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Todd’s job security.
I have not heard anything regarding him being in trouble.
I wrote a blog on Tuesday saying this, “You read all this stuff about coaches on the hot-seat. And you see things like, “Hot-Seat Rankings.” Todd Bowles names appears on some of these lists. What’s that based on? It’s certainly not coming from anybody at One Jets Drive, like Christopher Johnson, who called the coach “quite extraordinary” last off-season and gave him a two-year contract extension. Does that sound like “hot-seat” material?”
Some fans reacted saying that that he’s on the hot-seat because the fans feel he should be on the hot-seat.
With all due respect to fans who feel this way, not sure that’s how it works.
NFL teams aren’t democracies. They are dictatorships. The owner of each teams makes these kind of decisions.
Look at Jerry Jones in Dallas. How many Cowboy fans want a new coach to replace Jason Garrett?
Many, but Jerry doesn’t care. He sticks with him.
And ultimately, while fans will say, “I’m not going anymore,” many still come back.
Obviously PSL’s have something to do with that. If you have PSL, it’s hard to walk away from your tickets, because let’s say, you paid $50,000 for the rights to your tickets (and then you have to pay for the tickets), are you going to walk away from that initial investment?
Also, the off-season always brings a lot of hope, with free agents and draft additions.
And time heals all wounds, so a few months after the season, many fans are hopeful again.
Look at Mets fans? How many ever move on entirely? Being a Mets fan is like a religion.
I have a very simple position on Todd’s job security right now.
If it was his decision ALONE to start a rookie QB who wasn’t ready to start, after coming out after his red-shirt sophomore year, a season he had 13 picks, then Bowles should be on thin ice.
But if people like Johnson, Ira Axselrad and Mike Maccagnan were pushing for the rookie start before he was ready, then Bowles shouldn’t be in as much trouble.
If the higher-ups wanted to use this year to develop Darnold, they hand-cuffed the coach, no matter what you think of the coach.
I truly believe, the Jets’ record could very well be reversed right now if Josh McCown was starting. They lost to a sub-par Miami team twice, along with Cleveland and a Chicago Bears team that was very beatable (For the most part, Mitch Trubisky didn’t play that well). In these games, the Jets defense wasn’t bad, but the Jets just didn’t get enough from their offense and QB position. I could easily have seen the Jets win three of these four games, and be at 6-3 now.
So to me, if Bowles decided alone that the rookie gave him the best chance to win, you really have to think hard about bringing him back.
Was it a marketing decision? Jets got a huge boost at the box office when they announced Darnold would start. They also sold a ton of Darnold jerseys. So maybe some on the business side were involved.
So if others pushed him to do it, then perhaps you need to cut him a little slack.
Because even with Bowles shortcomings, a veteran QB, who knows what he’s doing out there, often helps you overcome so much, even coaching mistakes here and there. It’s a QB-driven league. Perhaps you will see that this week with Josh McCown starting for Darnold. Manish Mehta announced Darnold has a foot sprain.
Though if they bring him back, he needs a bench coach, like Joe Torre had with Don Zimmer, or Phil Jackson with Tex Winter. Bowles needs somebody to bounce things off of during the game. Maybe Bruce Arians.
November 7, 2018
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