Todd Bowles couldn't save 2012 Eagles, but left impression

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It was an impossible situation, and Todd Bowles handled it about as well as anybody could have.

The Eagles were buried in last place during a wretched 2012 season, Andy Reid was two months from getting fired, the Juan Castillo-as-defensive coordinator experiment was blowing up, everybody just wanted the season to end, and then one miserable Monday morning Reid fired Castillo and named Bowles his replacement.

Three years later, Bowles is head coach of the undefeated Jets, who host the Eagles at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on Sunday.

"It was a tough situation when he came in, kind of halfway through the season and everything is put on him to run the defense," said DeMeco Ryans, one of six players left on the defense who was here under Bowles.

"But he came in, he drew up schemes that he wanted to run, that he felt we should run, and he put players, whatever your strength was, he put you in that position to excel at your strength.

"He didn’t ask guys to do something that they didn’t do well, and I think that’s why he excels as a coach. Because as a coach, the only thing you can do is put players in position to make plays, and he definitely knows how to do that."

Eagles fans didn’t see much change in the product on the field when Bowles replaced Castillo that Oct. 16.

The Eagles allowed an NFL-high 319 points in 10 games under Bowles and went 1-9.

But Ryans saw something special in Bowles, who had begun the season as the Eagles’ defensive backs coach after winning two of three games as the Dolphins’ interim head coach at the end of 2011.

"I know there was a lot of speculation about him being a head coach even before he was here," Ryans said.

"Todd, he’s just a solid guy all-around. He’s very respected, players respect him a lot, other coaches respect him a lot. He’s a really smart defensive coach and he gets it done. He doesn’t have to yell and scream to get it done, he’s this intense guy without the screaming and the yelling. He gets it done.

"I enjoyed my time with Coach Bowles and I enjoyed playing with him."

As soon as the 2012 season ended, Bowles reunited with his former coach at Temple, Bruce Arians, who had just replaced Ken Whisenhunt as head coach of the Cardinals.

By the time new Eagles coach Chip Kelly began interviewing defensive coordinators, Bowles was already presumed heading for Glendale, Arizona.

In two years in Arizona, his defense ranked No. 7 and No. 5 in the NFL, and the Cards went 21-11.

That earned him the head job with the Jets, whose scoring defense ranked No. 24 last year.

So far, Bowles has worked wonders with the Jets, who are 2-0 with the NFL’s No. 1 scoring defense and a remarkable 10 takeaways in two games.

"Todd is very disciplined," Darrelle Revis said in a conference call with Philly reporters Wednesday.

"His coaching philosophy is that he wants us to play tough, he wants us to play aggressive. It’s all about mental toughness, and I think that’s what we’ve been showcasing these last two games. It’s all about mental toughness and playing aggressive football."

Technically, Bowles was still employed by the Eagles when Kelly was named head coach here in January 2013.

Kelly met with Bowles about his defensive coordinator vacancy, but Bowles already had one foot out the door.

"I talked to Todd when I first got here," Kelly said. "He was on his way out, he was headed to Arizona with Bruce. We were going to interview a couple defensive coordinator [candidates] but I never got a chance to get him back here. But I did visit with him when I first got here.

"He’s done a really good job in a short amount of time in New York."

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