Marshall plan: Keep Todd on sidelines
That’s why we’re still together, is because he’s real. He tells us like it is, and he’s a man of his word.
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Brandon Marshall was as clear as he could be. He didn’t stutter. He didn’t waver. He was direct and confident.
When asked in the locker room Wednesday why he thinks the Jets haven’t splintered during this demoralizing and disappointing season, he offered just two words: “Todd Bowles.”
With fans and pundits in this city and across the country calling for the Jets to fire their head coach, Marshall made it clear Wednesday that he wants Bowles to remain at the helm of Gang Green for 2017 − even if the team loses its final four games.
Primarily, Marshall thinks back to his 2014 season with the Bears, which he calls the “worst environment, worst year” he’s ever experienced. From an outside perspective, one can draw comparisons between the 2014 Bears and 2016 Jets −the losing, the blowout home defeats, the falling short of lofty expectations. That year, the Bears dropped five straight games to finish the season 5-11, and Marshall was traded to the Jets that ensuing offseason.
But Marshall sees a distinct difference between the two teams, and it’s why he’s passionate about Bowles being the right man to lead the Jets next season.
“I’m not trying to say anything bad about previous employment, but I’ve been in a locker room in 2014 in the same exact situation. And it was 100 times worse, because the locker room was divided,” Marshall said. “There was a lot of division. There was a division between players. There was a division between players and coaches. And we don’t have that. We’ve had some tough conversations. We held each other accountable. But we’re still together, and that’s promising.”
Marshall said Bowles is the sole reason behind the Jets staying cohesive.
“That’s why we respect Coach so much. That’s why we’re still together, is because he’s real,” Marshall said. “He tells us like it is, and he’s a man of his word.”
While he’s read and heard the buzz about Bowles being on the hot seat, Marshall doesn’t believe the 3-9 Jets are playing to save his job.
“I would hope not. How did that work out for Chicago?” Marshall said. “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. It’s football at the college level. It’s football in high school. 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.”
“We’re having this type of season this year that we were supposed to have last year, and last year’s season we were supposed to have this year. But it didn’t happen that way,” Marshall said. “Fans are pissed off, and they should be. Management’s pissed off; they should be. Players are pissed off; they should be. Coaches are pissed off, and they should be. But we’re all men and we understand that it comes with the territory.”
Marshall knows how quickly things can go south inside an NFL locker room − because he’s been through it.
The way Marshall sees it, Bowles keeping this Jets team together speaks volumes about what kind of coach he is.
“In situations like this, we love each other, we’re brothers. But at the same time, we’re here to win and we’re here to produce,” Marshall said. “And when you’re not winning and producing, you can leave a season with tarnished and bad relationships, and I’m just proud of this team for sticking together through these hard times.”