Todd Bowles: the next great head coach?

[sheajets]

This thread has aged about as well as Keith Richards. In a rebuilding year the Jets were supposed to have an offense that was historically bad, but our new OC John Morton has done a nice job two weeks in and despite the lack of talent, has a functional offense. Bowles meanwhile presides over a defense which, while also stripped down some, does have enough talent to be competent. It's looked horrible. He has no chance of coming back next year and should really be dumped during the season, though I doubt that happens.

[JWL]

I thought I ripped Bowles bad in this thread last year. Turns out that is not the case. I must have made a rant in some other thread.

I thought Bowles was legitimately good in 2015. I don't know what happened but as soon as the calendar turned to 2016 he became a bad coach. Rich Kotite-like pod person infected him somehow?

The Week 17 game played in January 2016 was awful. His decisions to punt late in the Pitt game in 2016 and the Bills game in Week 1 this season were amazingly poor decisions.

edit: For some odd reason, I was off with the years here. They have been corrected now.

[Reaser]

I thought I ripped Bowles bad in this thread last year. Turns out that is not the case. I must have made a rant in some other thread.

Evidently I didn't even post in this thread but there was definitely another Bowles thread because I went on about how he coached to lose and was/is arguably the quickest to give up on a game coach I've seen in recent memory. Could have half a quarter left and it be a two score game and he'll want to run the clock out and get home early for dinner.

[JWL]

I thought I ripped Bowles bad in this thread last year. Turns out that is not the case. I must have made a rant in some other thread.

Evidently I didn't even post in this thread but there was definitely another Bowles thread because I went on about how he coached to lose and was/is arguably the quickest to give up on a game coach I've seen in recent memory. Could have half a quarter left and it be a two score game and he'll want to run the clock out and get home early for dinner.

You demolished Bowles in an e-mail in January of this year. I still have the e-mail. I could find it and post snippets in this thread if you don't mind. You made some funny/scary comments about his coaching.

[Reaser]

You demolished Bowles in an e-mail in January of this year. I still have the e-mail. I could find it and post snippets in this thread if you don't mind. You made some funny/scary comments about his coaching.

Ah, that may have been it then. I'm still positive there was another Bowles thread, or at least I think I'm remembering posting similar in it.

I don't mind, at all. I don't remember specifically what I said but I'm 100% confident I stand behind it.

[JWL]

You demolished Bowles in an e-mail in January of this year. I still have the e-mail. I could find it and post snippets in this thread if you don't mind. You made some funny/scary comments about his coaching.

Ah, that may have been it then. I'm still positive there was another Bowles thread, or at least I think I'm remembering posting similar in it.

I don't mind, at all. I don't remember specifically what I said but I'm 100% confident I stand behind it.

I did make a thread about the Bills benching Tyrod Taylor and the Jets starting Ryan Fitzpatrick in the 2016 season ender and there were some anti-Bowles comments in there but none from you.

[Reaser]

I did make a thread about the Bills benching Tyrod Taylor and the Jets starting Ryan Fitzpatrick in the 2016 season ender and there were some anti-Bowles comments in there but none from you.

Must have been the e-mail then. Best I could find was a 2015 thread and I said regarding the Jets-Raiders game:

"What surprised me more was the end of the game, Bowles seemingly had no interest in playing 60 minutes or finishing out the game. The last five or so minutes it seemed like they played to help let the Raiders run out the clock and get out of there. Even though it was a two score game and we've all seen that it's possible to come back. Even then, Oakland did a terrible job of killing the game and the Jets got the ball back."

[Bryan]

It would be interesting to see how many of these lauded "up-and-coming" coaches wound up never winning a playoff game. I think Sam Rutigliano won Coach of the Year honors in 1979 AND 1980, and was then out of the NFL for good in 1984 with an 0-2 postseason record. For awhile, it seemed like the "Coach of the Year" award was like the Sports Illustrated cover jinx.

[JWL]

from Reaser in an email from 1/2/17-

My friends and I were talking about our preseason predictions last night/this morning and one friend had picked the Jets to win the AFC East and I went on a rant about Bowles - who I still like but I don't think in my lifetime at any level of football have I seen a coach more willing to concede defeat. I couldn't even call him a conservative coach (play not to lose), it's almost like his pre-game speech would be; "lets play and if we're trailing I'll make sure to end the game as quick as possible so we can get it over with and go home" ... There's no way any players could take him serious if he uses any of the cliche 4th quarter coach speak ("all 4 quarters", "win the 4th quarter", etc) ...

Swear if the Jets are down 10 with all 3 timeouts and 4 minutes left in the game facing a 4th and 5 at midfield he would punt and let the other team take a knee and run the clock out without using any of his timeouts. That's how I think of him as a HC. A willing loser. He's infuriating. I think the Jets should have made the change now, next season is going to be a wasted year. He's a defensive coach that has a LOT of talent on defense and gets nothing out of them.

Then the Jets in general ... Powell should be team MVP this year. only player trying to win. Yet come next season he'll be a backup and play on 3rd downs when he should be and as I say every year should have been starting all these years and next year!

[Reaser]

Spot on. Nearly 9 months later and I would say the exact same about him.

And nice, you included my yearly complaint about Powell not being used correctly/enough.