The Harlem Times: When the Jets officially named you their new head coach who was the first person you called to let them know of the news?
Todd Bowles: My kids, then Bruce Arians and then Doug Williams
The Harlem Times: What was the conversation like with coach Arians.
Todd Bowles: I wanted share that moment with him because he had everything to do with it…letting him know he was a proud father so that was a great moment for us.
The Harlem Times: Based on the current roster, do you feel the Jets are close to becoming contenders?
Todd Bowles: It’s not based on the roster; it’s based on the hard work. You know if we put in the work and do what we’re supposed to do, we’ll be contenders.
The Harlem Times: With the Patriots winning the super bowl and the Dolphins and Bills continuing to improve, do you feel the AFC is one of the toughest divisions in the NFL?
Todd Bowles: I mean it’s very tough, you know I think they all play great defense and they’re all very good on offense, so we’ve got our work cut out for us. You know we respect everybody but we’re not going to fear anybody.
The Harlem Times: Do you think having been a former player in the NFL, it’s easier to relate to players?
Todd Bowles: I wouldn’t say its ‘easier’ but you understand certain situations because you’ve been though what they’ve been though as a player and put yourself in their shoes. It will probably be easier to answer them, I don’t think it’s any easier coaching them, but it’s easier with communications.
The Harlem Times: You played under Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs for several years and under Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells; what traits did you learn from them that has helped you in coaching?
Todd Bowles: Coach [Joe] Gibbs you learn discipline and how you do things over and over again …you study film – meticulously – in preparing for your opponent every week. With Coach Parcells, the overall aspect of coaching and coaching the coaches and understand situations in how to deal with players on and off the field.
The Harlem Times: This past season you won the inaugural Assistant Coach of the Year Award, how much did that mean to you?
Todd Bowles: It meant a lot. You can’t win an assistant coach of the year award without the coaches around you. And I accepted that on behalf of the defensive coaches, and Coach [Bruce] Arians especially because we put in a lot of effort as a group and there’s no individual award. So it’s very humbling for the league to see me in that way but there were a lot of people that helped out in that process.
The Harlem Times: Do you think criticism of Gino Smith has been fair?
Todd Bowles: It’s the NFL… you win, you don’t get criticized, and when you lose, you do. So it all comes with the territory.
The Harlem Times: Last year as defensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals you had one of the best secondaries in the NFL. This area was weak spot for the Jets this year. Is upgrading this position the top priority for the Jets whether it’s via free agency or the draft?
Todd Bowles: We’re trying to upgrade wherever possible, we don’t have a specific position to upgrade…we’re going to upgrade as we watch the film wherever we think we need to upgrade at.
The Harlem Times: How has the NY media fared differently than the media you’ve dealt with elsewhere?
Todd Bowles: There’s about 4 or 5 of them in Arizona, there’s about 100 of them here in New York, but the questions are the same…(laugh)
The Harlem Times: What are your expectations for the Jets in 2015?
Todd Bowles: Obviously, we want to try and run a division which we want to run every year and try to get to the Super Bowl and championship for the City.
The Harlem Times: In regards to this past Super Bowl, what do you think for the Seahawks decision to throw the ball off second in the one yard line?
Todd Bowles: You can’t question the decision you know, you can’t question everybody’s decision whether to run a pass if it works, nobody says anything – if it doesn’t work than others are criticizing. I don’t have a decision one way or the other – it’s just the coach’s decision! You know Pete knows his team better than anybody!