Arizona defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, who has garnered head coaching interest in the past, will be among the hottest names when teams begin interviewing candidates at the end of the season. His work in Arizona, as well as his success as an interim head coach in the past in Miami, has attracted leaguewide attention and the Bears and Jets are among the franchise intrigued by him, sources said.
Some within the Dolphins organization are still ruing not hiring him following his work there after Tony Sparano was fired as head coach. Despite losing a host of key starters this season in Arizona and having an offense that has been very limited by its own injuries -- and having a very small margin for error every week -- Bowles’ unit has remained one of the NFL’s best.
Players rave about Bowles, he has a strong playing and coaching pedigree himself and has very strong backing from his former coaches as well as John Wooten, who heads the Fritz Pollard Alliance, which works with the NFL to promote diversity in the coaching and front-office ranks.
Cardinals coach Bruce Arians is operating under the assumption that he’s going to have move forward with a new defensive coordinator next season, according to sources, and he is steadfast behind Bowles in his head coaching pursuits. Bowles’ ability to interview with teams will be dictated by whether or not the Cardinals end up holding on to a top seed and a first-round bye, and of the various potential head coaching opportunities, the Jets and Bears could end up being particularly attractive to him.
The Cardinals host the Seahawks Sunday night with first-place in the NFC West at stake as well as, potentially, the first-overall seed in the conference.
