Todd Bowles Will Not Be Fired ... Yet

Todd Bowles is not going anywhere, at least not right now.

According to multiple reports, the Jets are not planning to drop the axe on their head coach during the team’s bye week and will stick with the embattled coach for the rest of the season.

Once the season ends, the front office will re-evaluate Bowles future with the team. Bowles, who is 23-35 as Jets coach is signed through the 2020 season thanks to an extension he signed at the end of last season. 

After Sunday’s 41-10 meltdown at the hands of Matt Barkley and the Buffalo Bills, it would have made perfect sense for the Jets to ditch Bowles to the side and settle with an interim coach for the rest of the season.

The Jets played unprepared, uninspired football on Sunday, something that has become a trademark of the team all season. The offense failed to move the football with any degree of efficiency, as offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates turned in yet another ultra-conservative game plan for the Jets offense. New York was 1-for-12 on third down, Sunday, and managed only a single yard in the entire first quarter.

Meanwhile, the defense was picked apart by Barkely who was a free agent just 12 days ago. Barkley, a well-traveled journeyman is not going to confuse anyone of Jim Kelly, but on Sunday he looked the part against a clueless and unprepared Jet defense. 

The Bills rolled up 451 yards on Gang Green, and took a 31-3 lead into halftime. In fact fans could have left after the first drive where the Bills needed only two plays to put the ball into the end zone.

The decision to keep Bowles is not going to please the fan-base, but the front office is not going to make decisions based on what the fans want. Many media outlets reported Monday that the Jets don’t feel they have a viable replacement for Bowles on staff, and they don’t want to “disrupt” the development of rookie quarterback Sam Darnold.

The reasoning sounds a little ridiculous, especially the latter.  Two years ago the LA Rams fired Jeff Fisher with three weeks to go in the 2016 season. It had no negative effect on Jared Goff’s development. Goff has become a perennial Pro Bowler under Sean McVay.

Even the Cleveland Browns didn’t think firing of Hue Jackson three weeks ago would negatively impact rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield. In fact, they believed the firing would only help his development. Mayfield threw three touchdowns in a win against the Falcons yesterday.

So it is hard to fathom how keeping Bowles around for six more games is going to positively impact Darnold when the team around him is already playing with little heart and desire to begin with.

By keeping Bowles, the Jets are only delaying the inevitable. With games against the Patriots, Packers, Texans, and the suddenly surging Titans on the schedule, things could get even uglier than they are right now. And the calls for Bowles to be removed are only going to grow louder with each week.