(Reuters) - The New York Jets named former Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles as their head coach on Wednesday, giving the former National Football League player his first coaching job after 15 years as an assistant.
Bowles, who won a Super Bowl during his playing career as a safety with the Washington Redskins in 1988, replaces Rex Ryan, who was fired last month after six seasons with the Jets.
Before joining the Cardinals, Bowles, 51, spent one season with the Philadelphia Eagles as a secondary coach and part of the campaign as a defensive coordinator.
Bowles also spent four years with the Miami Dolphins from 2008-2011 as assistant head coach/secondary coach and went 2-1 as interim head coach after Tony Sparano was fired in 2011.
The native of Elizabeth, New Jersey, was also a secondary coach with the Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys and Jets.