MEHTA: Bowles deserves vote of confidence from Woody.
Owner needs to tell us Todd is still Jets’ guy
Woody Johnson’s reputation is on the line now that the chatter about the future of his head coach has reached earsplitting levels. The notion of firing Todd Bowles after his second season is patently ridiculous. Johnson, frankly, would become a punchline if he throws Bowles overboard after one bad season. The HC of NYJ would officially be a radioactive gig that would attract subpar candidates.
No top-level coach with any real prospects would want to come within a football field of working for such an impulsive and unpredictable owner. Indications are that Johnson will not pull the plug, but he should give Bowles a public vote of confidence right now.
A firing would be an indictment on Johnson’s judgment. The billionaire boss man would implicate himself by making such a rash decision. Johnson would be the real loser if he canned Bowles.
He’d also be deemed a prevaricator two months after proclaiming his “long-term confidence” in his head coach and general manager.
There’s no denying that Bowles has done a subpar job in his second season, but it’s myopic to evaluate him solely on this miserable season. He’s the same guy who turned a 4-12 team into a 10-win campaign in his rookie season. He understands football and people. He is a leader of men. He has the requisite skills to be successful, but needs help.
“They went 10-6, which was a miracle,” Charley Casserly, who consulted Johnson during the general manager and head coaching hiring process two years ago, recently told the Daily News. “Mike (Maccagnan) did a hell of a job patching that thing together without sacrificing the salary cap in the future. Todd and Chan (Gailey) did a hell of a job coaching that thing. The job they did with Fitzpatrick was a miracle. Then midnight struck in the last game of the year. That’s what happened.”
“That was a major rebuilding job they walked in. It still is,” Casserly added. “I don’t think people really understand that… That’s not going to be solved overnight.”
It’s foolish to draw conclusions about Bowles after one good season and one bad one. Johnson needs to resist the urge to cede to pressure from frustrated fans fed up with this six-year postseason drought. Although it’s the worst stretch since they missed the playoffs from 199297 (and second worst ever behind the 1970-80 famine), Johnson needs to stay the course and give Bowles a fair opportunity. Two years is not a fair opportunity. He needs more time. He deserves more time.
Johnson would be doing an injustice to his franchise if he didn’t give him more time.
“Coach just won 10 ball games last year,” Brandon Marshall said. “We won four games before that (in 2014). That’s a hell of a job. This year is just a bad year for a number of reasons. You don’t have a fire sale because of that. You suck it up. You be a man and go out in the offseason and work hard. That’s everybody in the building. You don’t say, ‘Oh, it’s time to cut bait.’”
Said Sheldon Richardson: “This is a slump season. It really wasn’t on him. It was kind of on us, because we didn’t make the plays. We were in position to make plays or we knew what we were getting into … we just didn’t show up this season. So, I really wouldn’t blame it on our coach.”
Bowles, who is 14-17 entering the season finale against the Bills on Sunday, didn’t exactly inherit a championship roster. In fact, only four of the 27 players selected in the three previous drafts are even contributors now (Richardson, Quincy Enunwa, Brian Winters, Calvin Pryor).
The biggest barrier: The team’s quarterback situation was — and still is — a mess.
“We had the least desirable quarterback choice,” Casserly said of the state of the team during the search process. “So, that was going to be a problem.”
Johnson has shown a good deal of patience with head coaches since he took over in 2000. Other than Al Groh’s voluntary departure after his rookie season, every head coach in the Johnson Era has had at least three seasons. Herm Edwards stuck around for five seasons. Rex Ryan lasted six. Mangini was fired after a winning record in his third season due to his penchant for secrecy that irked the owner.
By and large, Johnson’s evaluations of his head coaches have been fair. Casserly insisted that the owner was “engaged” and “thorough” during his most recent search for a head coach.
“He was totally into it,” Casserly said. “He asked good questions. He listened. He took hard answers.” n other words, Johnson did everything right. So, why throw it away after two seasons, including one that yielded 10 wins? “There is a lot of change,” Bill Belichick said Tuesday on WEEI radio of the high turnover rate of head coaches in the AFC East since he was hired in 2000. “It’s frequent and it seems like it is coming earlier and earlier every year. I don’t think personally that’s the best way to
Imanage a team, but that’s really not my call. Some of these guys, they just do whatever they do.” Johnson needs to tell the world that Bowles is safe.