Bowles vows more offensive involvement

PHOENIX — Todd Bowles is getting less defensive.

The Jets head coach has concentrated more on the team’s defense in his first two years, but that is about to change. Bowles said he has been in meetings with the offensive coaches this offseason, and it will stay that way in 2017.

“I’ll be probably heavily more involved in the offense [than] since I’ve been here,” Bowles said Tuesday at the NFL’s owners meetings.

The Jets have a new offensive coordinator, with John Morton replacing Chan Gailey. That may be part of the reason, but Bowles also may be realizing he needs to take control of the entire team as the head coach.

“That’s just the way I feel as a coach, and I’ve evolved to and where I need to be and understand everything from that standpoint,” Bowles said. “I need to be heavily involved.”

Bowles said his involvement on offense will include during games, if he wants the play-calling to go a certain way.

“We were 5-11,” Bowles said. “I need to do everything in the world better than I did last year. Again, it starts with me. It ends with me.”

Bowles had an interesting answer when asked about defensive linemen Muhammad Wilkerson’s and Sheldon Richardson’s problems being on time last year.

“You’re going to always have tardiness with players. That’s part of it,” Bowles said. “Sometimes you’re late for work. It’s not life-threatening. Those guys after that were sharp, and we didn’t have a problem with them after that.”

Former Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis remains a free agent, but there have been plenty of rumors he could rejoin the Patriots.

“I think that would be great for him,” Bowles said. “I’m a big Revis fan. I have a ton of respect for the guy.”