Poor Todd Bowles.
The man spent four years coaching the Jets and got what amounted to one season of professional quarterback play.
Journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick delivered some “Fitzmagic” in Bowles’ first season as Jets head coach in 2015.
Sadly, that magic ran out in Year 2 of Bowles’ program, and the rest of his Jets tenure was essentially taken down by quarterback calamity.
Sam Darnold was drafted third overall in 2018 and never backed up his elite draft slot with elite play.
Before Darnold, Bowles had to trot out the likes of a diminished Fitz, Bryce Petty and even Geno Smith. Then came Josh McCown, who did what he could to show Darnold the way.
Fast-forward to this season. Bowles got his second chance as NFL head coach when Bruce Arians retired. And he figured after all those years of poor quarterbacking, he’d finally hit the quarterback lottery with seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady deciding to continue playing.
Yet the ride with Brady has been anything but smooth this season. The Buccaneers are just 3-3 entering Sunday’s game at Carolina.
Brady — who’s had to deal with daily rumors, updates and innuendo about his reported impending split with wife Gisele Bundchen — has looked unsettled and unhappy all season.
Days after he was criticized (unfairly) for flying to New York to attend the wedding of Patriots owner Robert Kraft, missing a Saturday walkthrough, Brady was caught on camera eviscerating his offensive linemen on the sideline during last Sunday’s loss to the Steelers.
Brady then, on a podcast, insulted a nation of war veterans by comparing NFL players working all season with their teams to soldiers being “deployed.”
It was an ignorant and irresponsible comment, and one that Brady has since walked back. This was yet another outside distraction that has made it more challenging for Bowles’ Bucs to function.
Ben Roethlisberger, the retired former Steelers quarterback who watched the Tampa Bay-Pittsburgh game last week, said on a podcast that it looks like Brady “doesn’t want to be out there” playing.
That caused the 45-year-old Brady to tell reporters on Thursday that he has no plans to retire anytime soon.
“I love the sport and I love the teammates and I wanna go do a great job for this team like I always have,” he said. “So, no retirement in my future.”
Brady’s individual statistics are not terrible — he’s thrown for 1,652 yards, eight touchdowns and one interception, completing 67.2 percent of his passes while taking nine sacks.
But more importantly, the Bucs’ offensive numbers are sagging. Their offense ranks 21st in yards per game (332) and 20th in points per game (20.2) — numbers that are way off those that Brady has produced in previous seasons.
The Bucs are just two years removed from winning the Super Bowl. They finished 13-4 last season, winning the NFC South.
Maybe Arians saw the writing on the wall when he handed the keys to Bowles.
The question Bowles and the Bucs will continue to face is whether they still have the quarterback who has seven Super Bowl rings … or a great one who stayed around one year too long.
Poor Todd Bowles.