Jets hire Todd Bowles as head coach, concern was that Dan Quinn would go to Broncos

Have the New York Jets landed their second major piece in just the span of a few hours? According to reports, the team is set to hire head coach Todd Bowles on the same day they announced that Mike Maccagnan is their new general manager.

Josina Anderson of ESPN.com reported that she received a text from Bowles, confirming that he will be named as the Jets head coach. Her report was followed by a flurry of confirmations.

Bowles, who had a stint earlier in his career as defensive backs coach with the Jets, has spent the last three seasons as a defensive coordinator – the last two spent with the Arizona Cardinals. His name gained momentum in recent days, even as Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn remained atop the Jets’ head coaching board.

But concerns that Quinn could possibly not be available until after the Super Bowl led the Jets to look in the direction of Bowles. A league source tells Metro that the Jets had concerns about being able to land Quinn as the process wore on and got protracted. Metro was told on Sunday that Quinn was the top candidate on the Jets’ wish list, but those concerns about availability led to the move on Tuesday night.

The source said that there was a concern that Quinn could be lured to the Denver Broncos vacancy, recently made open by the departure of John Fox. Bowles emerged as the next option.

Former Buffalo Bills head coach Doug Marrone, rumored and reported to be the favorite just a couple weeks ago, was “never a top candidate” the source told Metro.

On paper, Bowles has an intriguing resume and follows former head coach Rex Ryan as another Jets head coach with his pedigree groomed on the defensive side of the ball. While the Cardinals were a below average unit in terms of total defense (No. 24) in the league, they were fifth best in points allowed. Bowles has a solid reputation, with a source saying “he had good energy and enthusiasm. Players seemed to like him. He has a good balance with being a player’s coach but not being a pushover.”

He got his start in 1995 as a member of the Green Bay Packers player personnel team. Through many stops in college and the NFL, he has never been a head coach at any level.