The Tampa Bay Buccaneers hit the jackpot by landing a former head coach in Todd Bowles as their defensive coordinator.
According to TheMMQB’s Albert Breer, former New York Jets head coach Todd Bowles will rejoin Bruce Arians as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers new defensive coordinator. Bowles worked under Arians with the Arizona Cardinals in the same capacity.
Bowles will join Arians’ staff along with Harold Goodwin, who will be the run game coordinator. Former Buccaneers quarterback Byron Leftwich, who will be the passing game coordinator, and Clyde Christianson, the new quarterbacks coach.
Bowles spent fours seasons in New York. He had a very similar run to former Buccaneers head coach Dirk Koetter in the sense that things started well but finished poorly. Bowles led the Jets to a 10-6 record in 2015, but the Jets wouldn’t win more than five games in a season for the remainder of his tenure.
Now, Bowles will return to Arians’ side, where he found tremendous success. Under Bowles, the Cardinals had a top ten defense twice. Bowles may be the coach to turn this Buccaneers defense around finally.
Plus, he has a strong background with defensive backs. He played safety during his career with the Washington Redskins and San Francisco 49ers. He picked off 15 passes during his day and should be a great teacher for Carlton Davis, Justin Evans and company.
But before his professional career, Bowles played under Bruce Arians at Temple University. Arians was the head coach of the Owls from 1983-1988. The two have a strong relationship, and the move to Tampa Bay makes sense for Bowles.
Arians’ long-term future is still a major question mark. He had health concerns at Arizona, and he may not be in charge for an extended period of time. Bowles could be the heir apparent if he decides to stick around.
Of course, his first run with the Jets was disappointing, but if Arians is able to turn around the Bucs and wants to hang them up, Tampa Bay could look at his coaching tree for their next hire. Bowles will be the obvious candidate.