Todd Bowles to Jets: Latest Contract Details, Comments and Reaction

After playing an instrumental role in the Arizona Cardinals' 11-win season in 2014, Todd Bowles is reportedly leaving his post as defensive coordinator to become a head coach for the first time in his career.    

The New York Jets have hired Bowles to be their new head coach, the team confirmed:

Seth Walder of the New York Daily News provided Bowles' comments on his new position:

ESPN's Adam Schefter initially reported the news on Tuesday.     

Josh Weinfuss of ESPN passed along Cardinals coach Bruce Arians' comments on Bowles:

Meanwhile, The Washington Post's Mark Maske has details on the length of the deal:

ESPN's Rich Cimini adds more on the contract and a nugget on Bowles' reported choice for offensive coordinator:

The team hired a defensive coordinator on Jan. 23, according to ESPN's Rich Cimini:

Bowles, 51, took over as defensive coordinator for the Cardinals in 2013, and his units finished in the top 10 in points allowed the last two years. The 2014 season was arguably his best work, as key players like Daryl Washington and Darnell Dockett were out all year. 

Matt Bowen of Bleacher Report weighed in on Bowles' move to New York:

Count Fox Sports' Jay Glazer and CBS Sports' Pete Prisco as fans of the move:

The pressure continued to ratchet up for Arizona's defense because an injury-ravaged quarterback situation forced the Cardinals to win games in unconventional ways. Bowles always had his unit up to the task, highlighted by this year's playoff appearance.    

Even though the opportunity to be an NFL head coach is one a lot of people would jump at, Bowles' agent told Joe Pequeno of CBS 5 in Arizona that it would take an ideal situation to pry his client away from the Cardinals:

That wasn't the only criterion Bowles was looking for, as ESPN's Josina Anderson noted he also wanted to have a good rapport with the front office:

Everything fell into place for Bowles to take his first full-time head-coaching job after 20 years as an assistant at the NFL and college level (he was Miami's interim head coach in 2011 after Tony Sparano was fired). Bowles' work with Arizona, specifically in 2014, quickly made him one of the hottest coaching candidates available. 

Now, Bowles has to show that his style can be effective in leading an entire team. Given how quickly he transformed the Cardinals into one of the best defenses in the league, it shouldn't be a big adjustment moving to the head coach's chair.