The NY Jets fire Bowles, setting off a flurry of firings to come on Black Monday.
Black Monday came early for New York Jets fourth-year coach Todd Bowles, who was fired today by the franchise after after a humiliating 38-3 loss to the New England Patriots in the last game of the 2018 NFL regular season. The move was swift and expected. Bowles, one of just six African-American head coaches among the 32 NFL teams was 24-40 overall in four seasons with the Jets and failed to make the playoffs.
Breaking: The New York Jets announced they've fired coach Todd Bowles after four seasons. pic.twitter.com/sx9FnItbzs
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 31, 2018
Bowles’ clock management and decision making were constantly criticized and his team’s were accused of lacking discipline as evidenced by an alarming 114 penalties committed in 2018 — tied for 7th-highest in the league.
Bowles’ best season was his first with the Jets when they went 10-6 and fell a win shy of the playoffs. Bowles, 54, was hired in January 2015 after New York fired HC Rex Ryan, who took the team to two AFC Championship games.
According to CBS News, “Jets CEO Chris Johnson thanked Bowles for his dedication, but mentioned after evaluations…this was the right move for the organization to make.”
Getting rid of the General Manager may also help improve the team’s fortunes.
Via theringer.com:
“Bowles did not work wonders with the Jets the last few years, but in that time he was consistently handed some of the worst rosters in the league by general manager Mike Maccagnan. Since Maccagnan was hired in January 2015, the Jets rank 31st out of 32 teams in drafted players still in the league, according to a study by Over the Cap, a salary cap research website. Only one of the three players Maccagnan has drafted in the second round is still in the NFL, an astonishing figure considering the league average for second-rounders sticking in the league since 2015 is 92 percent.”
Former Packers HC Mike McCarthy’s name has been circulating over the last few weeks as a possible replacement. The next Jets coach will inherit a franchise quarterback and $100 million in available salary cap room to improve the team.
