Patriots coach Mike Vrabel’s ‘close friend’ Shane Bowen fired as defensive coordinator of the Giants

“Shane’s a good football coach. This business is again, things happen. They make decisions,” Vrabel said. FOXBOROUGH The Giants fired defensive coordinator Shane Bowen on Monday, one week before their matchup with the Patriots. Bowen’s relationship with Patriots coach Mike Vrabel dates to 2012, when Bowen was a graduate assistant at Ohio State and Vrabel was the Buckeyes’ defensive line coach. Bowen was a defensive assistant during the year Vrabel spent as defensive coordinator of the Texans. He worked his way up to defensive coordinator under Vrabel with the Titans, before leaving for New York. He spent two seasons with the Giants. “Shane is a close friend. We started in this business together at Ohio State,” Vrabel told reporters Monday. “Shane’s a good football coach. This business is again, things happen. They make decisions. So, I’ll support Shane the best that I can, and his family, but then also focus on everything that we have here. So, that’s kind of how this thing goes.” The Giants (2-10) are ranked 30th in yards (385) and points (27. 8) allowed per game. They have lost six games in a row, giving up at least 24 points in each. They blew a 10-point lead against the Lions in a 34-27 overtime loss on Sunday. The Patriots (10-2), meanwhile, are owners of a nine-game winning streak. They are eighth in yards allowed (301. 2) and sixth in points allowed (18. 8) per game. They have excelled at stopping the run. The only time they’ve given up more than 24 points was during the Week 2 loss to the Dolphins. Patriots interim defensive play-caller Zak Kuhr was an assistant under Bowen with the Giants last year. They also worked together in Tennessee. Earlier this season, Kuhr said Bowen played a big role in his development. “I would say being experienced from being around Shane Bowen,” Kuhr said in September when asked about how he learned calling plays. “Being kind of like his assistant. That was a big influence.” The Patriots lost their last meeting with the Giants, 10-7, in 2023. Things have turned around for the Patriots since then. It hasn’t been as smooth a ride for the Giants, who decided to shake things up on defense. Williams update Vrabel said defensive coordinator Terrell Williams appears to be responding well to chemotherapy treatments for prostate cancer. “I’d say he’s continuing to improve from a health standpoint,” Vrabel said. “Again, it’s a process in the treatment, but I would say that he did everything that he could to get himself ready for the treatment, for the chemo, and so, I think that he’s responded well. It’s good to see him continuing to have good weeks, and then come in and see us when he feels up to it, which he has.” Rallying around Tavai Vrabel did not offer an update on linebacker Jahlani Tavai, who missed Sunday’s win over the Bengals because of personal reasons. “I think that you can see that the players in this team and everybody associated with it, the organization, care deeply about him,” Vrabel said. “But, respect to his privacy, and so we’ll leave it at that.” Tight end Hunter Henry dedicated his touchdown catch on Sunday to Tavai. Cornerback Carlton Davis said the team is rallying around the veteran linebacker. “I think that is a direct translation, being that we are here for football but it has transpired into something bigger than that off the field,” Davis said. “Like I said, a brotherhood. When anybody is going through something that personal and he can feel the love from us.” “[Jack Gibbens] had a speech before we went out there. He just kind of talked about Jahlani and how he felt the brotherhood and how he wanted to go out there and play for him. We all felt the same way.” Davis said the culture that Vrabel has built has helped him see his teammates as brothers, and that bond has led them to support each other. “We just want to do it,” Davis said. “Guys want to be at the hospital with him. Guys want to check up on him. It’s really natural. I can’t even explain how or why that’s happening, but it’s just natural for us to want to be there for each other. We’ve won so many games together. “We’ve grinded through the offseason into the season together. Playing in games in the NFL is hard, but also winning games in the NFL is hard. When you’re able to do that you create a bond because you’ve accomplished something that you’ve put so much work into.”.
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