Todd Bowles gets head coach education retooling Cardinals defense
TEMPE, Ariz. — The education of Todd Bowles began before he knew it, watching film and learning how to scheme as a young Washington Redskins safety under Richie Petitbon and Emmitt Thomas in the mid-1980s.
In 15 years as an NFL assistant, Bowles has worked under Mike Nolan, Foge Fazio, Bill Parcells and Mike Zimmer, among others. And if you look closely at his Arizona Cardinals defense, you can see elements of all those influences — though it never seems to look the same twice.
"It's crazy, the plays and just every week the different installs that we have to put in," Cardinals safety Tyrann Mathieu told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday. "You would think we're done with installs after training camp. But as the season goes on, it just gets bigger and bigger. This defense is on steroids as far as the plays he's able to call."
Bowles, 50, has interviewed for seven NFL head coaching jobs over the past six years and figures to be a hotter candidate than ever this offseason if he can continue scheming around the Cardinals' extensive personnel losses the way he has in their 5-1 start.
They've been down as many as six members of the front seven that keyed the NFL's top-ranked run defense last season — yet still are No. 1 in that category entering Sunday's NFC showdown with LeSean McCoy and the 5-1 Philadelphia Eagles, who will put the patchwork to a supreme test.
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"If somebody deems me as a good head coaching candidate, that's flattering, but in the middle of the season, you don't have time for any of that," Bowles told USA TODAY Sports. "I don't win to prepare to be a head coach. I win to prepare to get to the playoffs and win the Super Bowl."
That the Cardinals have a shot to do any of that is remarkable, considering star linebacker Daryl Washington is suspended, pass rusher John Abraham and defensive tackle Darnell Dockett are on season-ending injured reserve, and linebacker Matt Shaughnessy and end Calais Campbell have been hurt, too.
They also lost linebacker Karlos Dansby in free agency and replaced him with 34-year-old Larry Foote, who can't run like he used to. So, Bowles lets Foote play downhill and gets speed on the field in sub-packages by playing 211-pound rookie safety Deone Bucannon at middle linebacker.
An ever-shifting front and variety of blitzes help to create confusion and cover up what the Cardinals have lost in athleticism. Bowles says the diversity is more about matching up with opponents than covering up for the personnel shortages, but either way, it has been a creative solution.
"He's a genius when it comes to personnel and figuring out what opponents are going to do and trying to stop them," said cornerback Jerraud Powers, who believes Bowles' mind works more like that of an offensive coach, melding his game plans around exploiting a player's skillset.
Scheme can't cover everything. Three weeks ago, Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning passed for 479 yards in a 41-20 defeat that got out of hand after Drew Stanton — starting in place of injured Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer — left the game with a concussion.
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The Cardinals struggle to rush the passer without Abraham, tied for 27th in the NFL with seven sacks. They're 28th in yards allowed per pass play and aren't quite whole on the back end either, with Mathieu admittedly still working his way back from knee reconstruction surgery.
A lackadaisical start Oct. 12 against Washington had Bowles so frustrated he busted a whiteboard during a halftime outburst that resonated with players accustomed to his soft-spoken persona. The Cardinals had four takeaways in the second half and won 30-20.
"He's strategical, so he spends hours and hours drawing up these different formations, and if we go out there and 'F' it up, it kind of gets him pissed off," Mathieu said. "He wasted his time basically drawing this up. That speech definitely got to us."
That's another thing Bowles picked up in seven stops as a college and NFL assistant, including part of 2012 as the Philadelphia Eagles' defensive coordinator, before Cardinals coach Bruce Arians — who coached Bowles at Temple University three decades ago — provided his first shot to be a full-time NFL coordinator last year.
Bowles understands when it's time to teach and when it's time to light a fire. "It's never premeditated," Bowles said, "so you don't know when you're going to lose it."
His eight seasons as an NFL player increase Bowles' credibility in the locker room, Powers said. And though the Detroit Lions, Denver Broncos, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, Oakland Raiders and Minnesota Vikings all passed after his interviews — Bowles also pulled out of the Cleveland Browns' search last year — nobody seems to doubt he can be a head coach eventually.
"Hell yeah, because he's got communication skills and he's going to tell his players exactly what he needs," veteran defensive tackle Tommy Kelly said.
Bowles did have one opportunity to run the show as interim coach in 2011 with the Miami Dolphins, who fired Tony Sparano with three games to go. The Dolphins won two of them.
And while Bowles insists he's not thinking about being a head coach right now — the Eagles' high-octane offense is plenty to ponder itself — he also says he has no questions about his ability to do the job if the opportunity comes.
"Being a head coach — 95% of it doesn't have to do nothing to with football. I learned that being the interim," Bowles said. "I don't even worry about that stuff. I try to make sure I'm the best coach I can be for my guys and our team."
Follow Tom Pelissero on Twitter @TomPelissero.
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