Todd Bowles ‘completely trusts’ hiring of James Bettcher as Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator
Feb 6, 2015, 3:51 PM | Updated: 4:03 pm
The Arizona Cardinals’ search for a new defensive coordinator is over.
After Todd Bowles left to become the head coach of the New York Jets last month, the Cardinals turned to one of their own. James Bettcher, who served the last two seasons as the team’s outside linebackers coach, was tabbed by Bruce Arians to take over the defense.
Bettcher is young and relatively inexperienced, so Cardinals fans didn’t have much of a reaction to the hire.
But the man who vacated that job believes Arians picked the right guy to lead the Cardinals’ defense for years to come.
“I think Bruce made a great choice. They had a few guys on that staff that could have been coordinators,” Bowles told Doug and Wolf Friday on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. “You trust in Arians. (People) questioned me when I got there. You don’t question — Bruce knows what he’s doing when he’s picking guys, so I trust (the selection) completely.”
Bettcher is only 36 years old and has three years of NFL coaching experience. Prior to arriving in Arizona, he served as a special instructor to the head coach in Indianapolis, where he reported to both Chuck Pagano and Arians during the course of the 2012 season.
Before elevating to the professional ranks, Bettcher was a college assistant for nine years, most recently at New Hampshire.
In terms of the advice Bowles would give to his successor, it’s simple.
“Listen to your coaches. They’re there for a reason,” he said. “Don’t try to make every decision.”
