The 2026 NFL offseason is still young, but there’s already been quite a bit of turnover taking place for the New York Giants. After hiring John Harbaugh to be their new head coach, he has quickly revamped the team’s coaching staff, and even the front office has been the subject of some changes, with Dawn Aponte being the latest executive to join the team.
While Harbaugh has done a good job of moving quickly to fill out his coaching staff, there still may be some moves that have to be made. One of them involves top defensive assistant Charlie Bullen, as he could be headed for the exit door after the Arizona Cardinals requested to interview him for their defensive coordinator opening.
Cardinals Request to Interview Charlie Bullen for Defensive Coordinator Gig
After getting hired to be the Giants‘ new head coach, Harbaugh had to find new offensive and defensive coordinators. Initially, it seemed like Todd Monken, who was Harbaugh’s offensive coordinator in Baltimore, was going to follow him to New York to fill the same role, but he surprisingly landed the Cleveland Browns‘ head coach job. That forced Harbaugh to pivot, and he eventually landed on former Kansas City Chiefs‘ offensive coordinator Matt Nagy.
Well before hiring Nagy, Harbaugh tabbed former Tennessee Titans‘ defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson to join his staff in that same position. However, there were several other notable candidates for the position, which included Bullen, who worked as New York’s interim defensive coordinator after Shane Bowen was fired midway through the 2025 campaign.
Bullen didn’t end up getting the job, leaving his future with the Giants in doubt. While Harbaugh initially retained Bullen, there could still be a path for him to earn a promotion elsewhere across the league. That’s because the Cardinals, after recently hiring Mike LaFleur to be their new head coach, have requested to interview Bullen for their defensive coordinator gig.
“The Cardinals have requested to interview Charlie Bullen for their DC position,” Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reported in a post on X. “Bullen was an in-house candidate for the Giants and one of the few assistants retained on John Harbaugh’s coaching staff. He also interviewed for the Cowboys’ DC position.”
Giants’ Coaching Staff Could Suffer Another Big Blow if Charlie Bullen Departs
GettyHead coach John Harbaugh of walks off the field following the Ravens loss to the Houston Texans.
While Nagy is a strong hire for Harbaugh, there’s no doubt that he wanted to hire Monken to be his offensive coordinator. Now, the team could be put in another tough position with Bullen, who would probably be open to leaving New York if he were to land a defensive coordinator with Arizona, or any other team, for that matter.
Bullen came up short in the Dallas Cowboys‘ defensive coordinator search earlier this offseason, but he will have a shot to redeem himself with the Cardinals. Considering how he previously worked with Arizona for four seasons, he could have an inside track to landing this job. All the Giants can do for now is sit back and hope the Cardinals opt to hire someone else to join LaFleur’s staff.
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