Newly-named New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur now has his defensive coordinator. Former Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator James Bettcher is set to take over that role from the departing Steve Spagnuolo.

Bettcher was allowed to leave his post with the Cardinals with new head coach Steve Wilks expected to bring in Al Holcomb to be his defensive coordinator.

Bettcher spent three years as the defensive coordinator in Arizona under Bruce Arians and spent the previous two years as the team’s outside linebackers coach. He interviewed for the Cardinals’ head-coaching job, but was passed over for Wilks. Apart from the Giants, he was also in the running to be the Tennessee Titans’ defensive coordinator.

The Cardinals defenses under Bettcher were known for their aggressive, heavy-blitzing style which forced a lot of turnovers. Arizona was in the top five in the league in takeaways in each of the past two seasons before finishing 16th during the 2017 season. They also had rock-solid run defenses which helped the Cardinals finish in the top six in total defense in each of his three seasons in charge.

Bettcher will now look to make major improvements to a Giants defense which took a significant step back in 2017 after being one of the best units in the league in 2016. The Giants finished 31st in total defense and 27th in points allowed per game.

Despite their struggles, Bettcher will still have talented pieces to work with on that Giants defense led by All-Pro safety Landon Collins as well as defensive ends Jason Pierre-Paul and Olivier Vernon.