There’s a lot that goes into building an NFL staff. While the head coaches and coordinators shoulder the majority of the blame and success when things go wrong and right, respectively, there are anywhere from 10 to 12 others working behind the scenes to make the cogs turn smoothly.
Quality coaches translate vision into player development, build winning cultures, and maximize team potential through specialized roles, making every single staff member vitally important to the cause. A cohesive staff is the difference between a winning culture and the league’s laughingstock. That's why it's so important for New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh to bring in the right people.
And if Wednesday's report from SNY's Connor Hughes is any indication, Harbs might be off to a strong start with potentially retaining outside linebackers coach turned interim defensive coordinator Charlie Bullen:
Sources: John Harbaugh informed the vast majority of the #Giants defensive coaches to clean out their offices over the weekend. Not all, though.
— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) January 22, 2026
He met personally today with with Charlie Bullen. Harbaugh is interested in having him return on the new coordinator's staff. I'm… pic.twitter.com/3vikztEg6D
Charlie Bullen making strong case to stay on John Harbaugh’s staff
Harbaugh hasn't wasted much time turning over the staff since being officially introduced on Tuesday. As stated by Hughes, many of Big Blue's defensive assistants have been shown the door. Even special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial didn't survive the cuts and is looking for new employment.
But Bullen is proof that not everyone is getting the axe -- or at least, not yet. And keeping him on the staff would make a lot of sense for the 63-year-old Harbaugh and his vision.
Not only did the defense improve drastically once Bullen took over as interim DC in Week 13, after interim HC Mike Kafka finally fired Shane Bowen after a brutal Week 12 showing against the Detroit Lions. Even though he had a pretty limited time to prove his play-calling chops, he certainly did the best he could, given the circumstances.
At worst, the 41-year-old was a marked upgrade over Bowen and actually showcased some real potential. And if that's not a "tell me how bad the Giants' defense has been without telling me," I don't know what is.
Seriously, it was a complete 180 once he took over. He trusted his players’ talent more than the system itself, consistently putting his best defenders in spots to make plays. Just look at rookie linebacker Abdul Carter’s late-season surge or Brian Burns’ career year under his watch.
In five games as the G-Men’s defensive leader, Bullen’s unit gave up 30-plus points just once -- and that was to the AFC Championship Game-bound Patriots, which is nothing to scoff at. Carter has already thrown public support behind his coach for the open DC role, though that seems unlikely. Burns has done the same, which makes keeping Bullen around as the OLB coach once again a very real possibility.
He's certainly open to coming back to North Jersey, but his name is also being floated around as a potential DC candidate for other teams, so wherever he ends up is anyone's guess.
Harbaugh's got one heck of a job ahead of him as he looks to put together a competitive staff. Bringing back a well-respected, up-and-coming guy like Charlie is a great first step.