The Giants are going from Bowen to Bullen.
Outside linebackers coach Charlie Bullen has been tapped by interim head coach Mike Kafka to replace the fired Shane Bowen as defensive coordinator, The Post confirmed.
Bullen is in his second year with the Giants and has been consistently praised by stars Kayvon Thibodeaux and Brian Burns. He is seen as a ball of energy on the practice field.
The soon-to-be first-time play-caller Bullen came from the University of Illinois – where he worked under former Giants assistant Bret Bielema – but has 12 years of NFL experience.
His mentors include Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and Texans defensive coordinator Matt Burke, both of whom are seen as dark-horse head coach candidates during the upcoming hiring cycle.
“Charlie Bullen has been a great asset to me and the rest of the guys in the room, and continuing to kind of grow – not just my ability on the field, but know what weight I want to play at, know what size, know what side of the ball I like and just figuring out what works for me and kind of just honing in on it, using that as my strength,” Thibodeaux said in August. “I think it’s the consistency of greatness. It’s understanding that, ‘Yeah, you know it, but let’s just go over it three more times.’ I think it’s that 10,000-hour mindset.”
Kafka went with Bullen over secondary coach Marquand Manuel, who has play-calling experience as the Falcons’ defensive coordinator (2017-18) but is new to the Giants staff.
He also bypassed his four-year colleagues as original members of head coach Brian Daboll’s staff, inside linebackers coach John Egorugwu and defensive line coach Andre Patterson.
Interestingly, Bullen and Giants general manager Joe Schoen were both members of the Dolphins organization from 2012-17.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
