Bowles standing alone as Dead Coach Walking
SO WHERE once there was Revis Island, welcome to Bowles Island, where a thirdyear head coach finds himself looking desperately for a few good wins with arguably the worst quarterback and receiver situations in the league and a roster stripped naked.
If you thought Tuesday morning Todd Bowles had no chance to survive this fullblown Jets youth movement/ housecleaning, the idea he is Dead Coach Walking was only reinforced by Tuesday evening.
Bowles, following a 5-11 sophomore season, has been set up as the fall guy now that David Harris and Eric Decker are joining Darrelle Revis, Nick Mangold and Brandon Marshall out the green-and-white door.
Of course, if Christian Hackenberg proves to be a bust, then no one would begrudge Woody Johnson for not allowing general manager Mike Maccagnan to draft one of the Class of 2018 quarterbacks for the next head coach, and dialing up Charley Casserly and Ron Wolf for further assistance.
No one can blame Bowles, the good company man forced to face the music alone hours before Maccagnan met the media, if he were to mutter to himself: TANKS A LOT.
Bowles faces the greater peril because the owner firing Maccagnan would deprive him of the chance to hire his own head coach. Bowles and Maccagnan came in before the 2015 season joined at the hip.
The Jets Quarterback Follies present a daunting and defining dilemma for Bowles.
Bowles’ best argument for keeping his job would be Hackenberg somehow blossoming under quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates and offensive coordinator John Morton to the point where there is hope for the future.
The worst thing he can do is throw Hackenberg to the wolves before he is remotely ready especially when journeyman Josh McCown gives him a better chance to pull off an upset or two. Bowles, of course, will have no interest in tanking or Sucking For Sam Darnold (Or Anyone Else) because he wouldn’t be around to coach the next would-be franchise quarterback.
The trick for Bowles is identifying the exact right moment to turn to Hackenberg, who won’t have anything resembling the supporting cast Mark Sanchez had as a rookie in 2009.
Bowles was clearly conflicted Tuesday by having to say goodbye to a player he loves and respects and abiding by the wishes of manage- ment operating in a cutthroat salary-cap world where loyalty is a one-way street. He looked and sounded talking about talks aimed at slashing Harris’ $6.5 million salary breaking down as comfortable as Sean Spicer at a White House press conference.
We interrupt Dead Coach Walking to bring you this tweet from Jessie James Decker: “Eric is a total badass as you know and the future looks bright!!!”
Perhaps for her husband. Not for her husband’s former coach.
Maccagnan, asked if the Jets are tanking the 2017 season: “That is not our focus.”
TODD HELP HIM.