The Giants’ defense needs accountability and attitude. Former Giant Jihad Ward, who played 67% of the Tennessee Titans’ defensive snaps under coordinator Dennard Wilson this season, said that’s exactly what New York is getting in John Harbaugh’s new defensive coordinator. “If you’re soft and not physical or smart, you will not play,” Ward, 31, who is headed to free agency, told the Daily News on Monday. Ward called Wilson, 43, a “great coach” and said players like playing for Wilson because they know their success is what motivates him. “He just wants you to ball!” Ward said. The Giants‘ storied tradition and four Super Bowls have been built on hardnosed defense, physicality, toughness and relentless play. Ward arrived with coordinator Wink Martindale in 2022 and helped instill a lunch pail quality into the front of an aggressive Giants defense, which galvanized the team to its lone postseason berth since 2016 and its only playoff win since 2011. And now Ward said the Giants are getting a “great coach” who “knows ball” in Wilson. This is an exciting review from Ward because he does not play games or speak in cliches or pretend to like coaches he does not. If something is on Ward’s mind, he will say it. The Giants already tried to hire Wilson once in 2024 after Martindale resigned, but Wilson saw that the shelf life of Brian Daboll regime could be short-lived and wanted the opportunity to hire his own staff rather than inheriting someone else’s. He has had an impressive run recently. He coached Jonathan Gannon’s Philadelphia defensive backs when the Eagles went to the Super Bowl in 2022. He coached Harbaugh’s and Mike MacDonald’s Baltimore defensive backs when the Ravens went to the AFC Championship in 2023. He immediately had the 2024 Titans defense, in his first season as defensive coordinator, ranked second in the NFL in yards allowed (311.2) to only the Super Bowl champion Eagles. He counts longtime NFL defensive coordinator Gregg Williams as a major influence and coaches his defensive backs — and his defense — to play an in-your-face style of ball. “From day one, it’s ‘We press everything,’ period,” Wilson said in one interview as the Titans’ coordinator. “I want them to be in front of receivers and challenge receivers. In this game, if you give free access, it’s easy for quarterbacks to complete balls.” That does not guarantee a ton of man-to-man defense. The Titans played 74.8% zone defense in 2024 and 78.2% zone in 2025, increasingly higher than the league average of 72.2% zone coverage during those two seasons, per NFL NextGen Stats. Wilson also does not blitz constantly. The Titans blitzed 24.9% of the time in 2024 and 23.8% of the time in 2025, both lower than the 28.4% league average. Still, Ward said Wilson is “creative” schematically. He blitzes when necessary. And what Giants fans should love to hear is that the attitude Wilson encourages should show up in New York’s run defense. Former Giants defensive coordinator Shane Bowen’s defense allowed 4.6 yards per carry in 2024, tied for 23rd in the NFL, and then slid to dead last, 32nd in the NFL, at 5.3 yards per carry allowed this season. Wilson’s Titans allowed 4.5 yards per carry, tied for 18th, in 2024. Then they improved to 4.3 yards per carry allowed this season, tied for 15th in the NFL. So while it’s obviously sensible for Harbaugh to hire a coach who has worked for him before, that’s not what makes Wilson a good hire. It’s the demands he makes on his players. It’s the fact that hardworking, no-nonsense players like Ward — the kind of player who made the Giants look like a functional team in 2022 — are the type of people and players Wilson looks for to lead his defense. It’s the fact that Ward knows what it means to be a Giant. And the Giants have lost that. And it sounds like Wilson has the right kind of attitude to bring that back. ...read more read less