Bill Sheridan let go by Giants

We’ll have more on this story later, but we received word late last night that Giants’ defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan has been relieved of his duties by HC Tom Coughlin.  In a press conference yesterday, Coughlin, as well as GM Jerry Reese and owner John Mara all voiced displeasure over the results of the season that ended Sunday, and each of them spoke of the “evaluation process” that would take place for all players and coaches. 

What they didn’t say is that they (ahem, Coughlin) had already made up their mind about the beleaguered Sheridan, whose unit had, after a strong 5-game start, given up more than 32 points per game over the final 11 games.  Simply put, this team, and especially this defense, was not playing the physical, stop-the-run and attack-the-passer type defense the franchise has become known for.  The drop-off in production after Steve Spagnuolo became head coach of the Rams to Sheridan was nothing short of remarkable, injuries or not. 

Let’s face it, all of us in the media were hoping for this decision, but the pressure to fire Sheridan did not come from us, nor did it come from a wailing fan base.  It came from Mara and from Reese, and it came quickly, as Coughlin knows that the long off-season really isn’t that long when you make personnel changes. 

So who will be the successor as D-coordinator?  Speculation has run rampant about former Bills’ coach Dick Jauron, a defensive mind who has worked with Coughlin before and who likely won’t be heavily pursued to be a head coach again the way Spags was or the way John Fox was a few years back. 

What do you all think?  Like the move?  How can you not at this point?

Tags: Bill Sheridan, Bill Sheridan fired, Dick Jauron, Giants, Giants defense, Jerry Reese, John Fox, John Mara, Rams, Steve Spagnuolo, Tom Coughlin