Giants OLB Coach Charlie Bullen Receives Interest for Cardinals' Defensive Coordinator Role

New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh has been putting his assistant coaching staff together ever since signing his contract with the team last month. But as he continues to fill out his staff, word comes that he might lose a member he originally thought would be with him in 2026.

That would be outside linebackers coach Charlie Bullen, one of three assistants Harbaugh retained from the Brian Daboll/Mike Kafka staff.

The other two are Tim Kelly, who was promoted to offensive coordinator after Kafka was promoted to interim head coach but who is believed to be the tight ends coach for the new staff, and Chad Hall, who was the assistant quarterbacks coach under Daboll/Kafka but who will be the receivers coach on Harbaugh's staff.

Bullen, according to the NFL Network, has been requested by the Arizona Cardinals to interview for their defensive coordinator job on incoming head coach Mike LeFleur’s staff.

Bullen, who was named the Giants defensive coordinator by Kafka, the interim head coach, managed to simplify the Giants defense and get much more out of the unit in the team’s final five games of the season.

The #NYGiants defense has been much better since Charlie Bullen, took over as defensive coordinator. Here's a look at the numbers under Bullen and Shane Bowen from this season. #GiantsNation #GiantsDefense #BigBlue pic.twitter.com/0EhcPPpzbQ
— Locked On Giants (@LockedOn_Giants) December 29, 2025

Even before taking on the defensive coordinator role for the Giants, Bullen, as the outside linebackers coach, had worked to get Brian Burns off to a career season in which he reached 16.5 sacks, the most by a Giants defender since Jason Pierre-Paul recorded 12.5 sacks in 2014.

Bullen, who also drew consideration for the Cowboys' defensive coordinator role, helped Kayvon Thibodeaux develop into a solid run defender and managed to unlock more of first-round draft pick Abdul Carter’s skillset in the final four games of the season.

“He's trimmed down the menu a little bit in terms of what we want to do in certain situations. I think he has a really clear plan, and he's able to communicate that plan to the players and coaches very early in the week,” Kafka said of the difference in the defense under Bullen.

“Guys can really hone in on it and understand where their leverage is at what gap responsibilities they’re handling, and then just kind of cut it loose and let their natural ability show."

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