Brian Burns was disappointed to see Shane Bowen fired as Giants defensive coordinator, even if he wasn’t surprised.
As a captain of the Giants’ defense, Burns had grown close with Bowen during their two seasons together.
“I wish we could’ve gotten it done for him,” Burns said Tuesday.
The Giants fired Bowen on Monday, less than 24 hours after another fourth-quarter defensive collapse led to a 34-27 loss in Detroit.
It was the Giants’ fifth loss this season in a game in which they led by at least 10 points, and the fifth time they blew a fourth-quarter lead.
Bowen’s exit came two weeks after the Giants (2-10) fired Brian Daboll as head coach.
“It’s the nature of business,” said Burns, who, like Bowen, arrived before the 2024 season.
“Once you have that first firing, things start to happen from there. I’ve seen it before, so it wasn’t a crazy shocker, but it’s tough sometimes having that relationship with somebody for so long and then they just leave.”
Burns does, however, have a tight bond with Bowen’s replacement.
The Giants named outside linebackers coach Charlie Bullen the interim defensive coordinator. When interim head coach Mike Kafka explained that decision Monday, he referenced the production of Bullen’s position group, which is headlined by Burns.
Burns, a seven-year veteran, boasts a career-high 13.0 sacks through 12 games, while his 17 tackles for loss match his career best.
“I feel like he really brought out the best in all of us,” Burns said of Bullen.
“I feel [Kayvon Thibodeaux] is playing his best ball of his career since he’s been here. I feel like I’ve been playing the best ball of my career, from a rushing standpoint, from a dropping [into coverage] standpoint, really just understanding the entire defense. … Charlie’s a guy that’s gonna shoot it straight.”
Bullen has 18 years of coaching experience, including 12 in the NFL. He spent seven seasons with the Miami Dolphins, with whom he overlapped with now-Giants general manager Joe Schoen, and three with the Arizona Cardinals, where he worked under then-DC Vance Joseph.
The Giants appointed Bullen, who is in his second season with the team, the interim defensive coordinator despite him not having any DC or play-calling experience.
Bullen got the job over secondary coach Marquand Manuel, who was the Atlanta Falcons’ defensive coordinator from 2017-18, and defensive line coach Andre Patterson, who was a college DC and the Minnesota Vikings’ co-defensive coordinator from 2020-21.
“I think he’s a smart coach,” Kafka said of Bullen. “I think he’s detailed. He’s aggressive, and his room has had a lot of production. I think he’s ready for the task, and I know he’s ready for the task.”
And while touted rookie pass rusher Abdul Carter is yet to put up numbers under Bullen — he has 0.5 sacks to this point — Thibodeaux and Burns have both spoken about how Bullen helped them with their mindsets.
“We’ve had many talks,” Burns said. “He said, ‘To do something you haven’t done, you have to do something you haven’t done.’ That’s essentially talking about my process. I really feel like he helped my process out a lot, just from watching film to what I do on my body, and the intentionality that I put [into] everything.”
Bullen is now tasked with turning around a Giants unit that ranks 30th in total defense (385.0 yards per game) and in opponent scoring (27.8 points per game).
“If you want to look at it as a clean slate, you can,” Burn said. “But we’ve got five [games] left, five guaranteed, and that’s all we’re gonna get. … All the goals that you wanted to hit, that you had penciled out before the season, why not go out there and give it all you’ve got to get to it?”
