Giants Promote Bill Sheridan to Defensive Coordinator
January 20
New York Times
"The Giants did not take long to decide on a new defensive coordinator, announcing Monday that the job would go to their linebackers coach, Bill Sheridan, a sign that Coach Tom Coughlin wants to stay with the aggressive style championed by the former coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.
Spagnuolo was introduced as the coach of the St. Louis Rams on Monday after weeks of speculation that he would receive one of the several open jobs in the league. Coughlin moved quickly to replace him from within, squelching the idea that the team would chase a higher-profile coach like Dom Capers. Coughlin also interviewed his secondary coach, Peter Giunta.
Sheridan, 49, has coached the Giants' linebackers for four seasons, the past two under Spagnuolo.
"Bill is a very good football coach," Coughlin said in a news release. "As a linebackers coach, you're a central figure in the spoke, because you're involved in the coordination of the front and the linebackers and then the back seven. He has done a good job of encompassing the entire defense and grasping the aggressive style."
The Giants' defense improved statistically this season, ranking fifth in the N.F.L. with 292.0 yards and 18.4 points allowed a game. The team ranked seventh in yards allowed in its Super Bowl season. The defense's improvement came despite the loss of its defensive bookends: Michael Strahan (to retirement) and Osi Umenyiora (to a preseason knee injury). That success lifted Spagnuolo's profile, but it also helped persuade Coughlin to stick with his aggressive approach.
"I'm sure, as much as anything, that's Tom's motivation for promoting from within, whether it was me or Peter Giunta, was to keep the defense in place," Sheridan said in the news release. "It's obviously a proven, excellent system that Steve brought from Philadelphia. You're obviously going to have a slightly different tint to it, because you have a different coordinator and will get different input from whoever Tom brings in from outside to complete the staff. But the system is in place, and there's a tremendous comfort level with the players."
Several players endorsed the choice of Sheridan.
"He should have no problem adjusting to his new role as defensive coordinator," defensive tackle Fred Robbins said in the release. "It's good that we will not have to start this whole defense over. We've been in it for two seasons and we've had success. We all know the system, and it will be good to continue to work in it."
Before joining the Giants' staff, Sheridan coached linebackers and the defensive line at the University of Michigan, after jobs at Notre Dame, Michigan State, Maine, Cincinnati and Army.
"He had been at some outstanding programs and schools that not only win but are very high in tradition," Coughlin said. "He had been exposed to different coaches and people that I have respect for and he came very highly recommended.""
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