Former New York Giants coach Brian Daboll stuck with Shane Bowen amid the team’s late-game defensive struggles, even while fans, critics and players called for his head.
So the Giants defensive coordinator opened up about feeling survivor’s remorse during his media availability Thursday after Daboll was fired by the team earlier this week.
The Giants defense, and especially their front-four, was considered a team strength entering the season, but that has not been the case. New York is 29th in the NFL in yards-against per game (383.0), 27th in points-against per game (27.3) and has just 21 sacks this year — despite Brian Burns’ NFL-leading 11 — while blowing three leads in the final two minutes of regulation during its 2-8 start.
Daboll fell on the proverbial sword Monday after going 14-39-1 over his final 54 games after starting 7-2 in his first year, 2022.
Shane Bowen Feels Responsible For Brian Daboll Being Fired
Bowen has been the Giants defensive coordinator since 2024, when he replaced Wink Martindale, whose contract was not renewed after a reported feud with Daboll.
But since Bowen took over the Giants defense, they have allowed 25.5 points per game and 360 yards per game. So he acknowledged his hand in Daboll getting fired.
“There’s responsibility that falls on me,” Bowen said. “We haven’t been good enough defensively, particularly closing out games. [It’s] something we’re working at, evaluating everything, scheme, personnel, different situations, what we can do to continue to improve and find ways to be at our best when it matters most.”
The Giants are 2-11 in one-score games over the past two seasons, including their 40-37 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2 and 33-32 loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 7 where they coughed up last-minute leads. New York also led by 10, 20-10, with four minutes to play in Chicago on Sunday but allowed two TDs in the final 3:56 to fall in regulation.
“We’ve got to find ways to win these games and not give it up in the fourth quarter,” Bowen said.
Shane Bowen Has ‘Learned A Lot’ From Brian Daboll
The NFL is a results-oriented business, and fans rarely get to know the true nature of working relationships especially between coaching staffs.
So Bowen expressed his appreciation for Daboll in the opening of his media availability.
“I’m very appreciative of my time with him,” Bowen said. “He’s done a lot for me; I’ve learned a lot from him. I can’t say enough about him as a leader and what he’s meant to me over these last two years.”
It would have been easy for Daboll to scapegoat Bowen, especially after the Giants’ last-second loss in Denver where Burns and other teammates took issue with their defensive play calling on the Broncos’ final drive. But Daboll stuck with the embattled defensive coordinator, who he hired away from the Tennessee Titans after the 2023 season.
But with Daboll now out of the picture, Bowen is moving on and trying to get the Giants defense to perform at its optimal level over the final seven games under interim coach Mike Kafka, starting Sunday against the Green Bay Packers.
“My focus is doing my best to get our guys in a position to make plays where we can finish these games and perform better defensively when it matters the most,” Bowen said.
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