheap.

What you said here can't be highlighted enough. 

Many said Bowles was somehow forced to take Chan and that isn't the case and it is important because it shows that Bowles had a plan for the whole team and not just the latest fad that might be sweeping the NFL but a real plan as to what he wanted to do.

That IMO is what distinguishes him from the three prior Jets HC hires.  Bowles had a real plan for the offense, what he calls complimentary football.  I really don't know what Herms plan was, or Mangini's or Rex's and his ground and pound Philosophy.  

Also the idea that anyone could have done what Mac has done is down and out silly.... Tanny was a high profile short term thinker, more akin to an excellent checkers player which in truth might have good enough in the past prior to all of these free agent signings and defections.  Now however to be a GM in the NFL you need to be more a chess player, thinking long term/short term chemistry and injuries constantly and that requires another level of sophistication that Tanny didn't fully exhibit IMO.

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And there's the difference.  You wouldn't have signed Revis, Harris or Cro.  And the team would be a whole lot worse without them.  

Hard to screw up FA by spending millions????  Haven't been paying much attention to sports, every sport?  

Yankees, Mets, Knicks, Rangers, Dodgers, Marlins, Mariners, Redskins, the list goes on and on

Hard to screw up FA by spending millions???? I meant he spent too much to get/retain players who invariably made the team better but at the expense of overspending.  I never said I didn't want Revis.  Of course I wanted him back like any Jet fan but not for ALL that  money.  Revis stated he wanted to come back home.  Why couldn't he have given the Jets a home town discount.  Because he's all about the money -  always has been.  Who would have paid him that much. Nobody.  That's sick money for a CB - I don't care who it is.  Harris is overrated and over the hill and he cant cover a pot.  He's good on run D but terrible on passing downs. 15 mill guaranteed for an aging ILB - no thanks.  Cro was done when he was here in his last year.  Who knows for sure who they targeted opposite of Revis, but I wouldn't have resigned him, period.  He can open up a chicken place - Cro's Fried Chicken.        

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Love Bowles, I really do, but the Jets have had an insane streak of first year success with rookie head coaches. There's something different about Bowles, I can't exactly put my finger on it, but I'm still hesitant. I've been sucked into this same movie so many times now, I need to see it for a few years before I'm truly content with anything anymore.

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The only real mistake, if you ask me, wasn't resigning Fitz with a 1 year extension when he came to camp.  It would have been short money to extend what appeared to be a backup QB and we would be sitting with much more leverage now.  Not sure if Fitz would have gone for it coming off of injury, but not sure he would have had much choice in turning down the signing bonus...

Who woulda thunk it.  Pay Fitz. He has earned it and is a great mentor and a late bloomer.   

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Hard to screw up FA by spending millions???? I meant he spent too much to get/retain players who invariably made the team better but at the expense of overspending.  I never said I didn't want Revis.  Of course I wanted him back like any Jet fan but not for ALL that  money.  Revis stated he wanted to come back home.  Why couldn't he have given the Jets a home town discount.  Because he's all about the money -  always has been.  Who would have paid him that much. Nobody.  That's sick money for a CB - I don't care who it is.  Harris is overrated and over the hill and he cant cover a pot.  He's good on run D but terrible on passing downs. 15 mill guaranteed for an aging ILB - no thanks.  Cro was done when he was here in his last year.  Who knows for sure who they targeted opposite of Revis, but I wouldn't have resigned him, period.  He can open up a chicken place - Cro's Fried Chicken.        

he overspent for no one.  You want a Revis you knew what it would cost.  Why should he give us a home discount?  How often does that happen?  And why, we had the cap space.  What's the big deal?  Someone would have paid him.  Cro is a one year deal essentially.  

To you Harris is overrated.  To his teammates, people around the league he's not.  Laugh when I read a LB can't play the pass.  Rare that a LB can.  

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he overspent for no one.  You want a Revis you knew what it would cost.  Why should he give us a home discount?  How often does that happen?  And why, we had the cap space.  What's the big deal?  Someone would have paid him.  Cro is a one year deal essentially.  

To you Harris is overrated.  To his teammates, people around the league he's not.  Laugh when I read a LB can't play the pass.  Rare that a LB can.  

16 mill for a cb, 39 mill guaranteed. That contract is just absurd. He's a great corner - best I've ever seen in his prime but he is getting older, has lost a step and had a serious injury.  That's too much money at his position at this stage of his career.  Just because you have the money doesn't mean you have to spend it.  And to assume someone would have paid him as much as we did is pure conjecture. If he was really loyal and homesick as he played out to be, he would have never left in the first place.   Revis played the Jets Again BUT its a business. Harris is slow as molasses. He's been a loyal Jet and I guess he deserves to be paid but he has no business being on the field on passing downs.  There are plenty of good cover LB's in this league.  Watch closer.         

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Love Bowles, I really do, but the Jets have had an insane streak of first year success with rookie head coaches. There's something different about Bowles, I can't exactly put my finger on it, but I'm still hesitant. I've been sucked into this same movie so many times now, I need to see it for a few years before I'm truly content with anything anymore.

Agreed.  There is something different about Bowles.  It feels like he's actually a competent HC.  Rex had his moments but there was way too much buffoonery.  I did kind of like Mangini but I think we got him too early in his career.  Herm felt like far more of a motivator than a coach.  Bowles feels to me like our best HC since Parcells.

But you're also absolutely right that we have to wait a couple of years.  The Jets do have a streak of good runs w/ 1st year HCs and then things go into the toilet from there.  I feel optimistic things will be different w/ Bowles but I agree that we should reserve judgment.

 

 

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Agreed.  There is something different about Bowles.  It feels like he's actually a competent HC.  Rex had his moments but there was way too much buffoonery.  I did kind of like Mangini but I think we got him too early in his career.  Herm felt like far more of a motivator than a coach.  Bowles feels to me like our best HC since Parcells.

But you're also absolutely right that we have to wait a couple of years.  The Jets do have a streak of good runs w/ 1st year HCs and then things go into the toilet from there.  I feel optimistic things will be different w/ Bowles but I agree that we should reserve judgment.

 

 

Thing is these coaches come into a situation where the Jets are fielding NFL caliber players. In years 2 and 3 talent dwindled due to free agency, retirement or injuries not to mention roster cuts. GM fielded players on the cheap as replacements and its down hill from there. That's why I give cudos to Mac for the team he assembled this season. Will reserve judgment on him as a GM till I see how seasons 2 and 3 turn out. Best of luck Mac hope you are here for along time.

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Todd Bowles may be modest about his skills as a defensive play-caller, but others have taken note.

“No doubt about it, he’s one of the best around,” Jets strong safety Calvin Pryor said of his coach.

Yet Bowles keeps it unpretentious.

“You don’t worry about it and you don’t care about it,” Bowles said yesterday. “If you still have a job and you’re employed, that means you’re doing a decent job. If you get fired quite a bit, I guess you’re not doing a good job.”

Bowles has earned well-deserved plaudits for the job he has done in his first season as a head coach, but he really isn’t appreciated enough for what he has done running the defense. While the coach he’s facing on Sunday, former Jets coach Rex Ryan, has the bigger reputation as a great defensive mind, Bowles’ imaginative and aggressive schemes are every bit as effective as Ryan’s.Actually, they’re even better this season. Ryan’s defense largely has been a flop in Year 1 with the Bills and Bowles presides over one of the league’s top units. While Ryan is hearing criticism from a handful of players, Bowles has earned universal acclaim inside his locker room for quickly turning his team into a mostly dominant defense almost overnight.

“Everybody believes that when he draws something up, it’s going to work,” Pryor said. “He’s just very good at what he’s doing, and he’s definitely putting the right people on the field in different packages to get the job done.”Bowles has had the benefit of an impressive roster makeover on defense, with general manager Mike Maccagnan adding cornerbacks Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie and Buster Skrine, safety Marcus Gilchrist rookie lineman Leonard Williams and rookie linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin. But without the kind of schematic vision Bowles offers, the results might not be as impressive as they’ve turned out to be.“Todd definitely has a great defense, and it’s only going to get better,” Pryor said. “He doesn’t have any ego. It’s all about the guys in this locker room that he cares about. He’s his own man, and people love playing for him.”

Not so much with Ryan in Buffalo these days.

The Jets are sixth in total defense, allowing 320.7 yards per game, and are seventh in points allowed at 19.5 per game. Ryan’s defense, which also has plenty of talent, is allowing 360.1 yards and 22.8 points per game.Those numbers are well behind what he promised when he got the job. In fact, Ryan boasted that he’d have the NFL’s top-ranked unit.Instead, he has a middling group, with players such as defensive end Mario Williams questioning the very essence of his scheme. The biggest complaint is Ryan’s penchant for having linemen who were previously used to rushing the passer dropping into pass coverage instead, part of his complicated blitz packages.

“When I had him here, he’s a good coach,” Cromartie said. “We believed in and trusted in him. But those guys up there, they’ve just got to buy into the system. I think that’s what it really boils down to. Just like guys getting used to coach Todd here and his plan — us buying into the system and making it work for us. That’s what it’s really all about.”But Bowles had his players believing from the start, and the fact the Jets are 10-5 and one win away from making the playoffs has reinforced their confidence in his system.“Todd is very confident in what he calls,” Revis said. “I think his approach is to be very aggressive, and we try to dictate as to how [the opposing offense] is going to play the game. I think it’s just the attention to detail that he really focuses on week to week. We really dial in on what does best.”

It’s the defensive battle of wits between Bowles and Ryan that ultimately might decide the Jets’ fate. Considering Bowles’ season-long body of work since he became Ryan’s successor, it’s advantage Jets in this one.

>   http://www.newsday.com/sports/columnists/bob-glauber/jets-coach-todd-bowles-proving-he-is-a-defensive-genius-1.11282051

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Let's pump the brakes here, I want to see how Bowles and company perform next year. The schedule will be a lot harder and they have really exceeded expectations this year. If they keep this up in the sophomore year, then I'll jump on the wagon. 

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16 mill for a cb, 39 mill guaranteed. That contract is just absurd. He's a great corner - best I've ever seen in his prime but he is getting older, has lost a step and had a serious injury.  That's too much money at his position at this stage of his career.  Just because you have the money doesn't mean you have to spend it.  And to assume someone would have paid him as much as we did is pure conjecture. If he was really loyal and homesick as he played out to be, he would have never left in the first place.   Revis played the Jets Again BUT its a business. Harris is slow as molasses. He's been a loyal Jet and I guess he deserves to be paid but he has no business being on the field on passing downs.  There are plenty of good cover LB's in this league.  Watch closer.         

three years is all they're on the hook for if he falls off or if they need cap relief. 

Again, fans get all crazy over numbers.  And yes, you have to spend money.  And you're right, i don't know that someone would have signed him.  But you're doing the same thing saying no one would have signed him.  and we all know the chances were much better that he would have been signed.  

The best is the constant mocking of Harris.  I'll ask, list all the LBs in football who are built and counted on to be in pass coverage.  You said plenty.  Don't know how to say this other than every single OC in the NFL schemes ways to get their WR or receiving RB into man coverage by a LB.  it's a QBs wet dream.  Why?  There isn't a LB alive who has WR or RB speed.  You watch close

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Let's pump the brakes here, I want to see how Bowles and company perform next year. The schedule will be a lot harder and they have really exceeded expectations this year. If they keep this up in the sophomore year, then I'll jump on the wagon. 

That is very much the voice of reason right there.

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