Bowles at home in New York pressure cooker

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Todd Bowles went directly from the New York Jets’ practice to a meeting, then to his media availability and on to a pair of individual interviews with reporters on Thursday at the team’s training center. Before he tackled the one-on-one interviews, however, he carved out five minutes for lunch and shoveled down a bowl of turkey chili in the team’s cafeteria.

“All the things Bruce Arians warned me about,” Bowles said, shaking his head as he patted his bombarded stomach. “Everything he warned me about, that’s pretty much what has happened.”

Bowles is still adjusting to those off-the-field demands, which include more meetings, more greetings, tedious administrative work and what he described as “a rat race of reporters” in New York.

On the field, however, the transition from Cardinals defensive coordinator to Jets head coach has been nearly seamless. New York is off to a 4-1 start as it heads to Foxborough, Massachusetts this weekend to take on the New England Patriots (5-0) in a battle for first-place in the AFC East.

The Jets are ranked No. 1 in total defense (269.2 yards per game), first in scoring defense (15 points per game), second in rushing defense (82.6 yards per game) and first in rushing yards per game (146).

Those elements were in place when Bowles arrived in January, even if he has enhanced their strengths. What’s new, however, is the approach the Jets are taking after brash-talking coach Rex Ryan (now with Buffalo) was fired after six seasons and replaced with the low-key Bowles.

“It’s probably the first year that we haven’t been amped up about the Patriots game,” linebacker Quinton Coples said. “When Rex was here, he was kind of wanting to make it a big deal. With Todd here, it’s just like: seek, kill, destroy. There ain’t nothing else to be talking about.

“He put it out there when he first got here that he was all business. That’s a different mindset. When your coach is like, rah-rah, it makes you respond the same way. With Todd, we don’t really get hyped, we get focused.”

From the time he coached Bowles as a player at Temple, to the two years he had him as his defensive coordinator in Arizona, Arians had a growing sense that Bowles was head coaching material. He communicated well with his teammates and players and he always had an easy grasp of the concepts.

“I think it was when I was at Cleveland,” said Arians, who was the Browns offensive coordinator from 2001-2003 while Bowles coached the defensive backs. “He had our secondary guys playing so well. Anthony Henry had 10 interceptions as a rookie. You could see how great a coach he was and a teacher.”

Most of the Cardinals defensive players thought Bowles was going to get a head-coaching shot after just one year in Arizona when the defense was ranked No. 6 overall and No. 1 against the run in 2013, but Bowles insists he didn’t feel prepared until the moment he arrived in New York.

Although the responsibilities were more numerous and the market was bigger, his approach remained the same.

“You lay out a plan of how you want to do things but actions speak louder than words,” Bowles said. “You have to be the same person every day or they’ll see that you’re a fraud.”

Bowles culled countless lessons from his years with great coaches such as Joe Gibbs and Bill Parcells and Arians. Some of those teachings have been incorporated, including Arians’ aggressive approach to play calling and his classic line: “It’s better to say ‘whoa’ than ‘sic em.'”

Equally important to Bowles, however, was Arians’ approach to people.

“Bruce is a just a great person,” Bowles said. “I don’t think you see all the things he does off the field for coaches and players and people in the community.

“The way he treated me and let me grow, he was outstanding from that standpoint. He’s like my uncle and he is about as cool as they come, but he makes you want to be yourself when you’re around him.”

From that standpoint, Bowles is in the perfect place. He was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey so he is at home in New York’s culture; at ease with its frenetic and demanding mindset.

“That never left me,” he said. “I can go eat pizza in a heartbeat.”

Shortly after Bowles was hired, the Jets re-signed cornerback Antonio Cromartie, who had spent a year with Bowles in Arizona. Bowles said the move was made because Cromartie is a good player but it had an added benefit. For the first few months of the season, Cromartie has served as a quasi-ambassador, letting the players know what to expect from their rookie head coach.

“I hope I did, but I think he had a pretty good picture of how he wanted to come in and handle everything and it’s gone very well,” Cromartie said. “It’s the same low-key approach with that occasional sarcasm thrown in. He’s a guy you enjoy being around because he makes the game enjoyable. It sounds like a cliché but for players, that’s really what it’s all about.”

Some analysts wondered if the Jets might have to take a step back this season while they adjusted to Bowles and he adjusted to his job. Bowles never accepted that outlook.

“You want to get good but you want to win while you’re doing it,” he said. “I don’t believe you have to go 0-16 to learn how to be good.

“We’re still trying to gel, but we’re working toward being a good team. We have some good pieces in place and guys are starting to understand what we’re trying to do.”

ArizonaSports.com reporter Craig Grialou contributed to this report

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