The New York Giants have hired Shane Bowen as their new defensive coordinator, the team announced on Tuesday.
Formerly with the Tennessee Titans, the 37-year-old recently completed his sixth season with the AFC South team where he had served as defensive coordinator for the previous three years.
He takes over for Wink Martindale, who experienced a tumultuous and rather messy split from head coach Brian Daboll. The 60-year-old had spent the previous two years at the position before cracks in the relationship ultimately led to a falling out following the 2023 campaign when Daboll fired Martindale’s top two assistants.
Despite making the playoffs in 2022 with a unit that had a knack for preserving one-possession leads, Martindale’s defense in New York went south in 2023, ranking 29th in rushing yards allowed, 30th in rushing touchdowns, and 31st in yards per rushing attempt.
Bowen has the track record to help rectify that situation. Over his three years as Titans defensive coordinator, Tennessee allowed the fewest rushing yards per game and yards per carry in the NFL. Their 33 rushing touchdowns allowed were third in the league to the Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots.
The Titans also allowed 106 touchdowns from scrimmage during that stretch, the seventh-fewest in the NFL.
Last season, Bowen’s defense ranked No. 1 in red zone scoring, allowing touchdowns on just 37.7% of drives inside the 20-yard line. The Titans also had the best goal-to-go and third-down conversion rate in the red zone.
By comparison, the Giants ranked 25th in the league by allowing 61.02% of the opposition’s red-zone possessions to reach the end zone.
New York hired another member of Tennessee’s coaching staff earlier on Tuesday, bringing on former offensive coordinator Tim Kelly as their tight end coach.
He served in that position for just one year — his second with the team – after eight seasons with the Houston Texans.
