Todd Bowles: Oakland Raiders Coaching Profile

One of the most sought after coaching candidates this offseason is Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles.

It took the Oakland Raiders a little bit of time to do so, but they recently requested an interview with Bowles and are expected to interview him sometime this week.

Following a seven-year career in the NFL as a safety, Bowles joined the Green Bay Packers staff as a player personnel assistant.

Bowles impressed early and was quickly hired to be a defensive coordinator in the college ranks.

He returned to the NFL after a few years in college, and he spent the next seven seasons as a defensive backs or secondary coach for several teams, including the New York Jets, Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys.

In 2008, Bowles was hired as the assistant head coach and secondary coach of the Miami Dolphins.  He would spend the next three seasons in this role.

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Tony Sparano was fired as head coach of the Dolphins during Bowles’ final season in Miami.  Bowles was hired as the interim coach, took a team that was 3-9 at the time, and went 2-1 as the interim coach.

Bowles didn’t impress the Dolphins brass enough to land the head coaching position (they hired Joe Philbin instead) and moved on to the Philadelphia Eagles, where he was again a defensive backs coach.

About six weeks into the season, the Eagles fired defensive coordinator Juan Castillo, and Bowles was promoted as his replacement.

It was a rough start for Bowles as it was his first time being a defensive coordinator in the NFL. The Eagles were a mess all season, and Bowles’ defense did not perform well.

This was Andy Reid‘s last season in Philadelphia and with a new head coach coming to town, Bowles was hired as the defensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals.

Bowles’ impressive body of work in a short of amount of time in Arizona is what has led him to be one of the top coaching candidates this offseason.

Taking over for Ray Horton, a respectable defensive mind in his own right, Bowles took Arizona’s defense to the next level.

From 2012 (Horton’s last season) to 2013 (Bowles’ first), the Cardinals defense improved from 17th ranked in points allowed and 12th ranked in yards allowed to seventh in points allowed and sixth in yards allowed under the lead of Bowles.

The Cardinals’ defense also finished first in the NFL against the run.

Dec 7, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles against the Kansas City Chiefs at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Chiefs 17-14. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Bowles runs a base 3-4 defense. He is known for his creative and heavy blitz packages, particularly from the secondary.  The Cardinals sacked total jumped from 38 to 47 in Bowles’ first season as defensive coordinator.

In 2014, Bowles’ defense has again impressed.

Riddled by injuries throughout the season, including the loss of Darnell Dockett and Daryl Washington (suspension), the Cardinals defense kept up their high level of play.

Arizona’s defense held opponents to 17 points or less nine times, they had one game where they allowed just 19 points, and three times they allowed just 2o points.

Ten times, the Cardinals held the opposing team to under 100 yards rushing, and another game where the total was just 110. Six times, the defense held opposing passers to under 200 yards, including Tony Romo and Matt Stafford.

One trait in particular that makes Bowles to highly touted is his willingness and ability to adapt his defense on the fly. No defense in the NFL may change on a week to week basis more than Bowles’.

The Cardinals use a huge variety of looks on defense because Bowles look to keep his opponents guessing. One play, the nose tackle will move to the end, and a safety might come up to the box and line up with the linebackers. The next play, he might utilize a two-man front and send the blitz from the second and third levels, or he might put eight in the box.

With Bowles, the name of the game is if you don’t know what’s coming, how do you stop it?

"“It makes football fun,” defensive end Frostee Rucker said, “watching teams scratch their heads on the sidelines when they don’t know where things are coming from, or when they can’t match up. It makes it special.”"

Bowles is described as having a laid-back personality and may not be the fiery leader that some may prefer, but his players respect him and will give their all for him, and that is more important than anything else.

"“What makes him so good and so different than other coaches I’ve had is he uses your strengths, not your weaknesses,” Rucker said. “If you have a particular skill, he’s going to put you in position to use that particular skill."

Bowles may not have the biggest resume of the candidates, but it’s with good reason he has been contacted by every NFL team with a coaching opening this offseason.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapaport, Oakland is one of two places where people who know Bowles guess he might land.

Next: Jack Del Rio: Oakland Raiders Coaching Profile