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The New York Jets and the Jacksonville Jaguars were both in the head coaching market during the 2021 offseason.
10 months later, the Jags are already back in the market.
In a stunning move, Jacksonville decided to move on from college football icon Urban Meyer after an array of issues including questionable coaching hires and unprofessional behavior.
He became the fourth NFL coach since the 1970 merger to not finish their first season, per the Elias Sports Bureau:
- Meyer, Jaguars, 2021
- Bobby Petrino, Atlanta Falcons, 2007
- Pete McCulley, San Francisco 49ers, 1978
- Lou Holtz, Jets, 1976
With Meyer now out of the NFL, people have already started to speculate who could be a proper replacement in Jacksonville?
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Another Opportunity Could Be on the Horizon
Brandon Kravitz, a local Florida-based radio host, shared his top replacement options for Meyer. A very interesting name cracked his list and that is ex-Jets head coach Todd Bowles.
The strong overwhelming opinion on social media is that the Jaguars should hire an offensive-minded head coach because of their best asset, former No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence.
Despite that narrative, Kravitz argued that “just because you have Lawrence doesn’t mean you have to hire an offensive guy, most importantly they just need a good coach.”
He then added that Bowles could get the defense right and help lead this organization “out of the dumpster.”
The 58-year old spent eight years in the NFL, primarily playing for the Washington Football Team in two separate stints (1986 through 1990) and again from 1992-93. The highlight of his accomplished career was winning Super Bowl 22.
Bowles then transitioned to coaching shortly after his playing career. He has now been coaching football for over 24 years at a variety of levels.
He got his first and only chance so far to be an NFL head coach with the Jets back in 2015. During his four seasons at the helm, Bowls went 24-40 running the operation.
Rebuilt Himself Back Up
While there are a lot of people down on Bowles after his uneven tenure with the Jets, he has more than built himself back up in his second act with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
After being fired by the Jets in 2018, he quickly rejoined his longtime friend and head coach of the Bucs, Bruce Arians.
Bowles was hired as the defensive coordinator and was the architect of a terrific Bucs defense that shut down Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl-winning 31-9:
- Kansas City didn’t score a touchdown
- Mahomes threw two picks and had a 53 completion percentage
Beyond the stats, the Chiefs just looked befuddled and lost. Tom Brady got most of the credit for his seventh championship, but it is fair to say no Lombardi would’ve been hoisted without Bowles’ defensive genius throughout the postseason run.
The magic didn’t just last through the Super Bowl run, Bowles has continued his defensive dominance in 2021:
- Third best rush defense in the NFL (91.2 yards per game)
- +9 in takeaways (tied for fourth-best in football)
The fact of the matter is Bowles deserves another shot to prove himself and he is in a great spot. He can be super selective about his next potential head coaching gig because he has already been there and done that. If the right situation isn’t available, he can simply keep riding the Brady wave in Tampa to a few more championships.
Regardless of his own interests, Bowles should be on every NFL team’s shortlist for head coaching interviews.
Speaking of interviews, something that is worth keeping an eye on is the new rule that was approved by the NFL owners. During the final two weeks of the regular season, NFL teams will be allowed to interview potential head-coaching candidates. That means starting on Tuesday, December 28 the Jaguars can begin their interviewing process.
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