EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The changes keep on coming for the New York Giants. Two weeks after firing coach Brian Daboll, they reached the point of no return with defensive coordinator Shane Bowen.
Bowen's defense allowed a double-digit lead to slip away Sunday in Detroit for the fifth time this season, tying an NFL record. It was also the fifth time this year they had a fourth-quarter advantage disintegrate.
It just wasn't good enough, and it forced interim head coach Mike Kafka's hand. Too many times they just couldn't make that one play that would have led to a victory.
"I just had an opportunity to watch the tape, look back at a few weeks, watch a lot of the defense, watch a lot of what was going on, the communication, and just felt like this was the right time to do it," Kafka said. "When I got the job, I didn't want to make a lot of rash decisions and jump to anything really quick. I wanted to have some time to sit back, evaluate it, look at it and kind of figure out what the best thing to do was. So, I wanted to be calculated in how I handled it and I thought [Monday] was the right time."
Kafka didn't even want to wait one more week. The Giants (2-10) play on the road Monday night against the New England Patriots (8:15 p.m. EST, ESPN) before their bye week. The switch could have easily been put off to give the Giants some extra acclimation time for interim defensive coordinator Charlie Bullen. Now, Bullen has Thanksgiving week to get things in order, whether they be schematic changes, personnel or communication.
Bullen has never been a defensive coordinator. He was chosen over defensive backs coach Marquand Manuel and line coach Andre Patterson, both who have been coordinators before but currently lead struggling units.
Bullen comes from a good pedigree. Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph is one of his mentors after working with him in Arizona and Miami. Joseph currently oversees the third-ranked defense in yards and scoring.
Joseph's defenses are known to be aggressive. They blitz at a high rate, 34.0%, which is fifth-highest in the league. They put a lot of bodies at the line of scrimmage to try to create confusion and play a lot of man coverage behind it.
Bowen's defenses with the Giants weren't nearly as aggressive. They blitzed at a modest 27.5% rate (middle of the league) and weren't focused on disguising rushers. The Giants have just two unblocked sacks this season. Only the 49ers have fewer. The Broncos are second in the NFL with nine.
Based on his upbringing, the Giants defense under Bullen should bring more pressure and blitzes. There likely will be more men at the line of scrimmage pre-snap to threaten opposing quarterbacks and offensive lines. It should have a more aggressive overall approach.
"I have a lot of faith in Charlie and the things that he's brought from the pedigree that he brings coming into this defense," Kafka said. "I think he's a smart coach. I think he's detailed. He's aggressive and his room has had a lot of production, and I think he's ready for the task. I know he's ready for the task."
Make no mistake about it, this was Kafka's choice. The Giants' decision-makers allowed him to make the final call on his own staff.
Kafka wanted to give Bowen a chance, but two more blown fourth-quarter leads in the past two weeks was the final straw.
"My decision," Kafka said. "My decision to make this move."
If it was up to the front office or ownership moving off Bowen likely would have occurred even earlier. Owner John Mara said after last season he wasn't happy with the team's defense.
That was the first warning sign. It blared in florescent letters. But Daboll wasn't about to fire a coach he had hired a year earlier after butting heads with former defensive coordinator Wink Martindale. It also would've been a hard job to fill with such frequent turnover and the head coach knowingly on the hot seat.
"I'm tired of watching teams go up and down the field on us," Mara said at the time. "So, I think that has to be addressed."
The Giants put money and resources into the defense this past offseason. Their two biggest free-agent acquisitions were in the secondary with the signings of cornerback Paulson Adebo and safety Jevon Holland. Their top draft pick was an edge rusher in Abdul Carter.
It didn't make the Giants defense as a whole any better. As a matter of fact, the numbers say they are worse this year. New York has the 30th ranked defense in yards and points per game. They were 24th and 21st, respectively, last season.
Kafka ultimately chose Bullen as the replacement over Manuel. Much like most of the football decisions that are made at 1925 Giants Drive, it was first run through general manager Joe Schoen, who then serves as the conduit to ownership.
Kafka talked to Schoen before making the change.
"Yes, I did," Kafka said of speaking Schoen. "All those conversations ... it happens throughout the week. Any of these decisions on playtime, scheme, thoughts, I mean, we talked about some of the trick plays before the game when I was going to call those. So he has some anticipatory things when he's up in the box, he can see how the flow of the game is going.
"But any of these kind of big decisions that come up, those are conversations that we've had. We had them, talked about them after the game, talked about them [Monday] morning and just making sure we make the right decision for the team."
A lot of these type of conversations have been taking place lately for the Giants. With more surely to come.