Dan Bickley

azcentral sports

Todd Bowles is the Cardinals' hidden treasure. He's a teacher, a communicator and possibly the best defensive coordinator the team has ever had.

This season, we're all wondering how he'll compensate for the loss of Karlos Dansby and Daryl Washington.

Next season, we'll be fretting how to replace Bowles, who will surely be hired as a head coach in 2015.

"Somebody's crazy if they don't," Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians said.

Arians raves about Bowles. Calls him "super intelligent," the smartest player he coached at Temple. But unlike the head coach, Bowles isn't prone to gushing. To wit:

When asked to evaluate Kevin Minter's first preseason game, Bowles balked: "He played six plays. He barely broke a sweat."

When asked what Deone Bucannon will bring to the defense with his physicality, Bowles said: "If he's hitting the right person, he'll help the defense a great deal."

Survey the players, and the respect is unanimous.

"He's very smart, very cerebral, very good at explaining what he wants," said Cardinals safety Rashad Johnson. "And when you see him teaching all three levels, moving from the defensive line to the linebackers to the secondary, that grabs your attention."

Unlike his predecessor, Bowles doesn't have much of a media presence. He doesn't command attention with his dreadlocks or his swagger. He won't tell the world that he's blitzing on the first play of the season. It's easy to miss the fire he carries to practice on a daily basis.

But it's most definitely there.

"I think I get all of my expletives out in the meetings and practice, which you guys don't see," Bowles said. "It's not like I'm going to come off the field cussing. I empty the load during the week, in meetings, behind closed doors. I'm pretty much drained by the time I get to you guys."

What a pleasant surprise, right? When the Cardinals parted ways with former head coach Ken Whisenhunt, some fans hoped the team would give the job to Ray Horton just so the organization wouldn't lose their defensive prowess.

By contrast, there were much lower expectations for Bowles, who came to Arizona in a shadow of failure.

Eagles coach Andy Reid tabbed him to replace Juan Castillo as defensive coordinator six weeks into the 2012 season. Bowles inherited a mudslide, a team that was already circling the drain, and the Eagles defense actually became worse under his watch.

Predictably, Bowles was booed by hardcore Philadelphia fans, receiving the same treatment as Mike Schmidt and Santa Claus.

After a 4-12 season, Reid was fired, along with the rest of his staff. For Cardinals fans, it was the best thing that could possibly happen.

"When things aren't going well, you should make changes," Bowles said. "That wasn't a knock on me or Andy or anyone else. Personally, we didn't have a good year and they got rid of us.

"But you come here (to Arizona), and you're embarrassed by that. And if you have any fight in you, you come back. You have things that you regret, things you move on and live with. But you never forget. And it fuels you to become a better coach and a better person. That experience will stick with me for the rest of my life. I've never been through anything like that. But I learned a valuable lesson at the time. And now I get up every day, come to work and try to be the best coach I can be. I never take anything for granted."

The Cardinals not only improved defensively in 2013, they did so after losing three linebackers in the month of September – Sam Acho, Lorenzo Alexander and Alex Okafor.. They finished sixth overall in team defense. They became the only team to win in Seattle in over two years. And for the first time ever, they ranked No. 1 against the run.

We all know the game belongs to the players. Coaches get too much credit and too much blame. But Bowles understands that "to teach everybody you need to reach everybody." He has developed a reputation as a great strategist, and his players listen. They trust him. And along the way, he's helped keep the Cardinals offense on their toes.

"It's been a great challenge individually because there are some really good athletes and good cover guys, but you mix in those guy with Coach Bowles' system and the different looks …" Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer said. "We were talking about. We've seen every single coverage there is, and there's a couple (in practice) we couldn't identify. You know, it's like (Bowles) is making stuff up just to try it and see how it goes."

Bowles has already interviewed for two head coaching vacancies. He was a finalist in Minnesota and took his name out of consideration in Cleveland. He also boasts a winning record as head coach, going 2-1 as an interim in Miami.

But unlike many other assistants consumed with climbing the ladder, Bowles seems oddly content, patient and satisfied. Maybe it's because he knows he won't have to wait until age 60 to get his first real shot, like Arians.

Or maybe he just loves the vibe in Arizona, where he calls the coaching staff "a band of brothers."

"Hopefully at 60, I plan on being in a rocking chair," Bowles said. "But I don't look at head coaching jobs or any other jobs. If you're looking to be a head coach, you're probably not doing a good job with the guys you're with. If I get that chance, great. If not, I've lived more than a full life. I'm very happy here. It's warm. It's sunny. I've got some good defensive players. I'm doing good."

He's doing far better than most Arizonans expected when he replaced the extremely popular Horton. Like Arians and Palmer, Bowles is also entering his second year on the job. His voice and his system no longer require a learning curve.

"We're going to be a tough, hard-nosed, tough against the run, pressure defense," Bowles said. "We want to be an offensive defensive team. We want to attack."

Can't wait.

Reach Bickley at dan.bickley@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8253. Follow him at twitter.com/danbickley. Listen to "Bickley and Marotta," weekdays from 12-2 p.m. on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.

Up next: Cardinals (1-0) at Minnesota Vikings (1-0)

When: Saturday, Aug. 16 at 5:30 p.m.

Where: TCF Bank Stadium, Minneapolis.

TV: Channel 15 (Dave Pasch, Ron Wolfley).

Radio: Arizona Sports 98.7 FM (Paul Calvisi, Bertrand Berry).

Spanish radio: KVVA 107.1 FM (Gabriel Trujillo, Rolando Cantu).