Why firing Shane Bowen is only the first step in solving the Giants' problems

Giants fans, rejoice: It finally happened. After 12 horrible weeks and four blown fourth quarter leads, Giants defensive coordinator Shane Bowen finally got the can. He has been replaced in-house by New York's now-former linebacker and edge rusher coach Charlie Bullen.

However, the question remains: Is Bowen's ousting enough? Will more moves need to be made inside the front office? The short answer: Yes. The long answer, well...

What started with the firing of former head coach Brian Daboll after a miserable 2-8 start to the 2025 season has now ended with the axing of the person many Giants fans and analysts believe has been the primary issue with the team. And in many ways, they'd be right — while New York has had trouble putting actual points up on the board, they've spent the 2025 season as a top-half team yardage-wise.

Meanwhile, their scoring and run defense is the worst in the league, and their passing defense is right behind. To paint an example, their 27.8 points allowed per game is the second-worst in team history, behind just 2019 (28.8 opponents' PPG). All while boasting what many thought would be the one of the best defensive lines in the NFL.

And you can see the excitement from Giants personnel now that Bowen is gone. Fans will remember the viral video of him leaving New York's heartbreaking loss to the Denver Broncos:

While the claims were that the quote was taken out of context, it's hard to miss the excitement Burns had to see Bullen get the nod:

"I wouldn’t have been mad with any of the choices, but I’m just a little bit more grateful because Charlie’s been in my room for two years...[Charlie’s] a smart coach. I feel like he’s been around a lot, he has a lot of experience, he was under a great tree, and just talking ball with him every day, watching extensive film with him every day," Burns said.

Burns' opinion is, of course, significant, as the current runner-up to Myles Garrett in the season sack total race (13). He's New York's leader on the defensive side of the ball, and the fact he's having a career-defining stretch while New York's defense is the worst it's looked in is notable.

Shane Bowen is not 100% to blame for the Giants troubles

Even just on defense, the sins of the Giants don't rest on Bowen alone. Burns can be frustrated all he wants, but several of his teammates have also dropped the ball (pun intended) through the season.

Take Dexter Lawrence, who went from ranked the 17th-best player in the NFL to just the 14th-best player at his position by PFF grade. He's down to 0.5 sacks (remember that number) through 11 games and most of his other major counting stats have dipped in a similarly dramatic fashion.

You know who's also put up just half a sack all season? Vaunted first round pick Abdul Carter, who many have viewed as underutilized throughout the season. Burns and fellow linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux are streaking, but the rest of the pass rush is left in the dust. Veteran Bobby Okereke is underperforming as well, and fellow IL Micah McFadden is sorely missed while in IR. Maybe Bowen's firing is a personnel issue. Especially because, surprisingly, while Bowen likes to stubbornly stick to prevent-style schemes, he does blitz a lot, just not successfully.

And yet, it is noteworthy that New Orleans quarterback Spencer Rattler — who was so bad that they decided to not only start mid-20's rookie Tyler Shough over him, but keep that position through the rest of the season — showed out enough against New York because of their "predictable" defensive scheme, particularly its secondary (his words).

Pretty damning. So it largely isn't the personnel's fault — but Bowen is still to blame.

Joe Schoen's track record with the Giants is not pretty

However, if we're going to light into Shane Bowen, we might as well discuss the calls for general manager Joe Schoen instead. Schoen came in on what was essentially a package deal with Brian Daboll from the Buffalo Bills, and in truth, he hasn't done much to be respected in New York.

It was his decision to let Saquon Barkley walk, while keeping former starter Daniel Jones — even more damning now that Jones is killing the game in Indianapolis— and wide receiver Darius Slayton. It was he who decided to kick the can down the street for a new kicker to replace Big Blue legend Graham Gano. And while he's hit on the Jaxson Dart, Malik Nabers, and Cam Skattebo draft picks, Schoen's track record in the NFL draft is relatively weak. Tyler Nubin and Dru Phillips have not delivered on the promise they have, and after an admittedly strong rookie year, neither has DB Deonte Banks.

Keep in mind that, on top of all of that, Schoen also spent early first round draft capital on Evan Neal. Gross. And in the end, it was Schoen's decision for the Giants to keep Bowen on for an extra two weeks over Daboll, much to the chagrin of Giants fans everywhere.

Listen, it's good that Bowen is gone. There seems to be a lot of support for his interim replacement, and the Giants will likely be able to keep more fourth quarter leads with a bit more aggressive coaching. However, rot starts from the roots, and in New York's case, those roots are still not plucked. And the last likely place they are to be found is with Joe Schoen.