Making it official this past Wednesday, the New York Giants have decided to “part ways” with now former defensive coordinator Perry Fewell. To me the actual making of this move does not come as a surprise; however the timing of it does. The fact the Giants decided to wait until this week to finally cut the cord is very telling to me. Essentially it makes me draw the conclusion they have doubts if making this move is the correct choice for the franchise.
With all due respect to Fewell, I believe it’s more than fair to say he, frankly, failed at being defensive coordinator in 2014. Based purely on Perry’s performance in 2014, I believe there were few, if any, reasons for New York to retain him.
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Then why the doubts and reluctance to fire Fewell?
I believe that there are two main reasons as to why, with the first perhaps being more significant than the second. First reason, and most significant reason, is that the Giants likely fear they will not be able to find and then hire a replacement worthy of the job.
Reason two is simply that Tom Coughlin was a Fewell supporter. He was Coughlin’s “guy” as they had a ton of history together. After all, they won a Super Bowl together and that will always mean something, as it rightfully should.
With that said, I still feel reason number two will prove to be slightly less significant than reason number one, more or less because Coughlin is a grinder. He has experienced and dealt with change many times as an NFL head coach.
As recently as just this past season, Coughlin welcomed a new offensive coordinator in Ben McAdoo to the fold. Instead reason number one “fearing the Giants will not be able to find, and then hire a worthy replacement for the job” is where the real issue lies.
As much as the Giants may try to tell you otherwise, as much as they may try to spin it in an alternate direction, their defensive coordinator job is not a job to envy, at this present time. Actually one could make an argument that it’s one of the least attractive defensive coordinator jobs in the league.
Right now the incumbent defensive coordinator is looking at joining a lame duck head coach, having no long term security, and no certain direction for the future. Did I mention the Giants defense is one of the least talented in the league?
Point is, being the Giants defensive coordinator is far from an attractive job, for many potential candidates. Maybe the only positive would be merely working for a quality organization in the Giants, even that only gets you so far.
I completely agree with the belief that the Giants had to fire Fewell. I believe they were right for doing so. Now this alone does not eliminate that New York is going to have a heck of a tough time finding a worthy predecessor. Quite possible the Giants best plan of attack may be finding a young, rising talent, ready to dive head first into any challenge. Only catch is a candidate like such will almost certainly come with many question marks, and concerns.
Due to this I am ready to jump on the Steve Spagnuolo return/reunion bandwagon. I would not be shocked to see Spaggs back in New York. As a direct result of the above reasons, I believe a move like this makes a lot of sense for the Giants. Personally, I think it makes all the sense in the world. Just like with Fewell, the devil you know may just be better than the devil you don’t. Time will surely tell.