The defensive coordinator that preceded Bill Sheridan with the Giants (Steve Spagnuolo) won a Super Bowl and got a head coaching job. The coordinator that came after Sheridan (Perry Fewell) won a Super Bowl and probably will be a head coach some day.
Now Sheridan is the defensive coordinator of the Bucs and was somewhat on the defensive in his introductory news conference, trying to explain his season running the Giants defense. New York gave up the second most amount of points in team history in 2009.
“I took and take full responsibility for the fact that we didn’t play good enough defense at the end of the year when I was coordinating that year,” Sheridan said via Stephen Holder of the Tampa Bay Times. “Because I was put in charge of that, and the bottom line, at the end of the year, we didn’t keep people out of the end zone well enough to be successful.”
Sheridan believes that he simplified the defense too much in New York. Now he takes over a defense that is coming off an awful season, but he understands the Bucs attack won’t be his defense.
“I think our defense, it’s going to be Greg Schiano’s defense because he’s our head coach and I’m coordinating for him,” Sheridan said.
The Bucs will play an attacking defense that is multiple in its 4-3 looks, with Sheridan promising to be more aggressive.
We are still waiting for the first defensive coordinator hire to announce at his introductory press conference that his defense is hoping to play more passive in the coming year.