TODD: ALL IS WELL!
Bowles denies friction as Jets will miss playoffs again
Todd Bowles disagreed with the notion that there's discord between general manager Mike Maccagnan and him in the wake of a Daily News story that detailed elements of their eroding relationship.
“There's never been any tension with me or anybody else in this building,” Bowles told SNY on Friday. “It's a professional place. There's a lot of good people in here and we treat people the same way. It's unfortunate someone has their own agenda in mind. I guess that's between him and Manish (Mehta), whoever that person is. But usually the person that throws the first stone is usually the culprit. So, they're probably trying to protect or hide something. But most of the organization is not like that. It's unfortunate that we had that said.”
The News reported that the current reporting structure that puts Bowles and Maccagnan on parallel tracks to ownership has created an unproductive working environment. Although several people said that Bowles and Maccagnan have been professional to each other during their four-year relationship, the feeling in the organization is that neither one truly believes the other has a good plan for success.
The brain trust no longer believes that Bowles, who is 23-37 in charge, can overcome his shortcomings as the head coach. His future with the team is a fait accompli.
Although it's not set in stone that Maccagnan will be retained, the feeling in the building is that the general manager can improve with a revised structure that calls for the next head coach to report directly to him. So, he will likely be back and play an important role in the next coaching search.
Truth be told, Maccagnan and Bowles are both culpable for the team's current state. Maccagnan has attempted to be a team player perhaps to a fault by appeasing his coaches in the draft and free agency too many times. There's a sense that he needs to better trust his own area of expertise (college scouting) rather than yield to coaches. There are some concerns about Maccagnan's ability to accelerate the rebuilding process too.
Bowles hasn't exactly been armed with a talent-rich roster, but there have been questionable game-management decisions coupled with undisciplined play that have given the powers that be pause for concern. Despite the rough season that includes a six-game losing streak entering Sunday's game in Buffalo, Bowles maintained that he's not looking for this forgettable season to be over.
“I'm just looking forward to the next game,” Bowles said this week. “You don't look forward to the season being over until it's over.”
Bowles missed the playoffs in each of his four seasons. Surely, he envisioned more success when he was hired in 2015.
“I anticipated a lot of things in my life that didn't go quite as planned,” Bowles said.