John Harbaugh‘s Giants staff had a number of vacancies entering the weekend. One of the most important positions is now being filled, though. 
Dennard Wilson is set to join New York as the team’s new defensive coordinator, as first reported by Mike Garafolo, Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Wilson has worked with Harbaugh in the past. It thus came as no surprise when he was confirmed earlier today as a finalist for the gig.
The Athletic’s Ian O’Connor named Wilson as a finalist for the Giants on Sunday afternoon. The was also true of Broncos defensive backs coach Jim Leonhard and Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver. In the end, Wilson has lined up a new opportunity shortly after it was confirmed he would not return to the Titans in 2026.
Tennessee’s head coaching search resulted in Robert Saleh being hired. Neither Wilson nor Nick Holz was retained, leaving both coordinators on the lookout for a new opportunity. Wilson interviewed with the Chargers and Commanders for their DC vacancies. Interestingly, he had not yet taken part in an interview with the Giants entering Sunday. Nevertheless, Wilson represents a familiar face for Harbaugh given their previous time together.
In 2023, Wilson worked under Harbaugh as the Ravens’ defensive backs coach. He joined Baltimore’s staff after a two-year Eagles tenure which helped his coordinator stock. In 2024, Brian Callahan hired Wilson, 43, to take on DC duties with the Titans. Scoring totals were an issue during both of Wilson’s two Tennessee campaigns, although the team ranked No. 2 in yards allowed during his first year in place.
The Giants will obviously look for a repeat of that showing from Wilson. Shane Bowen was fired by Brian Daboll during the 2025 campaign shortly before his own dismissal. The defensive coordinator spot has faced uncertainty since, but once the team’s full-throttle efforts to hire Harbaugh succeeded it became clear several ex-Ravens staffers would receive consideration for numerous positions. Wilson fits the bill, although his work as an NFL coach dates back to 2012 and largely includes work outside of Baltimore.
The Giants struggled in several defensive categories despite their free agent investments in the secondary last spring and other moves such as the selection of edge rusher Abdul Carter third overall in the draft. Carter improved late in the year, but further development in his case and many others will be needed if New York is to meet Harbaugh’s stated goal of reaching the playoffs during his first season at the helm. Wilson will be tasked with overseeing the team’s defense for at least that initial campaign.
Good hire. Good coach. This is from a Titan fan . He did all he could do with the little he had. They always played hard.
The secondary didnt. They were terrible. Sneed is a bust. They should have kept Brownlee.
Because it was mostly backups, and Sneed barely played.
I guess Rex is officially done with Coaching I thought this DC job would lure him back
He probably never really talked seriously to Rex about it
Wilson, Minter, McDonald, etc., these are the coaches who updated Rex’s scheme in Baltimore Harbaugh’s last ten years there, so it wouldn’t make sense to reach back to their predecessor when they added on to what he did in the past when he was in the game.
Titans fans online seem to think he’s solid. Good not great. Im other words, a massive improvement from Shane Bowen.
Chew bubblegum and kick ass is what they will be doing.
Unfortunately, Bowen was fired by Kafka not Daboll.
Not Zach Orr? Is this Harbaugh admitting hiring Orr as DC to replace Mike McDonald was a mistake?
Oh man….another Tennessee Titans coach….wasn’t Bowen enough?
But Wilson came from the Ravens when he went to the Titans. Bowen came from the Titans previously under Vrabel. So think Raven defense under Martindale and McDonald for the kind of system this will be.
All true, but Wilson was DB’s coach with the Ravens then went to the Titans….and also, Bowen worked under Vrabel who is basking in the glory of turning the Pats around (through good drafting and free agent pickups) with a pretty balanced team both offensively and defensively so one might say that good defenses depend as much on coaching as the players in it so given the deficiencies in the Giants defense overall that Wilson has a positive impact….
At the end in Tennessee, most of the criticism of Vrabel was his meddling in personnel and his coaching staff that was full of his buddies he refused to fire. That’s why a change of scenery can be a good thing for some of these coaches when they get fired, and they can take a \step back to reflect on what they’d do differently. Todd Downing isn’t the OC in New England, and he brought a stronger defensive staff with him this time around.
Good hire. He was the lone bright spot on Callahan’s staff and knows the Raven system very well. He’ll improve that defense immediately.
As long as the team is reasonably healthy (Skattebo, Nabers, in particular) and they have a successful draft, this team will make the playoffs. I am supremely confident in Harbaugh.