High school

Bowen played safety for Pickerington Central High School from 2001 to 2004. In his junior year, Bowen was selected to the second team All-Ohio Capital Conference team.^[2] In his senior year, he piled up 188 tackles and three interceptions. As a result, he was awarded the Ohio Capital Conference Player of the year. He was also awarded first team All-Central District honors^[3] and the Associated Press’ second team All-Ohio honors.^[4] One of Bowen's teammates at Pickerington Central was A. J. Trapasso, a punter who was signed by the Tennessee Titans as an unrestricted free agent.^[5]

College

Bowen received college football scholarship offers from Georgia Tech, Iowa State and Vanderbilt.^[6] In May 2005, he committed to play for coach Chan Gailey at Georgia Tech. However, Bowen did not join the program until 2006. He sat out the fall 2005 season, working part-time at a Pickerington pizza restaurant.^[7] Bowen's 2006 Yellow Jackets recruiting class included Demaryius Thomas, a wide receiver and first round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.

Bowen played safety in high school, but he converted to the linebacker position at Georgia Tech. In his three years with the Yellow Jackets, he totaled 54 tackles and five sacks. Bowen’s last game as a player was on November 20, 2008 against then-23rd ranked Miami. He had five tackles and a sack in the team's 41-23 upset victory. In the next game against Boston College, Bowen was scheduled to play his 39th consecutive game and make his first start of the season; however, a routine check-up revealed a cervical disc displacement. This injury ended Bowen's playing career.^[8]

As a student, Bowen was named to the Dean's List thrice. In 2009, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in business management from Georgia Tech. In 2014, Bowen earned a master's degree in workforce development and education, also from Georgia Tech.^[9]

Early career

The injury that ended Bowen's playing career in his junior season did not keep him away from the team's sideline in his senior year. In 2009, Bowen began his coaching career as a student assistant at Georgia Tech. He finished the year assisting with the linebackers before being named an offensive graduate assistant in 2010. Bowen held that position for two years. In 2012, Urban Meyer became the head coach at Ohio State. Bowen joined Meyer's coaching team as a defensive graduate assistant where he assisted the team's defensive line coach, Mike Vrabel. The Buckeyes concluded the year with a 12-0 mark and ranked No. 3 nationally.^[9] In 2013, Kennesaw State launched its football program and hired Brian Bohannon as the team's first head coach. Bohannon was the quarterbacks coach at Georgia Tech when Bowen served as a graduate assistant. One of Bohannon's first additions to his staff was Bowen. In 2015, the Owls defied expectations and finished its inaugural season with a winning record with Bowen serving as the team's linebackers coach.^[10]

Houston Texans

In 2016, Bowen began his NFL coaching career with the Houston Texans as a defensive assistant where he reunited with Mike Vrabel, the Texans’ linebackers coach. Bowen served in this position for the 2016 and 2017 seasons. Houston finished the 2016 season with the NFL's top-ranked defense for the first time in franchise history, surrendering an average of only 301.3 total net yards per game. They also gave up the fewest first downs (17.0) and second-fewest net passing yards (201.6) per game.^[11] In 2017, Vrabel was promoted to Defensive Coordinator. Under Vrabel's guidance and Bowen's assistance, the Texans ranked fifth in the NFL in third-down defense and set a franchise record for fewest yards per carry by opponents (3.97).

Tennessee Titans

Bowen in 2019

On January 20, 2018, Mike Vrabel was named head coach of the Tennessee Titans. Ten days later, on January 30, Vrabel named Bowen as the team's outside linebacker coach.^[12]

Bowen's new role reunited him with Derrick Morgan, a defensive teammate during Bowen's playing career at Georgia Tech. Morgan was drafted in the first round of the 2010 NFL draft by the Titans and played nine years with the Titans as an outside linebacker. Bowen had the honor of serving as Morgan's position coach in 2018, his final season in the NFL since Morgan retired following the season.^[13]

In 2018, the Titans' defense ranked eighth overall (333.4 yards per game), third in points allowed (18.9 per game), 10th on third down (36.6 percent), and second in the red zone (44.7 touchdown percentage). Bowen helped two rookies: second-round draft pick Harold Landry and undrafted free agent Sharif Finch combine for six sacks.^[9] In 2019, the Titans' defensive backs were again a top-10 unit in passing yards and interceptions.^[14] The Titans made the playoffs but lost in the AFC Championship game, just one game away from the Super Bowl.

After the 2019 season, Titans defensive coordinator, Dean Pees, retired. Beginning with the 2020 season, Vrabel assumed many of the duties once held by Pees. However, Vrabel entrusted Bowen with the role of defensive play caller throughout most of the season while the latter served as outside linebackers coach.

On January 29, 2021, Bowen was promoted to defensive coordinator.^{[15] [16]} In 2021, the Titans finished the season with a record of 12-5, won the American Football Conference (AFC) South Division, and earned the AFC’s overall #1 seed going into the playoffs. The defense finished the season among the NFL’s best in multiple categories: #4 in touchdowns per game, #4 in opponent’s red zone scoring, #6 in 3rd down conversion rate, and #6 in points per game.