Joe Tarrod Bowden, III (born February 25, 1970) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the Houston Oilers / Tennessee Oilers / Tennessee Titans and

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the college athletics in the United States , athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to ...

Early life

Bowden attended North Mesquite High School in

Mesquite, Texas Mesquite is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Dallas County, Texas, Dallas County with portions extending into Kaufman County, Texas, Kaufman County. The population was 150,108 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and maki ...

, where he received

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

and All-state recognition. He accepted a football scholarship from the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

. Bowden did not play in his first year, as he failed to meet the requirements of Proposition 48. As a junior in 1990, Bowden led the team in tackles with 116 (three for loss), while making one interception, four passes defensed, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He gained

honors as a senior, while registering 127 tackles, two sacks and two interceptions (both returned for

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s). Bowden finished his college career with 286 tackles (168 solo), two sacks, three interceptions, six passes defensed, three fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles.

Professional career

Houston Oilers / Tennessee Oilers / Tennessee Titans

Bowden was selected by the Houston Oilers in the fifth round (133rd overall) of the 1992 NFL draft. As a rookie, he played 14 games on special teams, making nine tackles (seventh on the team). In

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

, Bowden started six games after replacing an injured Wilber Marshall at right linebacker. He registered 28 tackles, one sack, one pass defensed, one fumble recovery and seven special teams tackles. In

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, Bowden missed the first two games with a quadriceps injury. He started one game at left linebacker in place of an injured Eddie Robinson. Bowden collected 13 tackles, one forced fumble and seven special teams tackles. In

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, Michael Barrow moved to

middle linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the li ...

to replace an injured

Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was the 42nd governor of New York, serving from 1919 to 1920 and again from 1923 to 1928. He was the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party's presidential nominee in the 1 ...

, opening the door for Bowden to start 14 games at right linebacker. He posted 51 tackles, two passes defensed, four forced fumbles (led the team) and five special teams tackles. In 1996, Bowden started 16 games at left linebacker, making 73 tackles (fifth on the team), with three sacks, six passes defensed and two forced fumbles. In

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, Bowden started 16 games at left linebacker. In the season finale against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

, he suffered a broken left fibula. Bowden tallied 84 tackles (second on the team), 2.5 sacks, one interception, four passes defensed, one forced fumble and one special teams tackle. In

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, with the signing of Robinson, Bowden took over the

starting position, replacing Barron Wortham. He recorded 145 tackles (led the team), 1.5 sacks, six quarterback pressures, three passes defended, one interception and two fumble recoveries. In

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, Wortham regained his starting position and Bowden moved to left linebacker, during the Super Bowl XXXIV run. He registered 15 starts, 81 tackles, 3.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and one interception. Following the signing of Randall Godfrey in free agency and the drafting of Keith Bullock, Bowden became expendable and was not re-signed. He left after starting 84 of 123 regular-season games, while missing only five games and registering 521 tackles.

Dallas Cowboys

On May 3,

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, the

had a lot of turnover at the

position and the signing of Bowden in free agency was one of the moves made to improve the depth. He was the backup to Darren Hambrick and played in all 16 games, making 46 tackles, two tackles for loss and ywo special teams tackles. Bowden was cut on April 20,

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, after failing a physical. In his career, he only missed five of 139 games.

Coaching career

From 2008 to 2011, Bowden held coaching positions at

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

high schools: Mount St. Mary High School and Edmond Santa Fe High School. In 2006, Bowden was hired as the secondary coach for the Central Oklahoma Bronchos. He held this position until 2008. In

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, Bowden was hired by the St. Louis Rams to become an assistant linebackers coach, reuniting with Jeff Fisher who was his head coach with the Titans. On March 1,

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, he was moved to assistant special teams coach, before leaving the team on March 17, for a job at a higher position. On March 17,

, Bowden was hired by the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

. He was appointed to the position of inside linebackers coach after Hardy Nickerson (who was hired in January ) abruptly quit and took a job as the

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

for his former coaching companion Lovie Smith who was also just hired by the Illini. In 2017, he was hired as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for the Missouri Baptist University. In 2025, he was hired as linebackers coach for

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized progr ...

Personal life

In 1998, Bowden married Malika (née Welch) and they have two daughters, Sydney and Cheyenne. He has one son, Jaylon who also plays football and is following in the footsteps of his father.

References

External links

Tennessee State profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowden, Joe 1970 births Living people American football linebackers Central Oklahoma Bronchos football coaches Dallas Cowboys players Houston Oilers players Missouri Baptist Spartans football coaches Oklahoma Sooners football players San Francisco 49ers coaches St. Louis Rams coaches Tennessee Oilers players Tennessee State Tigers football coaches Tennessee Titans players High school football coaches in Oklahoma Players of American football from Mesquite, Texas Coaches of American football from Texas Players of American football from Dallas African-American coaches of American football 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen