Heading into the 2004 season, Toby Gowin, a veteran punter who had played the previous seven seasons with Dallas and New Orleans, had choices as a free agent.
And he chose to sign with a team which had three different punters the previous three seasons, becoming the Jets' fourth in four.
"I had a couple of other teams that were interested," said Gowin, who began his career with the Cowboys in 1997 as an undrafted free agent. "I visited with the Jets and had some familiarity there. I had played with (kicker) Doug Brien in New Orleans and then I also knew John Lott, who at the time was the strength coach. He was briefly at (the University of) North Texas when I was there.
"And really, I just think the team at that time had a lot of quality guys like Curtis Martin. High character, a good atmosphere, and then Coach (Herm) Edwards was there. I just felt like it was a good place to be and a good group of guys. I thought they were on the right track.
"Every situation is a little different with the expectations. I was really brought in to be the best weapon I could be on kickoffs and be a consistent punter."
The man who was the weapons specialist, if you will, was longtime special teams coordinator Mike Westhoff, who had spent 22 seasons in the NFL. He had the reputation as an old school coach who demanded favorable results. Gowin was familiar with being in that type of a classroom.
"I obviously knew about his tenure. He did it for a long time and did a great job," Gowin said. "I had, of course, spent some time (in Dallas) with Coach (Bill) Parcells, and a lot of those coaches are…
"I was used to it. Even my father when I was growing up always had high expectations and expected the best out of me. So that wasn't anything that ever bothered me."
Something that could have bothered Gowin just because he wasn't used to it, was the late season weather. The average temperature in December in Dallas, where he played for four seasons, is 48 degrees. And the three seasons he was with New Orleans, the Saints played their home games in the Louisiana Superdome.
But in the Meadowlands in December, not only were the temperatures much cooler, but wind and snow and rain could also be a part of the then-Giants Stadium game day battles.
"Unfortunately, I couldn't get bigger," laughed Gowin, who weighed in at 167 pounds. "I'm obviously not a big guy. Especially NFL punter-wise. So that's definitely one of the challenging aspects of punting in those conditions.
"I really focused on consistency. Not a power guy, I knew I had to be consistent to be effective. And that was definitely a challenge for me just because of the strength and power. Just like a quarterback in that area, stronger arms obviously perform better in certain conditions than others. So it's no different.
"And I always felt like I was a strong kickoff guy and a capable kickoff guy. But you get in the later months of the season and the swirling winds and the cold and the ball just doesn't travel like it does in hotter climates and indoors."
With the Jets only for the one season, Gowin averaged 38.2 yards on 80 punts with eight dropped inside the 20-yard line, and a long of 58 yards in the challenging northeast conditions. He also averaged 63 yards per kickoff to go along with seven touchbacks.
"What I appreciated there was just the quality of other guys, the character," Gowin said. "It was just a lot of good guys. I think it was a really strong group of leaders. And that's really what I remember, just appreciating and being a part of that."
Following his playing days, Gowin returned to his native Texas and took a job in commercial real estate. But…
"I found out pretty quickly that I'm not a big sales person," Gowin laughed. "I'm more task-oriented as far as personality. I like to have certain responsibilities that are identified and that I can work and just check those off my list.
"When I got into commercial real estate, that was in 2008 or so, and as far as market-wise, everybody was struggling at that time. So it wasn't the best time to get in. But also, I think it just wasn't a really good fit for me."
And so in 2011, he joined Southern Multifoods, a Taco Bell franchisee, and is their Director of Construction and Facilities.
"I had an opportunity to come on board with this company, and you have more of the team atmosphere. We all have roles and responsibilities. People rely on you and I just try to do my job," Gowin said. "I oversee all the new construction, remodels, and then the facility maintenance of our existing locations. We have 121 stores, all in Texas, and I have touched every location one way or another.
"It's a process. When we get under contract on a property, I take it over from there as far as getting with engineering, dealing with local municipalities, utility companies, and just really go through the engineering permitting process. And then once we break ground, I manage all the orders, setting up utility companies, vendors, manage the general contractor, and then turn it over to operations once it's complete.
"It can be high pressure. Construction doesn't always go as planned. You have to kind of maintain your composure and overcome challenges. And so I try to just treat it as challenges and opportunities to get better and be better."
Making their home in East Texas, Gowin and his wife, Niki, have a son, Jaeger, who is graduating from Texas Tech this weekend with plans to go on to law school. And a daughter, Greenlee, who will be a junior this fall at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where she majors in exercise science and is on the acrobatics and tumbling team.
"Obviously, family is important. Faith is important," Gowin said. "I just try to handle it like I did in football, try to be the best teammate, best father, best son, friend. And just try to be a good example and do the right thing."
