OF ONE

Todd Bowles circles Woody Johnson’s Shangri-La in Florham Park in the pre-dawn darkness, programming his mind along his daily five-mile walk. The Jets head coach has already reaped the benefits of this morning ritual. He’s a slimmer man even though it’s impossible to know exactly how much baggage he’s shed. He refuses to step on a scale. In the face of his most daunting professional challenge, Bowles has found a calmness that comes from a lifetime in an unforgiving business. His seat is simmering in the run-up to this unusual season, an embattled leader handed the most ridiculous of circumstances. He’s trying to make chicken salad out of, well, you know, but … “It’s been my most enjoyable year,” Bowles told the Daily News. “Mostly just because of health. It has nothing to do with who left and who came. Yeah, you’re only happy when you’re winning. I get that. But I’m talking about peace of mind.” Bowles is one tough S.O.B. He coached last Christmas Eve despite a health scare that hospitalized him one day earlier. He is loyal and fair and smart, no matter how hard some people try to paint him with different strokes. He is the right man to lead a wayward franchise back to relevance. It’s naïve, however, to pretend his job is secure beyond what promises to be a bumpy 2017 season. The Jets, frankly, don’t have the horses to be relevant for the next 17 weeks. Bowles might have the worst quarterback situation in a quarterback-driven league. He might have the most talent-deficient roster in the entire sport. Have you seen the 53-man roster? Go ahead, but don’t stare too long. It might cause permanent damage to your retinas. “It comes with the territory,” Bowles said of the low expectations. “You can’t have thin skin in this business. You’re in the public. If you win, they love you. If you lose, they don’t. I get it. … I’m not worried about what many people think. I think we’re going to have a successful season. ... As long as we stay healthy, I have no doubt that we’ll be successful.” The regular season hasn’t even kicked off, but the Jets have been lampooned for an unorthodox ploy to land an elusive franchise quarterback in the 2018 draft. No, Bowles and his players aren’t tanking the season, but the head coach has witnessed an epic roster purge this spring and summer. The organization’s late decision to cut a pair of team leaders on offense and defense (Eric Decker and David Harris) should have sounded sirens to those unaware of the master plan signed off by the owner: 2017 is really about 2018 (and beyond). What does that mean for Bowles, who’s coaching the third year of a four-year contract? Since NFL head coaches typically don’t stick around on their lame-duck years, Johnson & Johnson (Woody and Chris) will have to make a decision on Bowles after a 2017 campaign that will probably include only a handful of wins. (The smart play would be to give Bowles an extension before the season if he’s actually a part of the organization’s rebuilding process, but I digress).

The knee-jerk reaction from the myopic crowd is predictable — and predictably wrong.

Bowles doesn’t care about the eternal noise about his future. “You can’t control everything,” Bowles said. “I only worry about stuff I can control, good or bad. I don’t care if you predicted us to go 16-0 or 0-16. I wouldn’t feel any different. You put in the work on the field. Being around football all my life, you put your head down and keep working.”

“The elevator from the top to the bottom is very fast,” he added. “It’s express. You don’t stop at every floor. So, you can be in the penthouse today, you can be down there tomorrow, you be in the penthouse the next day. You put your head down and you grind.”

Speculation over Bowles’ future will be one of the soundtracks to the season. He’s quick to remind you whenever the topic comes up that he knew what he signed up for when he replaced Rex Ryan. Living through it now hasn’t phased him.

“It’s no different for me,” Bowles said. “You coach the team to get better. I didn’t get into this thing to worry about my job. My job is to coach the team. As long as the guys are getting better and we’re winning or working towards winning, I’m good with it.”

“I’m a realistic guy,” he continued. “I believe in practicing hard and working hard and playing the game on Sunday. I don’t believe in being the favorites or the underdogs. I believe in putting in the time, putting in the work and believing in each other and going out and playing the game. Let the rest take care of itself.”

Bowles insists that he’s “always learning new things” to help grow as a coach, but his core principles remain the same. He’s fiercely loyal, so he’ll never admit what the rest of the NFL universe already knows: The Jets need more talent, especially at quarterback.

Not even Bill Belichick could take this team, which also traded away former Pro Bowl defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson last week, to the postseason.

Bowles isn’t in the business of making excuses. He’s made adjustments this offseason to galvanize his young group. He asked them all to believe. Believe in each other. Believe that anything is possible. He’s the same, but different.

“In meetings, he’s still the same strict, to-thepoint, direct guy,” defensive lineman Leonard Williams said. “When we’re not in meetings, when you’re walking by him, there’s a lot more engagement. People are closer.”

Todd Bowles has never been afraid of what the future holds. He’s not about to start now.