January 12, 2021
The Philadelphia Eagles have requested to interview Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles for their vacant head coaching job, according to a report from Sal Paolantonio of ESPN (via Adam Schefter, because Sal Pal isn't on Twitter):
And Sal Pal says the Eagles are requesting permission to interview Bucs' DC Todd Bowles as well, which would bring him back to the city in which he played college football at Temple from 1982-'85. https://t.co/C6MsJWJB9q
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 12, 2021
Bowles played safety in the NFL for eight years, from 1986-1993.
As a coach, he was with the Eagles for one season, and even served as their defensive coordinator to close out the disastrous 2012 season after the team fired Juan Castillo. His coaching history (via Wikipedia):
• Morehouse College (1997): Defensive coordinator & secondary coach
• Grambling State (1998–1999): Defensive coordinator & secondary coach
• New York Jets (2000): Secondary coach
• Cleveland Browns (2001–2003): Secondary–nickel package coach
• Cleveland Browns (2004): Secondary coach
• Dallas Cowboys (2005–2007): Secondary coach
• Miami Dolphins (2008–2011): Assistant head coach & secondary coach
• Miami Dolphins (2011): Interim head coach & secondary coach
• Philadelphia Eagles (2012): Secondary coach
• Philadelphia Eagles (2012): Interim defensive coordinator & secondary coach
• Arizona Cardinals (2013–2014): Defensive coordinator
• New York Jets (2015–2018): Head coach
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2019–present): Defensive coordinator
Bowles got a head coaching gig with the Jets, which lasted four years, and did not go well. The Jets actually went 10-6 under Bowles in 2015 with Fitzpatrick at quarterback in his first season there. However, he ultimately compiled a 24-40 record with the Jets, winning just 14 games over his last three years. In fairness, in addition to Fitzpatrick, his quarterbacks were Josh McCown, Bryce Petty, and rookie year Sam Darnold.
As a defensive coordinator, Bowles has gotten good results:
| Year | Points | Yards | Takeaways | DVOA |
| 2013 (Cardinals) | 7 | 6 | 6 | 10 |
| 2014 (Cardinals) | 5 | 24 | 14 | 19 |
| 2019 (Buccaneers | 29 | 15 | 5 | 6 |
| 2020 (Buccaneers) | 8 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
However, his Jets defenses weren't as effective when he was their head coach, with the exception of the 2015 season:
| Year | Points | Yards | Takeaways | DVOA |
| 2015 (Jets) | 9 | 4 | 3 | 6 |
| 2016 (Jets) | 28 | 11 | 28 | 23 |
| 2017 (Jets) | 22 | 25 | 20 | 22 |
| 2018 (Jets) | 29 | 25 | 16 | 22 |
In 2020, the Buccaneers had the best run defense in the NFL. They were No. 1 in opposing rushing attempts, rushing yards, rushing TDs, and yards per rush. In that sense, his "stop the run first" style of defense is similar to the approach we have seen over the years from Jim Schwartz.
As we noted when we profiled Robert Saleh, the Eagles are unlikely to hire a defensive-minded coach, but we'll see.
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