New York Jets head coach Todd Bowles was uncharacteristically harsh on his players in his postgame comments, calling their play “disgusting.”
Todd Bowles is notoriously tight-lipped with the media. The New York Jets head coach rarely gives much of a soundbite. He’s usually quite tame at the podium, even following losses—something he knows a lot about. But on Sunday, Bowles let loose and called out his team’s play in a big way.
“I don’t know how many [penalties] we had, but it felt like we had one every play,” he said to Rich Cimini of ESPN. “It cost us, and it’s disgusting.”
The referees nailed the Jets with 11 penalties for 96 yards on the day. It was definitely one of the metagames (game within the game) that led to a brutal loss on Sunday. Bowles went on about the silly mistakes further, noting that the dumb mistakes were the main reason the Jets let the Tennessee Titans pull off the improbable come-from-behind victory.
“We played the same way the whole day, and just dumb mistakes at dumb times cost us ballgames,” Bowles said. “That’s why we’re in the position we’re in.”
Bowles doesn’t rip his team apart as some would lead you to believe, but it’s easy to read into his frustration with his players. Of course, Bowles has no one to blame but himself. In his three-plus seasons as Jets head coach, Bowles has a record of 23-37 (.383).
Bowles’ first year with the Jets was the team’s only year with a winning record under the defensive-minded head coach. The Jets went 10-6 and missed the playoffs following an uninspired Week 17 loss in Buffalo. The loss came at the hands of former head coach Rex Ryan, pouring salt in the wound.
The loss to Buffalo broke a five-game winning streak and ended any Jet hopes of a playoff run. Starting with that Week 17 loss, Bowles and the Jets are 13-32 (.289).
The sad part about the Todd Bowles era in New York is that this is one of the few times we’ve seen him show any kind of emotion following a loss. Jets fans have been disgusted with the team’s play for three years. It’s about time you joined them, Todd.
The only silver lining to this season is the fact that the Jets will almost undoubtedly move on from Bowles and, hopefully, snatch up a head coach with a pulse.
