Todd Bowles
Posted: February 9th, 2012 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 54 Comments »Go read Marcus Hayes piece on Todd Bowles. Great stuff. That should get you fired up about having him on the staff. It worked on me.
You can also check out some quotes from Bowles on the Eagles DBs. The one comment here that caught my eye was in reference to Jaiquawn Jarrett – “He had some bone-crushing hits when he played, I saw those types of things. He’s tough, he’s a tough kid. He has a chance.”
A chance? I’m not sure how to take that. A chance to be a force at SS or a chance to make it in the league? If Bowles isn’t sold on Jarrett, then maybe he’ll convince the FO to make a move, either in free agency or the draft. More on that in a bit.
Back to Bowles. He’s not coming here as some X’s and O’s guru who can magically solve things. The reason I’m excited is that he comes with a great background. Emmitt Thomas was his coach when Bowles as a Safety in the NFL. He then learned from Eddie Robinson while coaching at Grambling. And Bowles learned a lot from Bill Parcells when they worked together.
Andy Reid had success here because he was like a sponge in his days as an assistant. Andy learned from Lavell Edwards, Bob Stull, Mike Holmgren, and Howard Mudd as he made his way up the coaching ladder. He learned about football and coaching. Read the article and you’ll see Bowles went through the same thing. Holmgren was Andy’s mentor and it sounds like Tuna was that for Bowles.
Parcells coaching tree has been pretty successful because he wasn’t about X’s and O’s. That’s Belichick. Parcells knows how to teach the game of football, but also how to deal with people. Bowles has talent to work with. He’s got to build up his players confidence, but also be tough on them so that they stay grounded and listen to him. That’s a tricky thing to pull off. Good coaches can do it.
My fingers are crossed that Bowles is that guy.
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For SB Nation Philly, I wrote about the difficulty of being an Eagles fan. Life sucks right now, but I’m wearing an Eagles t-shirt today. I’ll catch flak from a couple of Giants people. Best to go ahead and get that out of the way. I’m not giving up on the Eagles. I didn’t start following this team so I could enjoy the sunny days. You stick with ’em through thick and thin. 2012 will be a better year. I swear on a stack of old media guides.
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There has been a bit of talk about LaRon Landry as a target if the Eagles want to upgrade at Safety. Read this. Landry sounds a bit nuts. Not so sure I’d give that dude a whole lot of money. He’s fragile. He hates surgery. He is 220 pounds already, but felt the need to bulk up to play SS instead of FS.
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I’ve mentioned a few times that the Safety class in the draft sucks. Top prospect Mark Barron is dealing with a double hernia and will be out til the summer. That could scare off some teams who want him to play right away.
I have found one player I like a lot – Antonio Allen of South Carolina. I’ll do a full write-up on him in the next few days. Box Safety, but a real interesting guy.
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I wrote a piece on scouting and the draft. Long, but hopefully pretty interesting for those who want to know what goes on behind the scenes.
Any chance that Bowles could be the next HC if AR doesnt get it done this year? Seems like a logic type of coach to bring in as part of a sucession plan.
I think Bowles could absolutely be a candidate. That’s part of the beauty of hiring him. We get a close up look. And he’s from outside the Reid family, but has the kind of background you absolutely want in a coach. He’ll spend at least a year with Big Red (which is a good thing). Andy does know offense.
I don’t remember too many “bone-jarring” hits from Jarrett as a pro. Some good ones from his College Highlight reel…To be honest, he looks a bit thin in the lower half for a “big hitting” safety. There was not a lot to get excited about in 2011 from Mr. Jarret;. bad angles, trepidation, lacking instincts, very questionable ball skills. Greg Cosell was high on him coming out, and I respect his opinion a lot, so I’m reserving judgement a bit. So far, I just have not seen the same player from Temple–even in the run game. It’s pointing toward Jarrett being the 2nd round reach many thought he was.
We’re all down on Jarrett, but let’s see what he does after having the offseason. 2012 is crucial for which direction his career heads. At the least, he needs to be a key role player and STer. He needs to show us serious ability. It would be great if he could win the SS job and actually be a solid starter. Or maybe he gets fully exposed as a guy who is in over his head. Gotta see what happens.
I’m not one for putting a lot of stock in so-called ‘draft gurus’ such as Kiper or McShay but I do recall as well that Jarrett was projected as a 3rd rounder at the earliest
Paul Domowitch talked to various scouts and a couple said their teams wanted him in the early 3rd. Taking him late 2nd isn’t a huge reach based on that.
I thought he was more of a 4th rounder. Apparently he interviewed real well and got glowing reviews from the Temple coaches. I was going stricly off game tape.
Slightly off topic Tommy but if we get an MLB in FA, do you like Devon Still at 15 if he’s there or someone else? What if we lose DeSean and don’t pick up one of the big FA WRs such as Colston, Jackson, Johnson?
I’m not a Devon Still guy. Loved him at PSU, but tape study shows him to be a bit erratic. Better DTs available. Fletcher Cox, Jared Crick, and Derek Wolfe are all DTs I like for the Eagles in various rounds.
Derek Wolfe is a guy I only saw play 3 times total this year but in each of those games he made a ton of plays. He looked like his motor never stops. Fun guy to watch on a pretty boring team.
Tommy, is he DE or DT for the Eagles? Or should I say, can he play DE for the Eagles?Same question about Crick. They both seem like good athletes. It would be nice to add some talented versatility on the D-line.
Its funny how some people think Tommy did Matt’s mock draft on SNB.
Wolfe is 6’5, 286. Would primarily be DT for us, but is athletic enough to play some snaps at DE.
All the reviews I have read about Derek Wolfe and that he is from Cincinnati, makes him a pefect target for the Eagles 🙂
Same goes for Isaiah Pead! Back up RB and returner… Maybe worth a 3rd day pick for us?
No, no, no. Running backs come from Pittsburg!
Fair enough 🙂
We are like perfect with players from Cincinnati in the Reid era
I liked Todd Bowles, like him even more now. For a franchise that likes continuity, I could see him becoming HC of this team if we miss the playoffs next year. The Dolphins players all wanted him to stay as HC (they played hard for him the last 3 games).
Laron Landry is interesting in my opinion. We all know how good a player he is, especially when he’s healthy and the issues with covering deep go away. I for one was scared when the Skins had Taylor and Landry back there.
That being said, he isn’t a player id sell the future for. The injury concerns and him being, shall we call it a loose cannon, isn’t the only thing. I always get the feeling that he plays more for himself, than for the team, and thats one thing this whole DeSean issues have taught me. I want players who die for this team. Even if its only for the time of their contract, i want them to bleed green as much as we do. McCoy and Maclin seems to be those kinds of players. Vick seems to be because of the chance Andy gave him. Evan Mathis said things when the Andy hate was load that makes me thing he’s not going to leave. Cole and Patt are such player. Cole might even be very angry with his contract, but he goes out there and play harder than anybody in this league every game. Is Landry that kind of guy? I doubt it, and i feel the same way about him as i do DeSean. Of course we are interested and we should jump in there if they find themselves left alone in FA with bruised egos, but i do hope we don’t bring out the big checkbook out of fear for doing nothing.
You make a good point but I’m afraid the Landrys and DeSeans of the NFL now outnumber the Dawks and Coles.
DBs and WRs (Dawk being an exception) are often divas!!
Yeah, it could be a dream. I do understand that WR and CB are divas and that it goes with the territory, but at least they could be professional. DeSean has shown both some professionalism and an immature jerk, and when you don’t give it all on the field, you’re done. Landry i don’t know so much about when it comes to that stuff, but i have seen some statements, and ripping your coaches and organization isn’t professional. They guy who go all Larry Bird and never gives up, always play to exceed his limits and spend hours on training, will be forgiven and respected for his opinions. A loudmouth like DeSean telling everyone that he wants a hue contract when we all see he doesn’t deserve it, is expendable and will be laughed at.
I agree. It seems safety is a very tough position to find if you need one this year. Very thin in the draft, and a pretty weak FA class. Strange that there is such a dearth when the position is more important than ever, in a “passing league” with the trend of hybrid TE/WR athletic freaks threatening the middle of the field in multiple TE packages.
Besides Landry, the guys in the FA class that pique my interest are Reggie Nelson and Tyvon Branch. Neither one is a fantastic player, and both kind of had emergent years, so they don’t have a real impressive or deep resume. Will the Eagles break the bank for players like that? I don’t know, but I’d guess no.
I think our best hope is to have Jarrett develop into a competent starter.
I remember thinking good things about Tyvon Branch when I watched him playing.
And I disagree, the young, emerging players are just the kind that the Eagles typically look to add.
Do not trust this man. I haven’t performed Lasik surgery on him yet so there’s no telling what he’s trying to type.
totally agree. i usually get that feeling about AR’s teams but last year didnt feel that way. i love players that are like that, we need more of them. c jenkins seems like he could be a player like that. vick def seems like that
I don’t think it’s a coincidence Landry pulls a lot of muscles.
Also remember the Eagles could have had him or Haynesworth in the McNabb trade and passed then, when safety was arguably a greater need.
Guy’s a beast when playing SS and at full strength though.
I love Bowles’ quote on Jarrett on a number of levels.
1. He’s demonstrated he’s adept at *Eagles Coach Speak* — sound optimistic about a player taken with a high draft pick while simultaneously signalling that the player didn’t do much with his opportunity (“he has a chance”), while at the same time not directly criticizing the front office for potentially blowing a 2nd round pick on the kid but subtly saying Jarrett’s gonna have really dial-up his performance.
2. Bowles, using coach-speak, wasn’t afraid to step up and use a fellow Temple alum as a guy whose performance — and place on the team — is in issue.
3. Bowles made clear he’s *just a DB coach for the Ealges* — but put some space between himself and the current staff.
4. He’s from a different line of coaches than Reid — Parcells v. Walsh — who’ve had pretty good success lately. Plus there’s the Joe Gibbs background, who was no slouch in his prime. And both Parcells and Gibbs believed in a more physical brand of football than AR — at least, that’s how it looks on the field.
Damned interesting. Damned intriguing.
Regardless of AR’s performance next year, Bowles strikes me as an incredibly appealing HC candidate for any NFL team. A defensive version of Andy Reid, you might say.
Needs to eat a lot of cheeseburgers and grow a thicker mustache.
TOUCHE ) ) ) ) )
I think Bowles was likely more influenced by Richie Petitbon during his time with Redskins. Gibbs gave Petitbon complete automony over the Redskin’s defense (similar hierarchy to Reid and JJ). Petitbon was a good, arguably great, DC, and also a very good Safety when he played in NFL.
Tommy,
I absolutely LOVE Barron, and have been the last three years. Could he possibly slide to the middle of the second because of injury? It doesn’t sound serious, so I highly doubt it.
Either way, we just spend a 2nd round pick on Jarrett, and you have advocated that you only see the true value of a safety after at least two years. Would the addition of Bowles really alter with that? Does he have enough power to sit Jarrett on the bench, if he don’t like him? Or is that a desicion for Castillo to make?
IF we somehow steal away a 2nd round pick from some team in exchange for Samuel, then I would be inclined to use it on Barron, only if Bowles don’t like Jarrett, and loves Barron.
Could David Hawthorne be a target? Seems like an Eagles guy. 2nd tier free agent. Young and talented, coming off an injury plagued season (nagging knee injury)
I’ve been a big Hawthorne fan for a couple of years. Watched some tape of him last night. Good FA target. I’d be fine with going after him. And he is likely to be reasonable value.
Is he a MLB or OLB for this defense? Do you think the Eagles still target a LB early in the draft, even #15 (keuchly)?
David played MLB for 2 yrs, WLB for one in Seattle. I think he’d be a MLB here. In a fantasy world the team would sign a good SAM free agent and then draft Kuechly. I just don’t see much in the way of SAM targets in FA. Several solid MLBs to choose from.
Pick up Hawthorne and trade back in the first to pick up Hightower?
Hightower may be a bit of a liability in coverage, but you just shored up the Run D (combined w Hawthorne FA signing) and have Chaney, Clayton and Matthews to fight for the Nickel spot(s).
Yeah, I like Hawthorne as a MLB here. I also like the Vikings Erin (not EJ) Henderson a lot. Both those guys are young and can play either inside or outside. I agree they need a two prong attack for LB, draft and FA. If I’m king of the Eagles I attack it this way:
Sign Hawthorne to play MLB, draft SLB in 2nd-5th, A. Cole, S. McClellan, D. Hightower or J. Kaddu, depending on who is available where.
or
Sign Henderson to play SLB and draft Kuechly or Hightower to play MLB.
I’d also like to see a WLB added somewhere in rounds 3-5 to challenge Rolle. I like him, but I think depth and talent is needed in the LB corps in general.
You don’t seem as high on Kuechly lately. Some folks are saying he’s kind of a “wait & tackle” guy that makes most of his plays 5-7 yards down field–are you reevaluating him?
Love Kuechly and would kill to see him as an Eagle. Need one vet at LB. Get the feeling that will be MLB and SAM is draft pick.
I’m not sure it makes sense, but Luke as MLB, Hawthorne was SLB? Hawthorne can cover and is 245 lbs. That’s big enough to play SLB.
At the end of the day, I’d be happy just acquiring TALENT at LB
Terrible that Parcells didn’t make it into the HOF. Probably he pissed off some voters by not granting an interview. Or maybe he pissed on a few during an interview. Whatever. While none of us knows exactly what went on in those locker rooms, it seems that Parcells knew how to push the right buttons to get players playing their best. If Bowles absorbed that, so much the better. AR seems to provide one model of motivation, guys like Mudd and Washburn may have brought in other models. The latter were bright spots last year.
Tuna would get in if people thought he was 100% retired. Until they see him really, really done, he might be on the outside looking in. He’ll absolutely make it as soon as people buy into his retirement.
Tommy,
I was thinking about our SAM position today. What do you think our possibilities are there? Will Chaney be tried out again even though he has failed once? Fokou is likely gone, so we have to find a new starter.
If we get a MLB (Kuechly) in the draft, would it be wise to draft a fellow rookie to start at SAM? The possibilities in FA does absolutely no entice me.
I’ve heard good things about Josh Kaddu as a SAM prospect. What do you think of him? And how about Bobby Wagner, could he be a SAM for us?
Right now I want Keenan Robinson, but I really don’t know what to hope for…
Do you have a plan in place?
I got your SAM question on Twitter. I’m watching tape of players so I can give you a good answer. Watched some Wagner today. I’ll be doing a whole post on the subject. Will be soon. I promise.
Thanks! Didn’t mean to rush you or anything, I just can’t wait to get information on anything even remotely related to our beloved team!
No worries. I know you guys want to know it all ASAP. I just want to do good research so I feed you quality info. Also, gotta pace the offseason. Can’t blow through all the good topics in early Feb.
Here’s one take. Go for Kuechly at 15 and then Audie Cole at 77. That gives them two talent upgrades and big bodies to compete with Chaney at SAM and/or Mike. Chaney did not fail at SAM. Matthews failed (not entirely his fault) at MLB abd Chaney had to go back. Chaney has the skill set for SAM and the speed for Roole to be fine at WIL and in fact think he’s strong and smart enough for Mike. But this would be by far our 4 most talented LBs of the Ried era setting up a very healthy competition and if sucessful turns LB into a strength for a long time. I’d further use 99 for smith the SS from ND to set up the same competition at both safety spots.
Great piece on the agony of fandom.
I work with Redskin, Cowboy, and Steeler fans and they like to bring up their trophy cases. It does make me angry that we don’t even have 1 Lombardi (while Tampa and New Orleans do).
I often compare Eagle fandom to Browns fandom. Some great teams, just not great enough.
How good is Curtis Lofton? Also is it possible the eagles could trade back into the 1st round our higher in the 2nd to draft Zach Brown to be the starting weakside LB?
Juan seems humble enough to use Bowles’ experience, one of the marks of a top manager is to hire people smarter than you and make them feel valued. Unfortunately, Lynn didn’t seem to qualify, but Bowles seems like a guy who could help Juan but is smart enough to make his boss look good. A lot of teams implode b/c coaches get into power struggles, when a smart coach knows the aura from the team’s success is his best bet for future advancement.
I also think people underestimate Zordich and Caldwell, last year they went through their growing pains as coaches, but they were two of the smartest players I’ve seen, taking mediocre talent (in Caldwell’s case, after he blew out his knee) and lasting a decade in the NFL. That has credibility with players that some hot shot college coach can’t match. Bowles could also be a solid mentor for them.
This is a win-win for all concerned, Bowles gets a soft landing place with a team with a change to win it all after the disaster in Miami, and can rebuild his reputation coming out of a bad situation (not that it was his fault, but the smell sticks to everyone). Eagles get an experienced coach who can bring an outsiders perspective. A deep playoff run, and AR saying nice things about Bowles, and he gets a shot at a DC or HC position elsewhere.
Tommy, from the “difficulty” piece, the part on where you were when they signed Nnamdi. … I was at the top of a mountain out west with no cell reception, and it was three hours behind so I wasn’t really thinking “oh free agency news is about to come out.” We’re driving down one of those windy mountain roads like in an Audi commercial and my phone buzzes (apparently we came back in cell tower range) … and it’s a tweet from Jay Glazer confirming we signed him.
I nearly plunged my family off a 100-foot embankment I was so freakin’ thrilled lol
I always thought we had a chance but I wasn’t expecting it then or at that moment.
Good story. Glad you didn’t kill the family. Save that for when Chad Hall gets the 5-year contract extension.
I am intrigued by this whole Plax situation. I don’t care how old he is, the guy is still a redzone threat. Could you imaging a goaline formation of Celek/Harbor lined up next to the tackles and Plax the lone receiver? That is three tough guys to cover inside the 10. I would be fine with keeping Desean and tagging him, if they signed someone with Plax’s size. I would still like to see them upgrade the slot (Joe Adams) Machlin/Desean/Plax/Adams/Cooper?
Speaking of… is TE an upgrade target?
Why would Plax be the lone receiver? We could go Maclin, Shady, Harbor, Celek, Vick and Plax in the red zone.
Uggh. He caught 45% of throws his way, it’s not like he was primarily running deep outs. I’d rather go with Cooper as my 4th WR, at least he contributes on STs.
Maclin is as good a red zone target, and if you want a big red zone target, Eagles have a 6’5 guy who’s as slow as Plaxico already on the team, you know, that TE who they used three years ago (6 red zone TDs) but seem to have forgotten about since.
Tommy, really informative and interesting post on Scoutsnotebook. I think I’ll start scouting reports on the players in my 7-year-old’s soccer league now. This one kid’s got amazing COD and upside out the yingyang.