ARLINGTON, TX – DECEMBER 19: Head coach Todd Bowles of the New York Jets during play against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on December 19, 2015 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

This 2016 season has been a rough year for coaches succumbing to unknown and unexpected conditions requiring them to miss games, and potentially a third could be affected.

Jets head coach Todd Bowles was hospitalized in stable condition with an undisclosed illness, according to the team. He missed the team flight to New England and might miss the Jets game against the Patriots tomorrow.

If Bowles isn’t healthy enough to patrol the sidelines, assistant head coach Mike Caldwell will assume those duties. The 53-year-old Bowles has never had any reported health issues.

Bowles would be the third NFL head coach to miss a game this season due to health issues, joining Gary Kubiak in Week 6 who missed a game against San Diego with migraine issues, and Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer who missed his team’s Week 13 tilt against Dallas after needing emergency eye surgery. Both of those coaches missed Thursday games, whereas Bowles could miss a Saturday game.

Arizona Cardinals Head Coach Bruce Arians also had a health scare when he suffered chest pains and had to be taken to a local hospital after their Week 11 game at Minnesota. Arians was also hospitalized after suffering from stomach pains after a practice in San Diego back in August.

Here’s hoping Bowles is recovering well from whatever ails him and he can return to the sidelines as soon as possible.

[PFT]

About Matt Lichtenstadter

Recent Maryland graduate. I've written for many sites including World Soccer Talk, GianlucaDiMarzio.com, Testudo Times, Yahoo's Puck Daddy Blog and more. Houndstooth is still cool, at least to me. Follow me @MattsMusings1 on Twitter, e-mail me about life and potential jobs at matthewaaron9 at Yahoo dot com.