New Jets head coach Todd Bowles has been named assistant coach of the year by the Pro Football Writers of America.

Bowles did admirable work as Arizona's defensive coordinator this season, despite a rash of injuries to his unit.

This was his second year as the Cardinals' coordinator. They made the playoffs on the strength of Bowles' defense, and in spite of those injuries.

In 2013, the Cardinals ranked sixth in the NFL in yards allowed, first in rushing yards allowed, 14th in passing yards allowed and seventh in points allowed.

In 2014, the Cardinals ranked fifth in the league in points allowed. The Cardinals' defense was 24th in yards, 13th in rushing and 29th in passing, but Arizona was stingy in the red zone -- third-best in the NFL.

Maybe Bowles can help fix the Jets' red-zone defense. It ranked 25th in the NFL this season, after ranking fourth in 2013.

According to the Jets, Bowles will be formally introduced as their new head coach at a press conference next week, sometime after Monday, along with new general manager Mike Maccagnan.

The Pro Football Writers of America also named Arizona head coach Bruce Arians its head coach of the year. This is the sixth time that the writers' assistant coach and head coach of the year have come from the same team.

Darryl Slater may be reached at dslater@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DarrylSlater. Find NJ.com Jets on Facebook.