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NFL Arizona Cardinals

Todd Bowles Is Fast Becoming Top NFL Head Coach Candidate

By @bradberreman24

Todd Bowles, Arizona Cardinals, NFL

Christian Petersen-Getty Images

If the playoffs started today, the Arizona Cardinals (7-1) would have home field advantage throughout the NFC Playoffs. An efficient offense led by quarterback Carson Palmer has played an important role in the team’s success, but a defense that has allowed 20 points or fewer in seven of eight games deserves a lot of credit too.

Despite the departure of the team’s leading tackler from 2013 (linebacker Karlos Dansby), a season-long suspension levied on another linebacker (Daryl Washington) and injuries removing key players from the mix throughout the season, Cardinals’ defensive coordinator Todd Bowles is leading a unit that comes into Week 10 in the top-10 in the league against the run (79.6 yards per game; third) and in scoring defense (19.5 points per game; sixth). Arizona has also intercepted 12 passes (tied for second-most in the league), while forcing 16 total turnovers (tied for fourth-most in the league).

Bowles served as interim head coach for the Miami Dolphins for the final three games of the 2011 season after Tony Sparano was fired, which is his only head coaching experience at any level to this point. But I expect that to change soon, since if the Cardinals continue to win and play at a high level defensively, Bowles would quickly become the top candidate for teams with a head coaching vacancy after the season.

The Cardinals are currently last in the league against the pass (286.8 yards per game), but their strength against the run has also led to opponents throwing the ball 40 times per game against them. A closer look suggests Arizona has been much better against the pass than the traditional statistics show, as they rank ninth in the league in adjusted yards per pass attempt (6.5) and eighth in passer rating allowed (83.1).

The Cardinals have just eight sacks so far this season, which is the tied for the second-fewest in the league. But Bowles has gotten attention for the unpredictable ways he is deploying his personnel, which has become a challenge for opposing coaches on a weekly basis, while also putting players in position to succeed. The ability to get the most out of players is the landmark of any great coach, and Bowles is passing that test with what looks like an undermanned unit this season.

Arizona’s defensive numbers would look even better if not for a Week 5 matchup with the Denver Broncos, which is also the team’s only loss to this point. The Broncos scored 41 points and piled up 571 yards of offense (479 passing, 92 rushing) in that game, but the Cardinals did intercept Peyton Manning twice and sack him once.

If you take out that game against the Broncos, the Cardinals have allowed 16.4 points per game and 337.1 yards per game in their other seven games. As expected, their ranking against the pass would also improve, to 23rd in the league (259.3 yards per game) without the matchup against Denver. Yes, every game counts and a bad game can’t be completely overlooked, but Arizona’s defense is not the first and won’t be the last to struggle against Manning and one of the league’s best offenses this season.

The remaining schedule does not look particularly daunting for Arizona’s defense, with five games against their division rivals (including the complete season series with both the St. Louis Rams and Seattle Seahawks), two other home games (Detroit Lions in Week 11, Kansas City Chiefs in Week 14) and just one road game outside their division (Atlanta Falcons in Week 13) left.

The Cardinals control their own destiny right now, and simply splitting their final eight games may be enough to win the NFC West and earn no worse than a first-round bye in the playoffs. Wins over the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys in Week 8 and Week 9 loom large right now, and those results could put the NFC’s playoff seeds in order.

Bowles played eight NFL seasons as a defensive back, and he was part of the Washington Redskins team that won Super Bowl XXII. He has been an assistant in the league continuously since the 2000 season, mostly as a secondary coach before becoming defensive coordinator for the Eagles in 2012 and moving into the same role for the Cardinals in 2013. So it’s safe to say Bowles is well-known in league circles, even if he has only recently surfaced as a serious candidate for head coaching jobs.

A deep playoff run would likely keep Bowles from getting many head coaching interviews, but if the Cardinals do earn a first-round bye he could make the rounds during that off week if he chose to. Bowles may simply not want to take himself out of the loop to do interviews during the postseason, which would be understandable. But the Cardinals will definitely be fielding calls seeking permission to talk to him, and they surely won’t stop him from going through the process.

The stretch run of the regular season will tell us a lot about the Cardinals’ chances to makes some noise in the postseason, and by connection, Bowles will be able to continue proving himself as a top head coach candidate.

I expect Arizona to maintain one of the best records in the league through November and December, with plenty of winnable games on the schedule, and I think Bowles is someone teams with a head coaching vacancy will wait to interview if they have to based on how far the Cardinals go in the playoffs.

If he doesn’t get hired after this season, Bowles will not have to wait much longer for his first permanent opportunity as an NFL head coach.

Brad Berreman is  Columnist at Rant Sports.com. Connect with him on Twitter or Google +.

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