Shane Bowen

[MightyGiants]

When someone responds to a question with another question, they often deflect, reframe the conversation, or maintain control of the dialogue rather than examining whether their initial assumptions are valid. This tendency can obscure critical points—like how a defensive coordinator with supposedly average skills could repeatedly achieve multiple top-five rankings.

A key consideration is the disproportionate emphasis sometimes placed on a single player's (e.g. Dex) impact. If an individual defender only takes part in roughly 62% of the total snaps, it is difficult to credit or fault the coordinator's overall ability based on one athlete. Take the New York Giants' run defense as an example: they have consistently ranked near the bottom of the league for the past five years, including under the highly regarded Wink Martindale. Despite his reputation, Martindale oversaw 25th- and 27th-place finishes in run defense with the Giants. Historically, he excelled when paired with elite talent—producing multiple top-five defenses—but when that talent diminished, performance slipped, eventually leading to his dismissal. When joining a roster with below-average talent, Martindale's defensive units again languished in the bottom tier, suggesting that the talent level, more than coaching alone, largely dictates outcomes. This is consistent with literally hundreds of supporting examples; yet, fans continue to talk about coaches as if their an equal part of the equation. 

Mike Vrabel's tenure with the Tennessee Titans further supports this argument. While he led multiple double-digit win seasons when surrounded by top-tier personnel, the loss of key players—specifically an aging quarterback and the NFL's best running backs—coincided with the team sliding to 7-10 and 6-11, ultimately costing him his position. It seems improbable that he simply "forgot" how to coach; a more plausible explanation is that diminished talent undermined his record. The correlation is clear: despite a coach's reputation or strategy, undermanned rosters rarely yield elite results.  I'd also caution against giving Vrabel credit for Bowen's defense, as he suffered the same fate when free agency and injury robbed him of talent.  In his final season, the Titans were the 19th ranked defense.

Ultimately, while coaching strategies and leadership do matter, the evidence strongly suggests that high-level talent is the primary driver of top-tier performance. Coordinators like Bowen, Martindale, or Vrabel may orchestrate stellar defenses when they have the right personnel, but even the most skilled coaches struggle to produce even average results with average or below-average talent. Can you honestly stated Bowen has enjoyed even better than average talent during his tenure with the Giants?

Much like the offensive line is only as strong as its weakest link.  A good run defense can't afford many tomato cans in terms of run defense among their 11 on the field.  No amount of coaching can hide a large number of poor run defenders.

Here are Giants defenders who took PFF's starting 60 grade and made it worse (minimum a 100 run defense snaps).

Jason Pinnock 59.5
Cor'Dale Flott 58.4
Elijah Chatman 57.7
Deonte Banks 52.8
Rakeem Nunez-Roches 50.2
D.J. Davidson 35.1
Jordon Riley 30.1


The idea that a coach can't make chicken salad out of chicken poop does not indicate that coaching isn't an important element for a team.  You need both solid coaching and solid talent.  You can't achieve consistent success without both elements being strong.