Bowles;Parcells Protege was more Impressive in Interviews - Gary Myers

[JetBlue]

Good Daily News article on the influence of Parcells on Bowles and links he and Macaggan have with Casserly and Wolf.  The more I read, the better I feel about Bowles; not in love with Chan Gailey but I am willing to give him a chance.  

 

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/myers-jets-rookies-bowles-maccagnan-article-1.2076990

 

 

For NY Jets, hiring coach Todd Bowles, a Bill Parcells disciple, was the smart move Bowles was more impressive in his two interviews than Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn was in his one talk with the Jets search committee.

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

 

Wednesday, January 14, 2015, 12:48 AM

 

GENE LOWER/APTodd Bowles (c.) will trade in red for Gang Green as he becomes the next coach of the Jets.

 

It was a grueling two weeks of interviews and after Woody Johnson had selected Todd Bowles on Tuesday night as his fifth coach in the 15 years he’s owned the Jets, and Mike Maccagnan, his brand new fifth general manager, endorsed Bowles as well, it was time to celebrate.

Johnson had his new management team in place, a rookie tandem he’s counting on to rescue the Jets from one of the most depressing times in their 55-year history, so he took Bowles, Maccagnan, team president Neil Glat and his consultant team of Charley Casserly and Ron Wolf out to dinner in New Jersey.

They probably didn’t shout J-E-T-S! Jets! Jets! Jets! while they were ordering, but nobody was flying airplanes over the restaurant, either, when they left.

I like what Johnson has done. He relied on Casserly and Wolf, football lifers who have built Super Bowl teams, to identify a GM with a background in personnel — unlike John Idzik — and a head coach who will be the head coach of the entire team — unlike Rex Ryan — and is confident the chemistry is there to build back the Jets.

It’s not easy hiring a GM and coach at the same time, and the record the next few years will determine if he picked the right guys, but I think he got it right.

One key guest was missing from dinner, however: Bill Parcells.

 

KEVIN TERRELL/APBowles has plenty of reason to smile after landing his first head coaching job, a four-year deal.

 

He doesn’t have a great relationship with Johnson anymore, but he is Bowles’ football mentor. Parcells gave Bowles his first coaching job in 2000 with the Jets when Al Groh was the head coach and Parcells was the GM.

When Parcells got back into coaching with the Cowboys in 2003, Bowles was working for the Browns. But Parcells brought him to Dallas in 2005 and then to Miami in 2008 when Parcells was running the Dolphins.

Wolf and Parcells are best friends. Casserly is also very close to Parcells. One year ago, as part of his work on the Career Advisory Panel that assists teams in their GM and coaching searches, Casserly spoke to Parcells about Bowles.

Parcells clearly had positive things to say to Wolf and Casserly about Bowles during the Jets search.

Parcells’ coaching tree is one of the best in football — his career accomplishments have been surpassed by his No. 1 protégé Bill Belichick — but that’s a good tree for Bowles to be a part of now. The plan in the next few years is for Johnson to celebrate a lot more than two long-time football men getting their first chance at big-time jobs with one of the most star-crossed franchises in any sport. It’s now 46 years since the Jets have been to the Super Bowl.

 

Jets hire Bowles as Head Coach

SNYTV

 

 

 

 

“I think both of these guys are really excellent football men,” one NFL source said Tuesday night. “They are both very good at what they do. They are organized, passionate and good evaluators. They don’t seek publicity. They would rather work behind the scenes.”

Bowles was more impressive in his two interviews than Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn was in his one talk with Johnson, Glat, Casserly and Wolf, and with Quinn giving no indication to them in his interview on Jan. 2 or through his agent in the last two weeks that the Jets were his first choice among his many suitors, they decided not to risk losing Bowles in order to give Quinn a second interview on Monday. The Jets were fearful Quinn could be headed to Chicago.

Bowles had planned to leave New Jersey on Wednesday morning and head to Atlanta for a second interview. But the cardinal rule in free agency: When you like a player, don’t let him out of the building. John Idzik did that with Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and lost him to the Giants. Johnson went to school on Idzik’s failures.

He did not let Bowles out of the building until he had agreed to be the Jets coach. Then they went out to dinner.

Bowles plans to hire former Cowboys and Bills head coach Chan Gailey as his offensive coordinator. He’s been a better OC than head coach. Bowles did a terrific job with an injury-depleted Cardinals defense in 2014, helping squeeze out 11 victories with an offense that shut down after quarterback Carson Palmer tore his ACL on Nov. 9.

 

ROBERT SABO/NEW YORK DAILY NEWSJets owner Woody Johnson leans heavily on football men to help with the decision on what will be the fifth coach and general manager he has hired.

 

Would the offensively challenged Jets have been better off with a state-of-the art offensive coach? Of course.

But once Jim Harbaugh went from the 49ers to Michigan without giving the Jets or any NFL team a chance to talk to him, the best candidates were on defense. Bowles has spent a lot of time with Parcells over the years talking about what it takes to be a head coach. “Parcells’ influence with Todd is on the big picture stuff,” the NFL source said. “Understanding the role of a head coach. I think he’s spent a lot of time with Parcells about becoming a head coach and what it entails.”

Maccagnan was part of Bowles’ interview Tuesday. They had never met. Johnson had to make sure that Maccagnan, whom he had already hired, wanted to work with Bowles. No problem.

Johnson put a lot of trust in Casserly, who has a long history with Maccagnan and Bowles. Casserly was Washington’s assistant GM when Bowles was signed as a free agent safety from Temple in 1986. Bowles also worked for Wolf, the Packers’ former GM, in Green Bay’s personnel department in 1995 and ’96. Maccagnan’s first job in the NFL was working for Casserly after he had replaced Bobby Beathard as the GM. Maccagnan then accompanied Casserly when he was named GM of the expansion Houston Texans.

Bowles actually has a bit of NFL head coaching experience. When Tony Sparano was fired as the Dolphins coach with three games remaining in the 2011 season, Bowles was named the interim coach. He went 2-1.

 

KATHY WILLENS/APBowles mentor? One-time Jets head coach Bill Parcells.

 

He received high grades for coaching the entire team. “He understands offense completely,” the source said. “He will mesh the offense and defense together. He’s a very smart football guy.”

Maccagnan and Bowles are both from New Jersey. How will Bowles handle the pressure of coaching in New York? “He’s a grownup,” a source said.

Johnson is counting on Tuesday night’s celebration dinner not being the highlight of his relationship with his new management team. 

[JoeC36]

I was 50-50 on Bowles vs. Quinn, but the more I read about Bowles, the more I like him. 

[carpetbeggar]

As of yesterday I was kind of split between Bowles and Quinn, but Mike Fatscesa of all people put me over the hump when he explained why Bowles was the right choice for The Jets. Actually worth a listen if you can find that segment from yesterday's show. I think he talked about it around 5:00pm est.

[papz187]

Good read, thanks for the post.

I liked Bowles over Quinn due to his creativity with his defense, and ability to adapt to injuries this past season. Coming from the Parcells coaching tree is a plus in my book too......although I'm not crazy about Gailey, hope I'm proven wrong on him though.

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[LionelRichie]

I was 50-50 on Bowles vs. Quinn, but the more I read about Bowles, the more I like him. 

 

totally agree with this. 

 

no more "my defense" and "the offense".   Bowles seems to understand his role as a HC and the Parcells endorsement is a pretty big deal.   Big Bill is stingy with his endorsements.  

[Arsis]

Who is the last guy Parcell's recommended?

[Kleckineau]

If they have an 0-4 start next season, how long before the press starts calling him T-Bow?

[SouthernJet]

If they have an 0-4 start next season, how long before the press starts calling him T-Bow?

Down the Bowle-s

The Bowle-s are clogged

Cleanse our Bowels

[RutgersJetFan]

Who is the last guy Parcell's recommended?

:pauses:

****

[Sperm Edwards]

Down the Bowle-s

The Bowle-s are clogged

Cleanse our Bowels

And here I was, worried you'd refrain from jumping in on the low hanging fruit of toilet Bowles humor.

[SouthernJet]

And here I was, worried you'd refrain from jumping in on the low hanging fruit of toilet Bowles humor.

LOL, noooooooooooooo..

I was guessing what our Back page headlines would be from our Beat writers if we went 0-4 like OP said

 

(I am pissed I didnt think of 'toilet bowels' though)

[Sperm Edwards]

:pauses:

****

So someone else had the same initial reaction. It's not a knock on Bowles, who had serious interest from at least one other team and seems adequately qualified for the job. But my first read all I saw was Parcells connection and/or recommendation = Woody falls in love and hires him.

On the other hand, I'm definitely encouraged that Bowles didn't earn his job by going along for the ride, coaching offense or defense under a former coordinator HC who was "really" in charge of that side of the ball. Seems Arizona's D was his baby and they did well overall, but I'm a little concerned that their D did get carved up pretty good at times this year.

Regardless, he's here to be the HC not the DC so time will tell how he does with this promotion. We could do with a little bit of coach/GM/key newcomers panning out for us.

[papz187]

Now that I think about it, Parcells endorsed Rex prior to Woody hiring him if I'm not mistaken.

None the less, I'm happy with Bowles hire and the Parcells endorsement.

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[Integrity28]

Parcells is not why Bowles got job, Parcells will refer anyone these days... Rex, Sporano, Mangini... Look around the league, Parcells approval is as valuable as saying 'made in china'

[papz187]

If Parcells hadn't shared a strong working relationship with his former aide in Dallas, Tony Sparano, he likely would have hired Ryan on the spot.

"Yes, that's correct," Parcells said.

He went with Sparano, breaking Ryan's heart if not his resolve. A year later, after Eric Mangini went poof in the night, Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum solicited his mentor's official scouting report on the Baltimore defensive coordinator with a big plan and a bigger mouth.

Parcells told his protégé he liked Rex and his pedigree, as in a lot, and Tannenbaum took it to the bank. On Jan. 21, 2009, the Jets made Ryan one of the franchise's Mount Rushmore hires, right there with Weeb Ewbank, Joe Namath and Bill Parcells.

http://m.espn.go.com/general/story?storyId=6036077&city=newyork&src=desktop

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[RutgersJetFan]

So someone else had the same initial reaction. It's not a knock on Bowles, who had serious interest from at least one other team and seems adequately qualified for the job. But my first read all I saw was Parcells connection and/or recommendation = Woody falls in love and hires him.

On the other hand, I'm definitely encouraged that Bowles didn't earn his job by going along for the ride, coaching offense or defense under a former coordinator HC who was "really" in charge of that side of the ball. Seems Arizona's D was his baby and they did well overall, but I'm a little concerned that their D did get carved up pretty good at times this year.

Regardless, he's here to be the HC not the DC so time will tell how he does with this promotion. We could do with a little bit of coach/GM/key newcomers panning out for us.

 

Bowles does seem like the smartest of the bunch. For some reason Quinn screamed Spagnuolo to me, but I wonder whether they really became smitten with Bowles that quickly, or they just didn't want to risk losing out on both candidates while waiting for Quinn. Maybe a little of both, who knows. Don't forget for a few days the story was that we had a handshake deal with Quinn, it was essentially a done deal, and Woody was going to fly to Seattle last Sunday if they lost with an offer...etc. Weird few days how that changed so quickly.

 

I like both hires. When intelligence and experience are the top qualities espoused about your new GM and coach, that's certainly a good thing. At the very least we have someone to hold the defense down while the GM tries to finally find us a quarterback.

[C Mart]

The other favorite in the Jets coaching search had been Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. The Jets were serious enough about Quinn that they considered flying to Seattle last weekend if the Seahawks had lost to the Panthers in order to meet with him, The News previously reported. But Jets brass also discussed following up that trip to Seattle with a flight to Arizona to see Bowles, the Daily News learned.

@SethWalderNYDN: Jets new head coach Todd Bowles: "First day was great." #nyj | http://t.co/KRlVKcDxEp

[SouthernJet]

The other favorite in the Jets coaching search had been Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. The Jets were serious enough about Quinn that they considered flying to Seattle last weekend if the Seahawks had lost to the Panthers in order to meet with him, The News previously reported. But Jets brass also discussed following up that trip to Seattle with a flight to Arizona to see Bowles, the Daily News learned.

@SethWalderNYDN: Jets new head coach Todd Bowles: "First day was great." #nyj | http://t.co/KRlVKcDxEp

I think both #1/2 on list. Was Quinn higher? Maybe, who cares. IMHO Fox leaving football crazy Denver, aka, a GREAT job opened up, changed whole timetable.

Atlanta rumor was Bowles emerging as possible # candidate. Jets feared if Bowles went to Atlanta and waited on Quinn, in typical SOJ luck, Quinn would have taken probably  a better job in Denver. Main dog in town, media not cutthroat etc etc.

They looked at their hand and played it. 

[Rexorcism]

I think both #1/2 on list. Was Quinn higher? Maybe, who cares. IMHO Fox leaving football crazy Denver, aka, a GREAT job opened up, changed whole timetable.

Arizona rumor was Bowles emerging as possible # candidate. Jets feared if Bowles went to Atlanta and waited on Quinn, in typical SOJ luck, Quinn would have taken probably a better job in Denver. Main dog in town, media not cutthroat etc etc.

The looked at their hand and played it.

I like your version and a big back slap for Woody, he played it right.

[mphtrilogy_8577]

This might have just worked out perfect this time , fingers crosed

[Saul Goodman]

The Jets hit a home run with this hire. That is not to say he's going to be a hugely successful head coach, just that we hired THE best available candidate (who would've thought we'd do that over Atlanta, San Fran and Chicago???), and that he's totally qualified. The resume is there, and hiring him has been universally praised. Exciting times for the fanbase.