Todd Bowles

AFC East Notes: Jets, Bowles, Bills, Ryan

December 26th, 2016 at 9:00am CST by Zachary Links

Is Jets owner Woody Johnson sending a message to coach Todd Bowles? The feeling around the Meadowlands has been that Bowles will keep his job in 2017, but Johnson, who never misses a game, no-showed the Jets’ blowout loss to New England, Brian Costello of the New York Post writes. Watching from wherever he was, Johnson couldn’t have been happy to see the Jets go down 41-3, giving them their latest embarrassing loss. Bowles is now 14-17 in two years as Jets coach and the game against Buffalo next week could be his last if Johnson is truly fed up.

Here’s more from the AFC East:

It’s hard to defend Bills coach Rex Ryan in the wake of Saturday’s overtime loss to Miami, Sal Maiorana of the Democrat & Chronicle writes. Late in the game, Ryan punted on fourth-and-3 from the Buffalo 41, exhibiting little faith in his offense to convert and perhaps putting too much trust in a defense that has not held up this year. With the loss, the Bills’ playoff hopes were extinguished and, perhaps, Ryan’s fate was sealed. On Friday, GM Doug Whaley declined to give Ryan a vote of confidence. Over the weekend, it was reported that the Bills could have extra motivation to dump Ryan because of their desire to keep offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn in the organization. Lynn is expected to be interviewed for coaching jobs this offseason.
When asked about the acquisition of wide receiver Michael Floyd, Patriots president Jonathan Kraft seemed to put the onus on coach Bill Belichick, as Phil Perry of CSNNE.com writes. “Bill decided, looking at all of the variables, that it made sense for our football team at this time of the year,” Kraft said. “That’s why Michael Floyd is here.” In Saturday’s rout of the Jets, Floyd wasn’t on the field a whole lot but he was cheered loudly by Patriots fans who were eager to see him. It will be interesting to see what kind of role he has the rest of the way.
Could Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill return for the postseason?

Latest On Todd Bowles’ Condition

December 24th, 2016 at 3:09pm CST by Ben Levine

3:09pm: Bowles said postgame he was diagnosed with kidney stones and a gallbladder issue, Daryl Slater of NJ.com reports (on Twitter), after chest pains helped send him to the hospital. He still has not passed the stones, per Slater. The second-year Jets coach will undergo an operation after the season, per Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (via Twitter).

10:40am: Bowles will indeed be on the sideline for today’s matchup against the Patriots, the team announced on Twitter.

8:30am: The Jets received some good news this morning regarding their head coach. A day after being admitted to the hospital, Todd Bowles has reportedly traveled to Foxboro and will coach against the Patriots this afternoon (via ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Twitter). In a press release, the team noted that it’s uncertain whether Bowles will be on the sideline or in the coaches booth during the contest.

Immediately following Bowles trip to the hospital, there was some fear that the 53-year-old had suffered a heart attack. Our own Sam Robinson wrote that the head coach “was throwing up, complained of chest and back pains and was unable to keep medication down.” Fortunately, doctors determined that Bowles had not suffered a heart attack, although they will monitor the coach’s condition during the offseason.

Bowles would have been sorely missed by his squad, as he’s generally the first coach in the building when he arrives at 4 a.m. Furthermore, reports from yesterday indicated that the team was missing their head coach’s energy. Had Bowles been forced to miss the game, assistant head coach Mike Caldwell would have taken over the head coach’s duties.

The Jets went 10-6 during Bowles’ first season in New York, but the team has limped to a 4-10 record this season.

Jets Feared Todd Bowles Had Heart Attack

December 23rd, 2016 at 8:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

Todd Bowles was admitted to a hospital earlier today and did not travel with the Jets to Foxboro for the Week 16 Patriots tilt. He’s questionable to coach in this game, and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reveals why (Facebook link).

Jets officials initially feared the 53-year-old head coach had a heart attack on Friday. The coach was throwing up, complained of chest and back pains and was unable to keep medication down. This caused team officials to become “extremely concerned,” leading to the hospital trip.

Doctors, however, determined Bowles did not have a heart attack but do want to visit with him after the season to see if any action needs to be taken, Schefter reports.

The team announced he’s in stable condition, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets the plan is for Bowles to spend tonight in the hospital. The Jets and Patriots are set for a 1 p.m. kickoff Saturday. Bowles still hopes to coach the Jets in that game, Schefter reports, but the longtime reporter calls it a doctor’s decision whether or not he can travel to New England. Assistant head coach Mike Caldwell would take over in the event Bowles cannot coach.

The second-year Jets leader is normally the first coach in the building, per Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter), arriving by around 4 a.m. Anderson adds the energy Bowles usually exhibits was absent today. GM Mike Maccagnan visited Bowles in the hospital before the team left, Anderson reports (via Twitter). The Jets also conducted a staff meeting, which deviates from their normal road schedule outside of position meetings, Anderson tweets.

New York is 4-10 this season after finishing Bowles’ debut campaign at 10-6. Bowles is the fourth head coach to be hospitalized this season, following Gary Kubiak, Bruce Arians and Mike Zimmer.

The 45-year-old Caldwell followed Bowles from Arizona, where the former NFL linebacker was the Cardinals’ LBs coach, before becoming an assistant head coach with the Jets.

Growing Sense That Todd Bowles Is Safe

December 11th, 2016 at 8:33am CST by Rory Parks

Second-year Jets head coach Todd Bowles, widely thought to be on the hot seat as a result of his club’s disappointing 2016 campaign, has a good chance of righting the ship in 2017, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. Cimini reports that sources familiar with owner Woody Johnson‘s thinking say that Johnson remains a Bowles supporter and is not planning to cut him loose.

The reason, Cimini writes, is that Johnson feels he would be punishing Bowles–and GM Mike Maccagnan, both of whom were hired in January 2015–for the sins of previous regimes. Although the duo nearly lifted Gang Green to the playoffs last season with considerable help from veteran free agents, that performance was something of an illusion, as the core of the team was weak, and that weakness has manifested itself in a big way this year. As Cimini observes, only five current starters remain from the 2008 to 2014 drafts: Muhammad Wilkerson, Brian Winters, Quincy Enunwa, Calvin Pryor, and Sheldon Richardson. It is difficult to hold a new head coach and GM responsible for that poor level of inherited talent, and Johnson is therefore expected to give Bowles and Maccagnan a little extra rope (Maccagnan and Bowles are equals and report to Johnson directly, so Maccagnan has no say in Bowles’ fate).

ESPN’s Adam Schefter is apparently thinking along the same lines as Cimini, tweeting that there is a growing sense that Bowles’ job is safe.

Of course, Johnson is an impulsive owner who is capable of changing his mind at the drop of a hat. But whether or not Bowles keeps his job, Cimini does expect there to be at least one major change in the coaching staff, and that change would likely be the ouster of offensive coordinator Chan Gailey. Meanwhile, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reiterates the notion that Bowles is safe (Twitter link), but Rapoport is expecting a significant roster overhaul, with several big-money veterans jettisoned from the club. Players who fit that description include Ryan Fitzpatrick (whose contract will expire at the end of 2016 anyway), Darrelle Revis, Brandon Marshall, and Nick Mangold. With respect to Mangold, Cimini reports that his ankle injury is pretty significant and at least one source close to the 33-year-old would not be surprised if he decided to call it a career.

But Johnson may not even be the one operating the Jets when all these decisions need to be made. As Rapoport writes in a separate piece, Johnson is a leading contender to be the United States ambassador to the United Kingdom under President-elect Donald Trump, and if that were to happen, Johnson would likely not be running the team on a day-to-day basis. In addition, Johnson would almost certainly resign from NFL committees on which he currently serves (the NFL’s Media Committee, Finance Committee, and Business Ventures Committee).

Coaching Notes: Bowles, Fisher, Kelly

December 7th, 2016 at 8:43pm CST by Ben Levine

Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News defends Todd Bowles, saying the second-year Jets head coach should be given at least another season at the helm. Furthermore, he notes that firing Bowles could create a toxic environment, comparing that scenario to the Cleveland Browns.

“Woody needs to stay the course,” a league executive told Mehta. “He can’t be switching this every two years, because (the coaching vacancy) would become unattractive for a lot of coaches. He doesn’t want to have that job that’s turning over every two years. He’s got to give Bowles another shot.”

In his one-plus seasons in New York, Bowles has compiled a 13-15 record.

Mehta also reports that the Jets gave one-year extensions to position coaches prior to the season, although “it’s a near certainty” that some of those assistants won’t stick around.

Let’s check out some other coaching notes from around the NFL…

Meanwhile, Jets wideout Brandon Marshall pointed to his former organization, the Bears, when explaining why the team shouldn’t fire Bowles. “No, I would hope not,” Marshall told Darryl Slater of NJ.com. “How did that work out for Chicago? Sometimes, you blow up stuff, and you feel like that’s the answer. And it’s not. That’s one of the reasons why football is so terrible in the NFL these days, is because there’s so much turnover…And it’s not just football at this level. People expect guys to win right away. You bring in a new regime, and they say you have a year or two to do it. You need time to build things. You need chemistry.”
The Rams have been widely criticized for giving extensions to coach Jeff Fisher and GM Les Snead, but Snead says the new deals mean the team has “unfinished business” to address. “First of all, what it means is, we’re not satisfied with where we’re at. We’ve got unfinished business,” Snead said, according to Rich Hammond of the Los Angeles Daily News. “We think we can get this thing tipped, and that’s our goal. That’s where all the energy is spent. You’re not going to sleep until it gets done. We have great fans and we’ve been supported. It’s unbelievable. Any time you’re having a disappointing season, you feel for the fans first, because they come and they spend their energy and passion, and we’ve got to do a better job.”
Despite the team’s 1-11 record, 49ers receiver Torrey Smith is convinced that head coach Chip Kelly will be sticking around. “He ain’t going anywhere anyways,” Smith told Eric Branch of SFGate.com. “I don’t think it’s a situation where guys are really concerned about that.”

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Jets Notes: Bowles, Petty, Revis

November 28th, 2016 at 9:48am CST by Zachary Links

Should Todd Bowles be fired after this season? Some fans are dissatisfied with the second-year coach, but Jets players believe that he should stay. “No, no coaching change,” cornerback Buster Skrine said (via Kimberley A. Martin of Newsday).

“Todd Bowles is a great coach . . . We need to finish. Coach can’t go out there and play the game. Obviously, he’s coaching us well enough to get us in situations to win. We just have to make plays at the end of the game.”

After a promising start on Sunday, the Jets collapsed against New England. Gang Green is now 3-8 with no hopes of making the playoffs and, understandably, there is speculation about Bowles’ job security. So far, owner Woody Johnson and GM Mike Maccagnan have stood by Bowles.

Here’s more out of the Meadowlands:

At 3-8, it’s time for Jets to see what they have in Bryce Petty, Bob Glauber of Newsday opines. Yesterday, Bowles declined to discuss what he’ll do at quarterback. Glauber feels that even though Petty has not really wowed in his time on the field or in practice, the Jets have to evaluate the younger quarterback and figure out what he can provide going forward. Fitzpatrick looked good against the Pats, but he won’t be part of the team’s future plans. Petty is still only 25 and still has a chance to be the team’s QB of the future.
Does Darrelle Revis want to be a part of the future in New York? “It’s [management’s] decision,” Revis said, dodging the question from a reporter (via Connor Hughes of NJ.com). “Everyone has their individual decision. That being said, every year there are different roster changes. You have to see. We’ll see how it goes.” Revis is set to have a cap hit of $15.333MM in 2017. If he doesn’t accept a pay cut, he’ll almost certainly be released. By cutting Revis before the second day of the new league year, they Jets will free $9MM, or more than that if he signs elsewhere. If Revis wants to stay with the Jets, that could require a move to safety after he has gotten picked apart all season long.
Running back Matt Forte nearly wound up with the Patriots instead of the Jets.

AFC East Notes: Sheard, Patriots, Jets

November 26th, 2016 at 9:59am CST by Ben Levine

Following a productive 2015 season, many expected Patriots defensive end Jabaal Sheard to get paid this offseason. Instead, the Patriots have continued to reduce the 27-year-old’s playing time, culminating in the former second-rounder being inactive for last weekend’s game against the 49ers.

For what it’s worth, the impending free agent isn’t sweating his reduced role.

“It is what it is,” Sheard told WEEI’s Ryan Hannable. “I can only control what I can control.”

Sheard has compiled 18 tackles and 3.5 sacks this season, and he still has plenty of time to pad those numbers before he reaches free agency. Ultimately, the veteran understands that there’s only so much he can control.

“Just do my job, I think,” Sheard said. “Everything else, leave it up to coach. Just practice hard and when I get the opportunity play hard.”

Let’s check out some more notes out of the AFC East…

Tom E. Curran of CSNNE.com examines what the Patriots could do with all of their cap space this offseason. The writer believes the team will look to retain many of their key free agents, including Dont’a Hightower, Malcolm Butler, and Martellus Bennett. Curran notes that Sheard and defensive tackle Alan Branch “don’t figure to be high-priority guys at this juncture.”
The Jets will likely miss the playoffs for the sixth straight season, and Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News says it’s time for owner Woody Johnson to “tear it down and set a proper foundation.” The writer believes it’s best to build through the draft, and he cautions that the organization should avoid “the quick fix” signings.
If the Jets finish the season with a 5-11 or 6-10 record, ESPN’s Rich Cimini believes coach Todd Bowles will keep his job. The writer notes that the organization is valuing continuity, and firing Bowles after only two seasons would certainly contradict that strategy.

Extra Points: Jets, Cowboys, Buccaneers

November 14th, 2016 at 9:38pm CST by Ben Levine

Some assorted notes from around the NFL as we wrap up this Monday evening…

Will the Jets wind up moving on from coach Todd Bowles? Brian Costello of the New York Post thinks it’s fair to start thinking about who Gang Green’s next coach could be. When/if that happens, Costello writes that the Jets should hire an offensive coach who has developed quarterbacks and has experience. Since Al Groh, all of the Jets’ hires have been first time hires. It’s also worth noting that every coach since Rich Kotite has been a defensive guy: Bill Parcells, Groh, Herm Edwards, Eric Mangini, Rex Ryan, and Bowles.
Cowboys tight end Geoff Swaim suffered a serious pectoral injury and will have surgery, reports Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (via Twitter). The second-year player has hauled in six catches for 69 yards this season. Jon Machota of the Dallas News tweets that the team has discussed bringing in another tight end, and he notes that James Hanna is not expected to return anytime soon.
The Cowboys have been happy with the way tight end Rico Gathers has improved on their practice squad. However, Machota tweets that the team is unlikely to promote the sixth-round pick. Gathers, who didn’t play football in college or high school, made a name for himself as a player on the Baylor basketball team.
Buccaneers left guard J.R. Sweezy is still progressing from his offseason back surgery, reports ESPN.com’s Jenna Laine. Unfortunately, a source tells the reporter that the veteran is likely to finish the season on the reserve/PUP list.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

East Notes: Jets, Bennett, D-Jax

November 13th, 2016 at 12:30pm CST by Rory Parks

Let’s take a look at some notes from around the league as Week 10 gets underway in full force:

Rich Cimini of ESPN.com does not believe Jets head coach Todd Bowles will be fired at season’s end, but that does not mean that there will be no changes to the coaching staff. Cimini writes that offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, for instance, will almost certainly be on the hot seat.
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports that, prior to signing his mega-deal this past offseason, Jets DE Muhammad Wilkerson sat down with Bowles to discuss his past disciplinary issues. During that meeting, Wilkerson vowed to behave and assured Bowles that he understood the responsibility that comes along with such a lucrative contract, which makes last week’s letdown all the more disturbing (Twitter links). Wilkerson’s 2016 numbers are already down, and a floundering Jets team cannot afford for him to be a disappointment both on and off the field.
Bryce Petty will be getting the start for the Jets today, largely because Ryan Fitzpatrick‘s knee is not quite game-ready. However, Fitzpatrick is serving as Petty’s backup today, while Christian Hackenberg is inactive. That decision shows just how raw Hackenberg really is; as Brian Costello of the New York Post tweets, it is clear that the Jets view an injured Fitzpatrick as a better option than a healthy Hackenberg.
Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports that, when the Patriots acquired tight end Martellus Bennett this offseason, the two sides explored a scenario that would have added a year on to Bennett’s existing contract. However, no agreement was reached, and Bennett will consequently become part of New England’s large free agent class at season’s end.
DeSean Jackson is out this week with a rotator cuff injury, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that the Redskins wideout is likely to miss at least next week’s game as well. Rapoport’s source says that Jackson’s prognosis is “not good.”
Earlier today, we examined the quarterback dilemmas of the Jets and Cowboys.

Latest On Jets’ Quarterback Change

October 19th, 2016 at 8:09pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Before Jets head coach Todd Bowles demoted quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to a backup role Wednesday, members of the team’s front office “made it clear” that they wanted Geno Smith to start, according to Brian Costello of the New York Post. Nevertheless, sources told Costello that the decision was ultimately up to Bowles.

Team owner Woody Johnson gave both Bowles and general manager Mike Maccagnan votes of confidence Wednesday. However, the second-year head coach could face job security questions in the coming months if the team’s skid continues under Smith, per Costello, who writes that Fitzpatrick is unlikely to start another game with the Jets. If Smith stumbles, the team could turn to one of its more recent draft picks, 2015 fourth-rounder Bryce Petty or rookie second-rounder Christian Hackenberg, in an effort to find a long-term solution.

Fitzpatrick and Smith are scheduled to become free agents at season’s end. The younger of the two, Smith, just turned 26 last week and – based on both that and his second-round pedigree – might have untapped potential. The fourth-year man has been subpar during his NFL career, though, having completed just 57.9 percent of passes to accompany 27 touchdowns and 36 interceptions in 32 appearances (29 starts).

Picks have also been a problem for the 33-year-old Fitzpatrick, who’s last in the league in INTs (11) and passer rating (63.4) in 2016. In the latest (and perhaps final) start of his Jets career, Fitzpatrick hit on a mere 16 of 31 passes for 174 yards and a pick in the club’s 28-3 road loss to Arizona on Monday. That dropped the Jets to 1-5, a far cry from the 10-6 mark they posted with an effective Fitzpatrick at the helm last season.

Fitzpatrick expressed disappointment in his relegation to the bench Wednesday, telling reporters – including Kimberley A. Martin of Newsday – that “I don’t like it.” At the same time, he understands Bowles’ choice.

“I haven’t played well. I think that’s the bottom line,” admitted Fitzpatrick. “I’ve been around and been at it long enough to know that when you’re 1-5, usually good things aren’t happening, and it’s not all smiles in the building. So I don’t want to say that I expected it, but it’s not shocking to me that they wanted to change things up.”

With Fitzpatrick on the sidelines, the Smith-led Jets will attempt to begin turning their season around Sunday against the Ravens.

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