THE The giants The offensive and defensive coordinators will be the head coaches of two of the most prominent pre-coaches.NFL Draft college football talent showcases.
Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen will lead the West team to East-West Shrine Bowl on January 30 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. And offensive coordinator Mike Kafka will be the head coach of the national team at the Senior Bowl on February 1 in Mobile, Alabama.
Being close to players before the draft does not guarantee that teams will accurately evaluate talent.
Giants quarterbacks coach Shea Tierney worked as Bo Nix’s offensive coordinator during last year’s Senior Bowl, and the Giants still left out the Oregon quarterback who just led the Denver Broncos to the playoffs as a rookie.
But these nominations are good for Bowen and Kafka to try to demonstrate their own abilities despite their involvement and association with arguably the worst team (3-14) in Giants history in 2024.
Out of 32 NFL teams, the Giants offense ranked 30th in points per game (16.1), 30th in yards (294.8), 28th in passing yards (189.9) and 23rd in rushing (104.9).
The Giants defense ranked 21st in points per game allowed (24.4), 24th in yards allowed (346.8), 27th in rushing yards allowed (136.2), eighth in yards per passes allowed (210.6), 28th in putbacks (15) and 31st in interceptions. (five).
Kafka, at least, didn’t call offensive plays last season; head coach Brian Daboll did it. Kafka has also impressively continued to land head coaching interviews despite being demoted in 2024, all while sporting the user-friendly “Assistant Head Coach” title on his bio.
Bowen’s first season on Daboll’s team went so poorly that co-owner John Mara lamented that he was “tired of seeing teams go up and down on us on the field.”
Bowen has been considered a likely candidate to fill Mike Vrabel’s new defensive coordinator position in New England, but if he stays in New York, perhaps his East-West experience will help Joe Schoen pick better players to improve that side of the ball.
Giants running backs coach Joel Thomas will serve as Team USA’s offensive coordinator at the Senior Bowl, while linebackers coach John Egorugwu will serve as West’s defensive coordinator under Bowen.
Former Giants outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkinswho held the same position with the Patriots last season, will be the defensive coordinator of the Eastern team opposite his former colleague Egorugwu.