There were three primary suitors for David Bowens when he hit the free agent market. The Jets eventually won out largely because of two familiar faces in defensive line coach Dan Quinn, who spent the past two seasons coaching him in Miami, and linebackers coach Jim Herrmann, a defensive assistant when he attended the University of Michigan.
“I had a few options — Carolina, Miami and here. I wanted familiarity,” Bowens told newyorkjets.com Friday afternoon. “It was pretty much the same defensively, what I was going to get here or in Miami, but I knew Dan Quinn and Jim Herrmann. He recruited me in high school and I played for him in college.”
Bowens also spoke with Jets head coach Eric Mangini and he liked what he heard.
“He said I was going to have an opportunity to be a leader,” Bowens said. “Not so much as in Miami where I was one of the older guys, but I was going to have a chance to showcase my skills, help the younger guys and do what I could do off the field.”
On the field, the 6’3”, 265-pound linebacker/end hybrid has found similarity between his former defense and current unit.
“It was a 3-4 there with inverted outside linebackers and Jason Taylor playing a down lineman on third downs,” he said. “Here it is pretty much the same. Obviously the vocabulary is a little bit different, but it’s not that big of an adjustment. Football is football.”
Bowens is best known for his ability to get to the quarterback, racking up 18 of his career 26 sacks the past three seasons.
“I have been primarily a third-down guy,” he said. “It was just one of those things where I fell into a scheme. Playing opposite Jason Taylor has its perks, too. It was real fun playing in Miami all those years and I see myself playing similarly here. We have a lot of good guys who are good athletes and pass rushers. What I want to do is share my knowledge with these guys on rushing the passer, using your hands and the different types of techniques.”
Bowens is a big fan of Quinn. Before entering the NFL coaching ranks, Quinn actually coached the defensive line at Hofstra from 1996-2000.
“What Dan Quinn brings to the table is he works a lot with these guys on technique,” Bowens said. “Things that you don’t think you are doing, you kind of are doing subconsciously. You go through a lot of things with Dan and you think it’s just redundant and it’s not helping you, but then you see yourself doing it on film and it helps your game.”
Bowens found a home in Miami after a tumultuous two-month stint in 2001 when he had short stays with four organizations. He went back home and played basketball three days a week before the Dolphins called him.
“I went in there for a workout and I busted my tail and Coach [Dave] Wannstedt and [general manager] Rick Spielman must have seen something because they kept me,” he said. “My dad dropped me off at the airport and said, ‘Don’t come back.’ ”
He took the advice and is set to begin his ninth professional season. Herrmann saw ability in a young David when he played tight end and halfback at Saint Mary’s High School in Michigan. The Wolverines offered him a scholarship and he set a school single-season record with 12 sacks in 1996. The former all-state basketball player also played a season of hoops with the Wolverines before he stopped applying himself in school.
“I just got complacent and being a young guy sometimes that happens. It doesn’t have anything to do with coaches or parents,” he said. “I had to make all my decisions. I just didn’t make good ones. It is a learning process growing up. I finally figured out what I wanted to do with my life and got it back.”
He transferred to Western Illinois and became a Division I-AA All-American. The Denver Broncos selected him in the fifth round of the 1999 draft, but he didn’t experience a professional breakthrough campaign until 2004. He started 15 games that season and totaled 52 tackles, seven sacks, six pass defenses and two forced fumbles.
No longer a starter, Bowens will provide the Jets added depth up front. Mangini likes to substitute and he has a plethora of defensive packages in his bag.
The transition is going well thus far. He hopes to extend his charitable foundation, created to help kids who suffer from asthma and cystic fibrosis, into New York. He thrives despite having asthma himself and plans to bring some fresh air to his new team on and off the field.
“Once I get more familiar with the community and the key figures in the community, then we’ll try to get some sponsorship that way and try to create some asthma awareness for the kids,” he said. “Some kids have asthma and think they are limited. But if you control it, you can do anything you want.”
