At the end of the 2023 season, New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll and then-defensive coordinator Wink Martindale had a massive falling out that resulted in Martindale leaving the organization.
That sent general manager Joe Schoen and Daboll looking for a replacement, and ultimately the hiring of current defensive coordinator Shane Bowen.
In Bowen’s first season, the Giants were 10th in passing yards allowed, 27th in run defense, third in combined tackles, 31st in interceptions, and ninth in forced fumbles. They weren’t stellar, but they weren’t awful, and let’s remember that losing Dexter Lawrence for the final six weeks of the season is definitely reflected in those stats.
Still, there’s room for improvement, which is why Pro Football Network ranks Bowen 27th among the NFL’s defensive coordinators.
The New York Giants were unremarkable in Shane Bowen’s first season as their defensive coordinator, finishing with a below-average defense in 2024. They were not particularly bad but certainly pedestrian.
Bowen was a solid defensive coordinator for Tennessee from 2021 to 2023, and he gets plenty more talent to work with in 2025 than he had in New York last year. Abdul Carter, Jevón Holland, and Paulson Adebo provide him with a new infusion of talent to help him climb these rankings.
Bowen will get Lawrence back in 2025, plus the additions mentioned above.
The Giants’ defense looks better on paper than it did last season, but we’ll see if that’s true when the season starts. However, after seeing Bowen’s growth at his job while with the Tennessee Titans, expect the Giants’ defense to be improved on the field in 2025, especially with the offseason additions.