The New York Giants fired defensive coordinator Shane Bowen on Monday after their latest defensive collapse.
The Giants have coughed up six leads, five of them double-digit leads, en route to their 2-10 record on the season. Firing Bowen was a move that had to happen, though I’d argue it probably should have happened after the 2024 season. Instead, the Giants decided on a massive infusion of talent on the defensive side of the ball.
Cornerback Paulson Adebo and safety Jevon Holland were widely considered to be among the top young free agents in last year’s class. Defensive end Chauncey Golston and defensive lineman Roy Robertson-Harris were considered solid rotational players who could fill out a thin depth chart with real contributors. Edge defender Abdul Carter was universally considered one of the top two players in the 2025 draft class, while defensive lineman Darius Alexander was generally considered a high second-round or fringe first-round talent.
Not to mention the fact that Bowen would be getting Dexter Lawrence back from injury after a season and a half of abject dominance in the middle.
Pretty much every analyst and evaluator agreed that the Giants had assembled one of the fiercest defensive rosters in the NFL. Yet that embarrassment of riches fell flat on its face — Again, and again, and again, and again, and again.
There are who argue that the players everyone agrees were good — even, great — before 2025 are bad, actually.
There are others who (rightfully, in my view) place the blame on Bowen. There have been criticisms of his scheme, his aggressiveness, and his lack of creativity, each of which have been speculated upon as reasons why the Giants’ defense has wilted in big moments.
Those, however, are all downstream of what has been the persistent problem with the Giants’ defense, which has been their execution.
The Giants’ defense has consistently been bit by “the little things”, dating back to preseason. Even in the first preseason game we saw the second and third levels of the defense out of position and taking poor angles to the ball. Those have made them play slower than they otherwise might, making it difficult to rally to the ball or tackle with good form when they get there.
Case in point: Fans have spent significant time this year bemoaning the lack of speed in the Giants’ secondary — and safety Tyler Nubin in particular.
Granted, he is not a fast safety with a 4.59-second 40-yard dash. However, he’s actually faster than former Giant Xavier McKinney.
Nubin is also on par with 2024 All-Pro safeties Brian Branch (4.58 seconds) and Kyle Hamilton (4.59 seconds). So, if Nubin is just as fast as three All-Pro safeties, why does he appear to play so much slower?
The answer is that Nubin, along with the rest of the Giants’ back seven, is too often out of position. The Giants’ secondary often appears unsure of its reads, doesn’t communicate efficiently, and doesn’t take the most efficient angles to the point of attack.
All of that leads to them playing more slowly than they should and puts them in poor position to make tackles when they arrive at the ball carrier.
Even though the Giants led the Detroit Lions throughout regulation, leading by 10 for significant stretches of the game, I mentioned to the Staff Chat that the Giants needed to go to school on how the Lions’ defense played the run.
This isn’t a full film study, but I do think an A/B comparison is instructive.
The Giants are in their base defense with three defensive tackles, two inside linebackers, and two edge defenders. Lawrence is in his customary place at the nose tackle, flanked by veterans Robertson-Harris and Rakeem Nunez-Roches. Safety Dane Belton walks down toward the line of scrimmage to give the Giants a heavy box against the Lions’ heavy personnel package (third tackle reported eligible).
The Giants’ front five does a pretty good job of taking on blockers, and the Lions’ offensive line doesn’t get much in the way of a push up front. The line of scrimmage advances less than a yard before Jahmyr Gibbs makes his cut, and there really isn’t much of a gap for him to exploit.
Unfortunately, there isn’t anyone there to actually fill that tiny crease, even though the Giants have eight defenders to account for seven blockers.
The linebackers wait until the blockers are in place to come up and attack their gaps, while safety Jevon Holland is dancing around in the middle of the field. The Giants play the classic technique of “building a fence”, but there isn’t anyone in position to make the tackle around the line of scrimmage until Lawrence is able to discard the double team and make the play himself.
The result is a 5-yard pickup for Gibbs on first down.
Credit where it’s due, it was a great “dirty” run by Gibbs, using his vision and quickness to create a rushing lane when one wasn’t readily apparent. However there should have been someone waiting for him.
Now, let’s compare that to how the Lions played the run:
The Giants are in their customary 12-personnel package, which the Lions match with their own base 3-4 defense. And like the Giants, the Lions walk a safety down to play an eight-man box against the heavy personnel set.
Schematically, the two defenses are in a similar position, and use similar tactics. And yet it looks significantly different, and the difference is in the execution.
The Lions flow to the football hard and fast. Their front does a comparable job to the Giants’ front in taking on their blocks. The difference is just how much more decisive they are in coming down to attack their gaps. They’re not building a fence to catch the run, they’re looking to attack the run.
Second-year linebacker Jack Campbell makes the play by doing an excellent job of attacking downhill to beati John Michael Schmitz to his landmark. That leaves him free and in excellent position to tackle Tyrone Tracy for a short gain.
This isn’t a difference in size, speed, talent, or scheme — it’s much more fundamental than that. The difference between these two plays happened during the week in how the two defenses studied in the classroom, prepared on the practice field, and communicated before the snap. The Lions had a pretty good idea what was coming — their free safety didn’t need to dance around because he didn’t know if it would be run or pass — everyone knew his responsibility, and how to execute it most efficiently.
There have been countless such examples over the last 15 weeks (counting preseason).
To my eye, the defense’s failures in execution, both individual and as a team, are a symptom of the lack of accountability that Ed wrote about previously.
Yes, it’s ultimately on the players to pay attention to the details, to study and practice with high effort. They’re grown men and professionals, and if they’re being paid to be the best, they should be making every effort to realize that.
However, coaches are, ultimately, teachers. And if a student isn’t “getting it”, it’s up to the teacher to find a way to reach them.
It’s up to the coach to fine tune execution to maximize players’ talents. It’s up to the coach to make sure players can communicate efficiently. It’s up to the coach to make sure the players are able to understand the “why” of a play, and not just the “what” or “how” of a play. Everyone in the NFL is a freakish athlete, but it’s the mental aspect of the game that allows them to play fast at this level, and that’s the realm of the coach.
Run defense is a team sport, but it even filters down to the individual level. Some fans were relieved when Deonte Banks landed on the injury report. But consider this: He’s has been targeted at the seventh-lowest rate of any cornerback in the NFL, and has allowed the second-least amount of separation to receivers.
That’s elite play by any measure, so why has Banks been a disappointment?
Well, it has a lot to do with the fact that his target rate and separation allowed should lead to a 40-45% catch rate (again, elite), but Banks has been allowing a 70% catch rate. When the margin for error disappears and execution is at a premium, Banks has been at his worst.
I can’t say for sure whether that’s a “him” problem or if it’s another symptom of the coaching as a whole. That said, the fact that Banks flashed legitimate “CB1” upside as a rookie and has regressed over the last two years makes me very curious to see what he could do with better coaching. Not to mention Nubin, Carter, Alexander, and a whole host of other young defenders.
I won’t say that the Giants can’t develop young players. Schmitz has improved each year and the offensive line is demonstrably better with him at the pivot, while Tracy has continued to grow and add a legitimate power element to his game. Theo Johnson is blossoming before our eyes and Wan’Dale Robinson has gone from a resounding “WHO!?” on draft night to the best slot receiver in the NFL and a de facto Number One for a team without one.
The Giants can develop young players and their offense has grown enough that even the backups are keeping pace with the best in the NFL.
So why not the defense? It might not have been all Bowen, but as the defensive coordinator, he bears responsibility. Well, bore it, anyway.
Final thoughts
What can we learn from Bowen’s failures on the defensive side, and how should it impact the Giants’ coaching search?
For me, I want to go even more fundamental than philosophy or scheme. I believe the Giants’ next defensive coordinator — whether he’s “just” the DC or the head coach — should be a teacher first and foremost. The Giants need a defensive coordinator who can foster the growth and development of their young players. They need a defensive coordinator who gets the players playing fast, regardless of scheme or play call. They need someone who is utterly relentless in his pursuit of excellence in execution.
The Giants’ discipline, attention to detail, and execution have been lacking all year long. They have enough talent to compete, and that’s allowed their defense to do enough that the offense could establish those double-digit leads. But in big moments, when the speed of the game reaches its peak and the margin for error disappears … That’s when the lack of fundaments has bitten the Giants.
Giving up a 5-yard rush isn’t great at any time, it’s significantly less damaging on first down in the first quarter than it is in the fourth quarter on third-and-3.
But there’s a corrosive aspect to poor leadership. Eventually, everyone gets comfortable settling for less when less is demanded, and the youngsters never learn properly. We’ve all had bad teachers, and even subjects we like are tough, no matter our effort level or aptitude. Speaking for myself, I had a terrible teacher for 3-dimensional calculus my junior year of college. It didn’t matter how much effort I put in, every lesson was a slog because he came in and lectured twice a week, and that was enough for him. I passed, but just barely, and that was the last math class I ever took.
But back to the field.
I really don’t think it’s a matter of personnel, and I’d caution the folks calling for more size that they’re echoing Perry Fewell’s “Bigger Butts” defense.
When it comes to scheme and philosophy, whether that’s a head coach or defensive coordinator, my preference is for an aggressive defensive mind. I believe in attacking — whether you have the ball or not — and a vicious defense is in the Giants’ DNA as well as their current personnel group.
But ultimately, if we’re going to learn from Bowen’s tenure, the biggest lesson is that the Giants’ need accountability in every phase of their preparation and play. Every snap in a game, every rep on the practice field, every rep in the weight room, every day in the classroom.
The Giants have the talent to be an elite defense as it stands now. I really don’t think the preseason analyses were off there, and we’ve seen them suffocate good offenses. The defensive front and secondary have the potential to be elite, and even the linebackers could be very good if Bobby Okereke returns to form and Micah McFadden is extended.
But the devil is in the details, and the Giants have been bedeviled by failures to execute and play fast. They need — deserve — a defensive coordinator who will do all the little things to turn them into a pack of hellhounds.
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