The New York Giants‘ defense continues to be in a state of tumult several weeks after the firing of coordinator Shane Bowen. This week, they dismissed assistant defensive line coach Bryan Cox.
The unit, which has undergone a rash of key injuries and has been underperforming for the entire season, is ranked 31st overall in the NFL after 13 weeks.
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Head coach Mike Kafka promoted outside linebackers coach Charlie Bullen to coordinator on November 24, upon dismissing Bowen after yet another fourth-quarter collapse.
That decision was met with some criticism and resistance, as several more experienced in-house candidates were bypassed in the process. Bullen has never been a coordinator on any level in his career.
From the New York Post:
There have been mixed reactions inside the building to the decision to replace Bowen with outside linebackers coach Charlie Bullen over more experienced assistant coaches, and questions raised internally about if his past ties to general manager Joe Schoen led Kafka to that decision, league sources told The Post.
The Post also reports that Bullen has reinstated a tackling circuit drill that focuses on fundamentals. Tackling has been an issue all season and has been a huge part of their struggles in stopping the run.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Giants naming Charlie Bullen DC had ‘mixed reactions’ in building