Just Who is Philadelphia Eagles New Defensive Coordinator Todd Bowles?

Immediately following the termination of Philadelphia Eagles’ now former defensive coordinator Juan Castillo, secondary coach Todd Bowles was promoted to the position on Tuesday.

This brought about a very common question in Philadelphia and nation-wide.

Just who is Bowles?

Apart from the die-hard Eagles fanatics who know every single assistant coach and position coach on their team, Bowles name came out of nowhere for many.

If the name sounds a little familiar from being in the spotlight before, Bowles was named interim head coach of the Miami Dolphins just last year in the wake of Tony Sparano’s mid-season firing. So Bowles is obviously no stranger to replacing recently-canned coaches.

Bowles has been a secondary/defensive backs coach in the NFL for the past 12 years, working with the New York Jets (2000), Cleveland Browns (2001-2004), Dallas Cowboys (2005-2007), Dolphins (2008-2011) and most recently the Eagles (2012).

This will be Bowles’ first gig as a defensive coordinator at the NFL level, as he had previously been DC in the college ranks with Morehouse College (1997) and Grambling State University (1998-1999).

But we all know that professional football is a whole different animal.

There is a reason that the acronym NFL is commonly poked at as meaning “not for long” because of how quickly coaches (and players) can lose their jobs when performing poorly.

Bowles is certainly very familiar with professional football, as he was a safety in the NFL from 1986 to 1993, starting for the Washington Redskins in their Super Bowl XXII victory.

Bowles was a member of the Redskins from 1986 to 1990 and then went to the San Francisco 49ers for one year in 1991, before returning to the Redskins again from 1992 to 1993 to end his career.

This incredibly expansive familiarity with the NFL as a player and a coach should surely be beneficial to the Eagles.

Bowles has also always been a player and coach on the defensive side of the ball, as opposed to Castillo who was an offensive coach (linemen and tight ends) throughout his entire NFL coaching career, before his failed attempt as defensive coordinator.

I think that Bowles will be a positive change of pace for the Eagles, as head coach Andy Reid has demanded a more up-tempo approach to the defense.

But Bowles will have no time to gracefully transition into his new gig, as QB Matt Ryan’s explosive offense and the undefeated Atlanta Falcons come into town for a Week 8 showdown.

 

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