Keidel: Todd Bowles Deserves A Third Season As Jets Coach
By Jason Keidel
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In the mess and mayhem that now is the 2016 Jets, there's been ample mud and blame to hurl around.
The obvious suspects squat under center, of course, dating back to a punch that would have made Manny Pacquiao proud. Quarterback Geno Smith getting decked by a teammate set off a surreal chain of events, which got Ryan Fitzpatrick a fresh start as the new face of the franchise.
Some of the blame, surprisingly, has been hurled toward coach Todd Bowles, the ringleader of this circus. The second-year coach was hailed as a pseudo-savior last year, when the Jets rose from the gridiron ashes to post a 10-6 record and came within a faulty fourth quarter of slipping past the Pittsburgh Steelers into the playoffs.
But, as if an unseen portent, Fitzpatrick tossed a pick in the end zone, intended for Eric Decker. Now neither of them have been beacons in this lost season. Instead, Decker is injured physically, and Fitzpatrick is bruised emotionally. The Jets are counting the seconds until they cut the last check of the wasted $12 million they're paying their quarterback. You can half imagine Jets personnel waiting by the glass doors in Florham Park, eager hands grabbing at his iPad and playbook.
Now the Jets are again starting Fitzpatrick, when the world thought he was benched for good earlier this month in favor of Bryce Petty.
MORE: Keidel: Jets' Decision To Start Fitz Reeks Of The Same Old Dysfunction
Despite his curious decision to go back to Fitzpatrick, who has been nursing a sprained knee, Bowles shouldn't be squirming on the hot seat. When you take a perennial loser that had just canned Rex Ryan and produce a 10-6 season -- even if it was laced with fool's gold -- you've earned the right to a second and third season, sans suspicion.
The Jets fired Pete Carroll rather quickly. He only went on to build two dynasties, at USC and Seattle. In the NFL alone, Carroll has reached the playoffs seven times (and should again this year) and coached in 15 playoff games and two Super Bowls since the Jets jettisoned him after a single 6-10 season.
If you're looking for a more recent precedent, the Jets were quite spellbound by Ryan well past his expiration date, based on his first two seasons, each ending with a trip to the AFC title game. Ownership tolerated four straight non-playoff years before letting the loquacious coach hitchhike to Buffalo.
Sure, there's about as much sympathy and patience for head coaches as there are for practice squad players. But unless the coach opens with abject disasters -- like a 2-14 season -- it's only prudent and proper to give him three years. Between cap space, dead weight and injuries, it's almost impossible to gauge a head coach's acumen in a single season, or even two.
How about a list of coaches who struggled in their maiden campaigns?
• Tom Landry: 0-11-1 (1960)
• Chuck Noll: 1-13 (1969)
• Bill Walsh: 2-14 (1979)
• Joe Gibbs: 8-8 (1981)
• Bill Parcells: 3-12-1 (1983)
• Jimmy Johnson: 1-15 (1989)
• Tony Dungy: 6-10 (1996)
• Bill Belichick: 6-10 (1991, Cleveland) 5-11 (2000, New England)
No one is comparing Bowles to Walsh, but with the increasing ADD in the NFL, some of the aforementioned greats would have been dumped after a season or two, relegated to a life as a coordinator. The Giants, of course, had Landry and Lombardi as assistant coaches and hired neither as head coach, which catapulted them into a karmic, world-title drought that lasted three decades.
If you're looking for more of a showman, consider that list of largely laconic, iconic coaches who cared more about winning than laughing. And then remember all those Super Bowl guarantees from Rex.
Jets fans would likely sign up for a 7-9 record this year. If they don't keep their nostrils above the .500 waters next year, then perhaps Bowles deserves more scrutiny, and a fresh place on the hot seat.
Follow Jason on Twitter at @JasonKeidel
