Coordinator’s mystery illness ‘a serious thing’
Todd Bowles had finished talking about the various injuries his players were dealing with Friday when he made one last announcement regarding the Jets’ health that wasn’t as simple as an entry on the injury report.
“Side note: Coach Rodgers [defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers] couldn’t do his interviews today because he is ill of a nature we can’t discuss right now,” Bowles said. “We’ll see going forward where he is and go from there.”
Bowles was non-committal about whether Rodgers would be able to handle his coaching duties Sunday against the Broncos at MetLife Stadium, but there was a sense of concern in his voice.
“He’s a tough guy,” Bowles said. “It’s a serious thing.”
The 49-year-old Rodgers had a doctor’s appointment Thursday and was scheduled to conduct his weekly press conference Friday but was not at the Jets facility at all.
Bowles informed his players of Rodgers’ absence in a meeting Friday morning.
“You could tell he was definitely upset about it,” wide receiver Quincy Enunwa said. “It’s not easy when one of your good friends goes through whatever’s going on. We just hope he gets better.”
The two coaches are close after having worked together beginning in 2005 on the Cowboys staff. Bowles was the secondary coach and Rodgers coached the defensive line until 2008, when both left to take the same positions with the Dolphins.
Bowles left in 2012 and spent time with the Eagles and Cardinals before he became head coach of the Jets in 2015 and quickly hired Rodgers as his defensive coordinator.
“Very close,” left tackle Kelvin Beachum said. “That’s his friend. They’ve been around each other for years. Any time you have a friend going though anything, you know he cares about him. That’s the type of organization we have. We have people in this building that actually care about each other.”
The Jets defense went through its Friday practice and meetings without Rodgers, but he wasn’t far from their minds.
“Obviously really tough to hear, just because he’s such a good dude,” defensive end Henry Anderson said. “But we’re going to go out and do the best we can. Hopefully he’s back as soon as he’s healthy.”
If Rodgers is unable to coach Sunday, Bowles would likely handle the defensive play-calling duties from the sideline. It was only last week that Bowles vehemently denied a report that said he was taking over the play-calling from Rodgers, but now he may not have a choice.
The Jets are coming off their worst defensive game of the season as the Jaguars gashed them for 503 yards and 31 points. Blake Bortles passed for 388 yards — more than the total yards the Jets had allowed in any single game through three weeks — and took advantage of a secondary that couldn’t get off the field.
At the quarter pole of the season, the Jets defense ranks 13th in yards allowed per game (355.5).
“We’re going to play football, that’s the biggest thing,” defensive lineman Steve McLendon said. “We still gotta show up.”
While they already know they will be without No. 1 cornerback Trumaine Johnson (quad), they may be without an important piece of their sideline, as well.
“We understand what type of person Kacy is and what type of impact he’s brought to this team and organization, and just as a man, being around,” Beachum said. “Know that we miss him but know that we’ll be praying for him and playing for him.”