As Todd Bowles’ tenure comes to an end, here are five candidates to be the next New York Jets head coach.
Since a 10-6 campaign to start off his tenure, the New York Jets and Todd Bowles are 14-34 since as the roster underwent a makeover. Bowles is surely gone as head coach after Sunday’s loss to the New England Patriots, though he may surface quickly as a defensive coordinator or even a head coaching candidate elsewhere.
In Sam Darnold, the Jets have a major selling point for head coaching candidates. They’ll also go into the offseason with plenty of cap space to add pieces around the young quarterback (Le’Veon Bell?), so playoff contention is on the radar in 2019.
The status of general manager Mike Maccagnan is also a question, but the thinking is he’ll get a chance to hire a head coach since he and Bowles were hired at the same time. Exactly where that search will go is unclear, but it’s safe to say offensive-minded candidates will be prominent as Darnold’s development takes priority .
Assuming a follow-through on all the reports and Bowles is fired, here are five candidates to be the next Jets head coach.
5. Dave Toub
Toub has been a special teams coach in the NFL since 2001, including the last six with the Kansas City Chiefs. He added the title of assistant head coach under Andy Reid this year, as a likely nod to his surfacing for head coaching interviews over the last few years.
It’s rare for someone to make the jump from special teams coordinator to head coach, but in one particular case (John Harbaugh) it worked out well. Harbaugh also worked under Reid for a number of years, with the Eagles, so maybe there’s something to that as Toub’s roots.
Toub has never been a head coach before, and Jets’ fans may let out a collective yawn if he’s hired. But in terms of good candidates, he should be among those the Jets have in for an interview.