Dan Bickley

azcentral sports

The NFL season enters the home stretch, and Valley football fans should share the same rooting interests: cheer for the home team to win and pray for the Jets to lose.

The former would keep the Cardinals relevant, on the periphery of any playoff conversation. The latter could lead to the firing of second-year coach Todd Bowles, who would be the perfect homecoming gift to an organization that has dealt with many troubling issues in 2016.

Bowles is not only an elite defensive coordinator who cultivated immense loyalty and trust among his players during two seasons in Arizona. He would also be the perfect choice to replace Bruce Arians when the current Cardinals coach steps down for good.

Both would have a powerful effect on a team facing an uncertain future, improving the carriage and temperament of the defense while providing stability and a clear line of succession should Arians endure any more health issues or retire after the 2017 season.

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First, the defense, which is run by second-year coordinator James Bettcher. Despite his inexperience, he does not deserve to lose his job. The Cardinals rank second in total yards allowed, third in passing yards and are tied for 11th in points allowed. Bettcher's tactical maneuvering played a role in Sunday’s win against the Redskins, where he dialed up two very effective blitzes on the final drive of the game.

Yet the Cardinals' defense often looks better on paper than it does on the field, and there have been clear signs of Bettcher’s learning curve.

For what it’s worth, former Cardinals linebacker LaMarr Woodley was highly critical in his assessment of Bettcher after leaving the organization. An unnamed player reportedly complained about an “over-complicated” game plan in last year’s NFC Championship Game loss to Carolina. Bettcher was roundly criticized for a passive approach in a Week 1 loss to the Patriots, blitzing only eight times against a second-string quarterback making his first NFL start.

Like he does with all of his assistants, Arians has strongly defended Bettcher. He even took the rap for interfering with the defensive game plan against New England, the first time Arians had ever meddled with that side of the ball.

But that all seemed to change after a 38-19 loss to the Falcons two weeks ago. Arians said selfishness had crept into the program, with some unnamed defenders playing for personal statistics and not sacrificing for the collective good. He blamed veteran players for poor leadership, for not fixing internal problems that have arisen during the season. And he cited the defense for its lack of physicality, a clear problem when comparing the unit to the defense in Seattle.

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It’s debatable how much of the aforementioned problems fall on Bettcher's desk. But I’m guessing they wouldn’t be recurring issues if Bowles were commanding the defense.

After winning 10 games in Bowles’ first season in New York, the Jets have fallen to 3-9. Their performance in a 41-10 loss to Indianapolis on Monday Night Football was pitiful and uninspired, and afterward, two New York papers published back-page headlines calling for Bowles to be fired.

Jets' wide receiver Brandon Marshall just issued a vote of support for his head coach, claiming Bowles is the only reason the team hasn’t fractured. But Jets owner Woody Johnson is known to be notoriously susceptible to screaming fans and public opinion, and could be swayed to terminate if things continue to get worse over the final four games of the season.

That would be a harsh ending for Bowles, who is not to blame for the Jets’ woeful season. It would terrible news for Arians, who desperately wants to spawn his own coaching tree before heading to permanent vacation at his lakefront home in Georgia.

Arians was strongly influenced by his coaching mentors. His overarching philosophy was imparted by Alabama legend Bear Bryant, who believed in coaching players hard and hugging them after. He would rather see Bowles win the Super Bowl in New York than return to the sideline in Arizona, guaranteed.

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But it would be great news for the Cardinals, a team that would surely benefit from his transcendent tactics, his feel for halftime adjustments and the intensity he would bring to the defense. Like Arians, he has the rare ability to coach hard, scream loudly and never lose his players. He would also solve another thorny issue.

Arians is 64 and not in this for the long term. He’s twice been hospitalized this season, and one NFL writer cited unnamed friends in a report that Arians would consider retirement after the current season. Arians strongly debunked the story and the writer, and said on Monday that he’s “damn sure coaching next year.”

After that, who knows? That’s why Bowles is the perfect hire if he gets fired by the Jets. With all due respect to Bettcher, his presence alone would upgrade the defense. And like most NFL head coaches, he’ll be much better the second time around.

The hope here is that takes place in Arizona, even if it requires a good man losing his job in New York.

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.