The Jets need a head coach who can maximize Sam Darnold’s potential after Todd Bowles’ firing

Todd Bowles wasn’t supposed to make the best of a bad situation in New York. He was supposed to find bedrock and spark a rebuild for the Jets.

But Bowles was never bad enough to launch his team toward the top slot at each year’s NFL Draft, and never good enough to provide any kind of real threat to the rest of the AFC East. He lived in the in-between, and that stagnation became untenable after a season-ending 38-3 loss to the Patriots. The Jets announced they wouldn’t retain Bowles for the final two years of his contract, cutting him loose after four seasons, just one of which featured more than five wins.

That leaves a Jets team that hasn’t been to the postseason since 2010 in search of the head coach who can turn rookie quarterback Sam Darnold and a young roster’s potential into wins. So what does that mean for New York?

Bowles’ journey from exciting new hire to the unemployment line features a steep dropoff, some awful performances, and a few bright flashes of potential that never evolved into consistent sunshine. Despite an exciting start, his time with the Jets was marked by disappointment — and it wasn’t limited to 2018’s 4-12 record.

Bowles oversaw an impressive 2015 collapse

In Bowles’ first season, the 2015 Jets rolled into Week 17 riding high. They were 10-5 and coming off an overtime win over the Patriots, a victory that primed them for a wild card berth and a winnable postseason game against the Bengals. All Bowles needed to do in his regular season finale was beat a 7-8 Bills team with nothing to play for.

Instead, the Jets never led in Orchard Park, and both Ryan Fitzpatrick’s potential game-winning drives ended in interceptions. They failed to make it to the playoffs, and 2015 was the closest Bowles would ever get.

He didn’t bottom out in 2017

From all outward appearances, 2017 looked to be a tanking year for New York. The Jets went into the season with the entirely uncompetitive lineup of 38-year-old Josh McCown, Bryce Petty and his 49.1 percent completion rate, and current Alliance of American Football second-round draftee Christian Hackenberg. Despite being built for failure in advance of a draft that would churn out five different quarterbacks in the first round, Bowles turned out to be too useful for his own good.

He coaxed one of the best seasons of McCown’s undistinguished career out of his journeyman quarterback, turning overlooked pieces like Robby Anderson and Jermaine Kearse into viable targets in a surprising 4-5 start. McCown’s late-season injury gave way to three games of Petty and the rock bottom the club had sought all season, but the Jets still managed to finish the season at 5-11.

That better-than-expected record left New York with the sixth overall pick of the 2018 draft. That precarious position forced the franchise to send a king’s ransom to the Colts in order to move up to the third pick and select their quarterback of the future, Sam Darnold. While the Jets were still able to get their guy, Bowles’ quiet competence cost them three second-round picks — a major loss for a team working toward a rebuild.

His 2018 was just as depressing as his last two seasons

Bowles had his contract renewed last offseason, keeping him from being a lame duck coach and rewarding him for gleaning five wins out of a roster that, on paper, looked like the league’s worst. That set modest expectations for improvement with a rookie quarterback and a handful of other young players in the lineup, but his Jets failed to take significant steps forward in 2018.

Darnold’s rookie season ended on a high note, but was marred with inconsistent play that suggested his flaws at USC had followed him to the NFL. A budding defense allowed three more points per game than in 2017 and slid into the league’s bottom five units. The offense could be charitably described as mediocre.

The Jets were in solid position in the AFC East after a 3-3 start that included wins over postseason hopefuls like the Broncos and Colts. Bowles’ turnaround was chugging along, albeit slowly, and the team showed signs of life.

That didn’t last. The Jets fell apart as Darnold dealt with injury, and a .500 record gave way to their third straight losing season after Week 13. The death blow came in a 41-10 home field embarrassment against the Buffalo Bills. New York gave up 31 first-half points to a team led by street clothes free agent Matt Barkley, and the end of the Bowles’ era began to glow like a sigil of hopelessness and frustration on the horizon.

New York’s long-term rebuild will extend into its ninth season, though whomever takes the reins from Bowles will have an interesting foundation from which to build. Darnold looked like a proper franchise quarterback in Weeks 15 and 16, throwing for 594 yards, five touchdowns, and no interceptions — albeit in losses to the Texans and Packers. He was virtually invisible in a zero-touchdown, zero-interception performance in Week 17’s 38-3 loss to the Patriots.

Jamal Adams earned his first Pro Bowl bid in his second season as a pro. Jordan Jenkins and Leonard Williams are both capable of being standouts in front of him.

With the Patriots looking more vulnerable than they have in the past 15 years, the Jets have an opportunity to be relevant in the AFC for the first time since 2010. Yet the next coach won’t just be dealing with a sparse roster, but also the soul-crushing void five decades of inertia has left in north New Jersey. The Jets’ next AFC East title will be their first since 2002, while this season marks the 50th anniversary of their last Super Bowl appearance.

Their top priority will be finding a coach who can maximize Darnold’s potential behind center. The former USC signal caller has the physical makeup of a top-tier quarterback, but his decision-making and ability to thrive under pressure have been the weaknesses that threaten to make him a shorter Brock Osweiler.

If the Jets are looking for a veteran head coach with NFL experience, Mike McCarthy could wind up on the Jets’ short list of candidates. McCarthy’s tenure in Green Bay ended poorly, but he’s a Super Bowl winning coach who helped turn Aaron Rodgers into a two-time MVP (while simultaneously, arguably, failing to maximize his potential). While he’s not a young and exciting new hire like Sean McVay was for the Rams, the idea of a stable, experienced coach could be tempting for a team that’s been adrift in a sea of nothingness the past decade.

Former Colts and Lions coach Jim Caldwell is another possibility, according to Ian Rapoport. Caldwell has spent many years of his coaching career as a quarterbacks coach, first at Penn State and then in the NFL with the Bucs, Colts, and Ravens.

There were also rumors that the Jets were interested in Jim Harbaugh, though the team quickly denied it. The Michigan coach has also insisted he has no designs on returning to the NFL.

If the Jets want a younger, higher upside hire, Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy could be a name that crops up. The former tailback has built the game plan that’s made second-year quarterback Patrick Mahomes 2018’s MVP frontrunner. While he’s crafted the league’s most explosive offense behind a cache of weapons (Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce) the Jets simple cannot match, his spread philosophy is something a strong-armed passer like Darnold could grow into.

No matter who they end up hiring, the Jets need to make sure they’re putting their franchise quarterback in a position to succeed.