Arizona Cardinals DC Todd Bowles: Contract extension ‘very generous, very humbling for me’

TEMPE, Ariz. — It almost seems comical that there were doubts when Bruce Arians tabbed Todd Bowles to run his defense in Arizona.

But then again, at the time he was replacing Ray Horton, a popular and outspoken coach who had helped mold the Cardinals’ defense into a unit that finished 12th overall in 2012.

Well, it’s fair to say there are no more doubts about his ability to coach, as the Cardinals finished 6th overall in defense in 2013 and are currently 11th in 2014, even with an incredible amount of roster turnover due to injuries and attrition.

Really, it is a testament to Bowles’ acumen and ability as a coach, and it’s why the Cardinals rewarded him with a three-year contract extension Thursday.

“It says a lot about Michael Bidwill, Steve Keim and the Cardinal organization,” Bowles said of the extension. “They’re first class all the way, and for what they did for me was very generous, very humbling for me. Again, it says a lot about them as an organization and him as an owner and Steve Keim as a general manager.”

According to reports, the move makes Bowles one of the five highest-paid assistant coaches in the league. Of course, the Cardinals did not do this simply out of kindness.

It’s no secret that Bowles, who interviewed for head coaching jobs last offseason, will once again be a candidate for whatever openings there may be in 2015.

“Some guys were joking like, ‘it don’t matter, you’re going to be gone anyway,'” linebacker Larry Foote said when asked if some of the players have teased Bowles over the news. “But hopefully he stays around here as long as I’m here.”

Foote, though, said he believes Bowles would be a good head coach, saying he has the unique quality to be able to cuss players out one minute and then hug and joke with them the next, which is something players respect.

“An ex-player, he wants to win, he knows what it takes, and he understands about being a player in this league.”

For all those reasons — and many others — the Cardinals would undoubtedly like to keep Bowles in the Valley for as long as possible. If nothing else, the pay increase as well as the show of respect could make it so that the 50-year-old does not jump at the first opportunity presented to him.

In fact, Bowles said the Cardinals approached him about the extension and that it all kind of caught him off guard.

“We weren’t discussing it at all, they came to me and they were generous enough to offer me a contract,” he said. “I’ll put in hard work every day regardless of what I’m doing or where I’m at. But again, it says a lot about the organization being first class all the way, and I appreciate it.”

Then again, he has maintained it will take the right job to lure him out of Arizona, so there is no guarantee that he will not be back next season.

In fact, the only thing it would seem to guarantee is that he’ll be around until at least 2017, though even Bowles knows that’s not entirely true, either.

“You still get fired in this league,” he said to laughter. “There’s no such thing as security, but in this league you’ve been down low, you’ve been up high, and you appreciate people for having your good work.

“But like Coach Arians says, you can go from the top floor to the bottom floor real fast, so it’s very humbling.”

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