New York Giants coach Joe Judge seems open to taking some of this former co-workers in New England with him, according to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan. Patriots defensive line coach Bret Bielema is in the mix to take over the Giants defensive coordinator job, per Raanan.
Bielema had a successful season getting the most out of defensive linemen Lawrence Guy, Adam Butler, Danny Shelton and Deatrich Wise. Though the group didn’t feature any big names, they managed to hold together a defensive front-seven which played a major role in the NFL’s top defense in scoring, yards per game and interceptions. They were seventh in sacks.
The Patriots’ inability to incorporate Michael Bennett remains an oddity — they were forced to trade him after his relationship with the team deteriorated while his playing time plummeted. Bennett was suspended after getting into a philosophical disagreement with Bielema, according to Bennett.
Bielema joined the Patriots after serving as the head coach at Arkansas from 2013 to 2017. He was also the head coach at Wisconsin from 2016 to 2012.
