4 Names to Watch for Potential Defensive Coordinator Role with Giants

New Giants head coach John Harbaugh reportedly has his offensive coordinator choice in his sights, but what about the defensive side of the ball?

John Harbaugh will begin building his staff once his new 5-year contract with the Giants is signed, sealed and delivered. | Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

With the New York Giants having landed John Harbaugh as their new head coach, just as soon as the paperwork on his reported five-year, $100 million deal is completed, the next step will be hiring a staff to help lead the Giants out of the darkness.

While all positions on the staff are important, none is more important than the coordinators. Already, it’s been reported that Harbaugh wants Todd Monken to be the team’s new offensive coordinator. 

Monken is actually not a bad choice given his background. He helped the Georgia Bulldogs win consecutive National Championships in 2021 and 2022 as their offensive coordinator, the 2022 team leading the nation in total net yards (7,517) and total net points (616).

Before that, he was the head coach at Southern Mississippi, where he helped transform the team from a winless program into a nine-win season in 2015, winning the Conference USA West division that year.

With the Ravens, whom he joined in 2023, Baltimore's offense ranked first in rushing yards per game (172.1) and passer rating (110.8) in his first two seasons. 

In 2024, the Ravens offense became the first team to reach 4,000+ passing yards and 3,000+ rushing yards in the same season.

He was also the offensive coordinator in 2023 when quarterback Lamar Jackson won his second MVP award.  

Defensive Coordinator Candidates

The Giants' offense wasn’t so much the problem in 2025 as was the defense, which badly underperformed despite the addition of several players to the unit.

A large part of that was on Shane Bowen, who was fired as the defensive coordinator and replaced by Charlie Bullen, who did manage to get the unit to play much better. 

But it doesn’t look as though Bullen, who drew interest from the Cowboys for their vacant defensive coordinator position, will be retained by the team. So who might Harbaugh consider?

Here are some possibilities.

Antonio Pierce

Antonio Pierce | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The former Giants middle linebacker came in for an interview for the head coaching role and was said to have left a favorable impression on the team’s brass. 

During his time with the Giants, Pierce was viewed as a coach on the field, hailed for his football IQ and ability to get guys lined up quickly and correctly.

 That said, Pierce has never been a defensive coordinator at the NFL level, though he did have one full year in the role while at Arizona State in 2021. 

That doesn’t mean he couldn’t do it at the NFL level, but the Giants might want to lean more toward experience in the role over organizational sentimentality.

Jim Leonhard

Jim Leonhard | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Leonhard, who is currently the assistant head coach and defensive passing game coordinator for the Broncos, had a 10-year NFL career with the Bills, Ravens, Jets, Broncos, and Browns. 

He was with Harbaugh as a player in Baltimore in 2008, Harbaugh’s first season with the Ravens.

As a coach, Leonhard began his career at Wisconsin, his alma mater, in 2016, working his way up to interim head coach in 2022 after having served as defensive coordinator from 2017-2022. 

Leonard is also in the mix for the Cowboys' defensive coordinator role.

Zach Orr

Zachary Orr, during his time as a player for the Baltimore Ravens | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Orr was most recently the Ravens' defensive coordinator and is another potential candidate with ties to Harbaugh, for whom he played linebacker from 2014-2016.

 Since retiring from the game, Orr has been on Harbaugh’s staff from 2017 to 2020 and again from 2022-2025, working his way up the ladder from defensive analyst to defensive coordinator, a role he held for the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

In the two years with Orr as the defensive coordinator, the Ravens have allowed the fewest rushing yards in the league (3,174) and the second fewest rushing touchdowns (178) over that same two-year span. 

Orr has also reportedly drawn interest from the Cowboys for their defensive coordinator role.

Anthony Weaver 

Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Weaver is currently drawing interest as a potential head coaching candidate; the Steelers, Falcons, and Ravens all have been linked to him. 

Weaver, a defensive end who was with the Ravens in 2002-2005 and the Texans from 2006-2008, joined Harbaugh’s coaching staff in 2021as the defensive line coach and run game coordinator. 

He was named the assistant head coach in addition to his previous duties the following season before departing the Ravens for Miami, where from 2024-2025 he served as the Dolphins defensive coordinator.

Under Weaver, the Dolphins' defense ranked 18th in total rushing yards allowed (4,014), and 19th in total passing yards allowed (7,260) over the 2024-2025 seasons.

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