The New York Giants announced today that Perry Fewell has been relieved of his duties as defensive coordinator. Secondary coach Peter Giunta will also not be retained.
This is the second coordinator that head coach Tom Coughlin has lost in as many seasons - former offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride retired following the 2013-14 campaign.
After helming a top-10 unit in 2013, injuries and inconsistent play led to Fewell's group finishing 29th in yards per game this year.
Still, Coughlin refused to point the finger of blame at anyone but himself.
"No one person is responsible for what happened in this year," Coughlin said. "That has to be loud and clear. If there is any one person responsible, it is me. It is not Perry Fewell. It is not Peter Giunta. Both of them are outstanding football coaches in their own way. The simple fact of the matter is in the circumstance that we find ourselves, change is necessary. That may not be the most eloquent way of saying it, but that is what I am confronted with."
With Fewell and Giunta gone and a number of tough free agent decisions to make - namely pertaining to star defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul and safety Antrel Rolle - the Giants face a tall task to rejuvenate their once vaunted defense.
Rolle, speaking to Tom Rock of Newsday, said that he was "shocked" by the decision to fire Fewell, who he had become close to in recent years.
"I can't say that I saw it coming because I didn't," Rolle said. "I can say that I really didn't know what to expect."
Rolle and Fewell reportedly butted heads in 2011 over Rolle's dissatisfaction with Fewell's scheme and utilization of the free safety as more of a slot defender. But after coming to an understanding of sorts, a real relationship blossomed between the two men.
While he pointed to the plethora of injuries - Walter Thurmond, Prince Amukamara, Robert Ayers, Jon Beason, Mathias Kiwanuka and others all missed varying lengths of time - Fewell was forced to face this season when lamenting his coordinator's firing, the veteran safety added that the dismissal wouldn't affect his decision-making in free agency.
"I'm a football player," he said. "I fight where I'm told to fight, I play where I'm told to play. That's what it boils down to for me."
As for Pierre-Paul, the mammoth defensive end told James Kratch of NJ.com in late Dec. that he was "pretty sure" he'd be back with the Giants next season. At 25, the two-time Pro Bowler who finished this season with 12.5 sacks will command big money on the open market and, barring the application of the franchise tag, is likely to at least test the waters in free agency.
It remains to be seen if Pierre-Paul's stated desire to remain a "Giant for life" will change with Fewell - the only defensive coordinator he's ever known - being axed.
Other pending free agents of note for the Giants include Thurmond, safeties Stevie Brown and Quintin Demps, cornerback Zackary Bowman and outside linebackers Jacquian Williams and Spencer Paysinger.
