Giants Get Good News Regarding Key Assistant Coach

Charlie Bullen is staying put and will be a member of John Harbaugh's coaching staff.

New York Giants outside linebackers coach Charlie Bullen | John Jones-Imagn Images

New York Giants outside linebackers coach Charlie Bullen, who at the back end of last year impressed once promoted to the team’s defensive coordinator role following the dismissal of Shane Bowen, is staying out for the 2026 season.

Bullen had done an impressive enough job to draw interest from the Dallas Cowboys, Arizona Cardinals, and Cleveland Browns for their vacant defensive coordinator positions. The Cowboys and Cardinals have since filled their openings, leaving Cleveland to still decide on theirs.

Bullen has, according to the NFL Network, decided to withdraw from consideration for the role and will remain with the Giants; he also received a one-year contract extension and had the title of defensive run game coordinator added to his role.

That’s great news for new Giants head coach John Harbaugh, whose assistant coaching staff is believed to be complete (the team has not made any announcement confirming the various members added, but that’s expected as soon as Friday). 

Bullen, in his role as outside linebackers coach, not only helped Brian Burns to have his best season of his career, headlined by 16.5 sacks, he also helped to lead Abdul Carter, the team’s 2025 first-round draft pick and third overall pick in the draft, to the right path.

Carter finished the last five games of his rookie season on fire, earning him consideration for defensive rookie of the year.

In terms of the Giants' run defense, that also improved under Bullen. The Giants, from Weeks 13, Bullen’s first as defensive coordinator, through 19, saw opponents' average rushing yards per game drop from 157.1 to 116.8.

Also dropping under Bullen’s brief tenure as defensive coordinator was the average yards per attempt, which went from 5.9 to 4.0.

Overall, the Giants finished with the league’s 31st-ranked run defense at 145.3 yards per game.

Cardinals Hire Former Giants Assistant Coach

Although the Arizona Cardinals didn’t land Bullen as their defensive coordinator, they did pick up another former Giants assistant coach.

Michael Ghobrial, the Giants special teams coordinator for the last two seasons, was hired to fill the same role on new Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur’s staff.

Ghobrial and LaFleur both worked together as part of the New York Jets staff, so there is a degree of familiarity there.

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