Another fourth-quarter collapse proved to be too much for Shane Bowen to overcome.
The Giants fired Bowen as defensive coordinator on Monday after his unit again failed to protect a double-digit fourth-quarter lead in Sunday’s 34-27 loss in Detroit.
Outside linebackers coach Charlie Bullen will serve as the interim DC.
“These decisions aren’t easy,” interim head coach Mike Kafka said. “Shane’s a good person. He’s a good man. He’s a good coach. Just the results weren’t where we want them to be.”
The move came two weeks after the Giants (2-10) fired Brian Daboll as head coach.
Sunday marked the fifth time this season that the Giants lost a game in which they led by at least 10 points. It was also the fifth time they blew a fourth-quarter lead.
The Giants went up 27-17 with 12:16 left in Sunday’s fourth quarter before the Lions scored on three of their final four possessions, including Jahmyr Gibbs’ 69-yard touchdown run on the first play of overtime.
Detroit totaled 494 yards of offense against the Giants, who rank 30th in total defense (385.0 yards per game) and in opponent scoring (27.8 points per game).
“I just had an opportunity to watch the tape, look back at a few weeks, watch a lot of the defense, watch a lot of what was going on, the communication, and just felt like this was the right time to do it,” Kafka said.
Bowen’s firing is the first major move made by Kafka, who said it was his decision but that he consulted with ownership and general manager Joe Schoen.
Sunday’s loss followed similarly excruciating losses in Dallas, Denver and Chicago.
In Week 2, the Cowboys picked up 21 yards and made a game-tying field goal in the final 25 seconds of regulation. That drive included an 18-yard completion from Dak Prescott to Jake Ferguson with the Giants in soft quarters coverage.
“I gotta be better,” Bowen said after that 40-37 overtime loss, acknowledging he told his players he wished he “would have been a little bit tighter” and “made a little bit of [a] different call.”
In Week 7, the Giants surrendered 33 points to the Broncos in the fourth quarter, setting a dubious franchise record for the most points allowed in a single quarter. The Giants led 26-8 with under six minutes left in that game before losing, 33-32.
And in Week 10, the Giants blew a 20-10 lead in the fourth quarter against the Bears, who scored a pair of touchdowns in the game’s final four minutes.
Daboll took heat for settling for a 19-yard field goal early in that fourth quarter to go up by 10 points, rather than go for it on 4th and goal from the 1-yard line. The Giants fired Daboll after that 24-20 loss, and co-owner John Mara said Schoen would lead the search for the next head coach.
On Sunday, with the Giants clinging to a three-point lead, Kafka opted to go for it on 4th and goal from the 6-yard line with just over three minutes left in regulation.
The Giants failed to convert, and the Lions drove 53 yards to set up Jake Bates’ game-tying 59-yard field goal that sent the game to OT.
“When I got the job, I didn’t want to make a lot of rash decisions and jump to anything really quick,” Kafka said, referring to Bowen’s firing. “I wanted to have some time to sit back, evaluate it, look at it and figure out what the best thing to do was. I wanted to be calculated with how I handled it. I thought that today was the right time.”
Bowen was in his second year with the Giants after replacing Wink Martindale before the 2024 season. He was the Tennessee Titans’ defensive coordinator from 2021-23.
Last year, the Giants ranked 24th in total defense and 21st in opponent scoring.
The defense entered this season with heightened expectations after the Giants drafted pass rusher Abdul Carter with the No. 3 overall pick, adding him to a fearsome front that already featured Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux.
The Giants also invested in their secondary by signing cornerback Paulson Adebo and safety Jevon Holland to big-money contracts.
But Sunday marked the fifth time in the last six games that the Giants allowed at least 27 points. They have lost six games in a row, despite their offense scoring 20 or more points in each.
Kafka hopes the defense can improve over the final five games under Bullen, who has 12 years of NFL coaching experience, including the past two with the Giants, but has never been a defensive coordinator or play-caller.
Bullen previously worked for the Arizona Cardinals and Miami Dolphins, then spent the 2023 season at the University of Illinois.
“I have a lot of faith in Charlie,” Kafka said, adding, “I think he’s a smart coach. I think he’s detailed. He’s aggressive, and his room has had a lot of production. I think he’s ready for the task, and I know he’s ready for the task.”