When former Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo decided to take his presence elsewhere and take his coaching to St. Louis, the Giants did not panic. Instead, they hired from within, promoting linebackers coach Bill Sheridan to defensive coordinator.

Sheridan has been in the Giants system since 2005, but the extent of his football experience spans much longer than that. Since 1981, Sheridan has coached on the defensive side of the ball, extensively in college for teams such as Michigan State, Michigan, Army, Cincinnati, and Notre Dame.

Its been a bit of a rocky road for Sheridan since 2005 in regards to the linebackers for the giants…but in a good way. Every year he has dealt with different adversities that caused him to adjust. He did so accordingly and has kept this group of linebackers as one of the better ones during his tenure.

2006: Saw a slew of injuries to players Brandon Short, LaVar Arrington, and Carlos Emmons. Resulted in Antonio Pierce stepping up to be the pro-bowl middle linebacker he is today.

2007: Was instrumental in converting Mathias Kiwanuka from DE to outside OLB where he played very well, recording 47 tackles and 4.5 sacks before getting injured.

2008: Even more tumult arised when Osi Umenyiora went down for the season and took Mathias Kiwanuka away from the linebacking core. Instead, Danny Clark played the OLB position as the Giants ended the season 5th in the league in total defense. Sheridan was also a key component of helping ILB Chase Blackburn convert to the outside and be successful.

Sheridan seems to be the right guy for the job. He knows the players, he knows the system, and he’s been successful with both. This season, he has already been handed the task of dealing with some injuries as Michael Boley, Fred Robbins, and Barry Cofield among others are dealing with injuries that could be nagging come the season opener.

I don’t see any reason why this Giant defense should take a hit in terms of production from this year to last. Spagnuolo was a great coordinator, but Sheridan seems to be up to the task.