The New York Jets decided to give Todd Bowles a contract extension despite another disappointing season in 2017, and you have to believe next year could be his last with the team if the results aren’t much better. However, Bowles’ boss insists that is not necessarily the case.
Before the 2017 season began, Jets acting owner Christopher Johnson said he would not evaluate the team’s performance strictly on “wins and losses.” His decision to extend Bowles supported that. But the Jets haven’t made the playoffs since 2011, so what about next season?
“I have no mandate,” Johnson said this week, per Connor Hughes of NJ.com. “Believe me, I want to get to the playoffs. I want to build a team with (GM Mike Maccagnan) and Todd that can compete for the playoffs every year. That can’t happen fast enough. But there’s no mandate.”
Many people felt the Jets were intentionally putting together a bad roster last offseason to secure a top-two pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, and Bowles’ team seemed to use that as motivation. New York managed to somehow win five games and remain competitive in several others, which impressed Johnson.
“The players clearly love Todd,” Johnson said. “I heard, more than once, they’d run through a brick wall for him. I think he’s a great coach, a great coach of these men. The record at the end of the season didn’t dissuade me from that.
“He’s a great leader of men. He got the most out of his guys. He got more than anybody imagined out of these guys. The predictions the beginning of the season were pretty dire. I think some stars, some young stars emerged. An extraordinary core emerged. I attribute that to Todd and his staff.”
Johnson said he believes the 5-11 Jets this season were better than the 5-11 version in 2016, so he is looking for even more improvement next year. If New York ends up cleaning house at quarterback and finding a player who looks like he can lead the team, Bowles will have a much better chance of keeping his job beyond next season.
