New Arizona D-coordinator sees no dramatic changes

In 2012, Bowles joined the ill-fated staff of Andy Reid in Philadelphia as secondary coach and moved up to defensive coordinator after Reid sacked Juan Castillo in mid-October. The difficult Eagles season was a challenge.

"You just have to stick with your morals," Bowles said. "I don't think one year makes you a bad coach or a good coach. You go by your body of work. ... If you're in it long enough, you're not going to have success every week or every day, and you try not to get too high or too low."

He was asked if he thought some players quit on him as the Philadelphia season disintegrated.

"It's fair to ask but I couldn't answer for them," he said. "You would have to ask some of those guys. I would say some people didn't play well. I really can't say whether some quit or didn't quit."

Bowles said he had yet to watch much film of the Cardinals or speak to any of his players.

But, he said, he knows "they're fast, they get after it. They like to play football and they're hungry."

Taking over a confident unit is a plus.

"It's always half the battle when you've got guys that want to and we have a lot of guys that want to," Bowles said.

Arians said Bowles "has one of the brightest defensive minds that I've ever been associated with as a player or a coach."

And the results, Arians said, won't be determined by yards surrendered.

"The only ranking that matters is wins and losses," he said. "Yes, we want the No. 1 defense in the league, but is that in yards? No. I want the best third-down defense, the best red zone defense, the best two-minute defense. I don't really care about yards. I think that's a bogus stat."

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