I'd like to draw a comparison between this move and the last internal coordinator promotion the Giants made: Kevin Gilbride from QB coach to OC.

Following the 2006 season, Eli Manning was not where people expected him to be.  He led the Giants to the playoffs (some might say the Giants made the playoffs in spite of him) two straight years but was unable to earn a victory.  One could have argued - many did - that he was the weak link on that side of the ball. 

That offseason, the Giants fired John Hufnagel and promoted the QB coach.  I, for one, was pessimistic about the move.  As much as I believed Eli had the talent to be The Answer for this team, I thought it was short-sighted to promote the man who was most responsible for his development.

Obviously, it worked out.  Was it because Gilbride called better plays for Eli?  Was it because Palmer did a better job tutoring him?  I'm not sure.  But that brings me to what's happening in 2009.

Steve Spagnulo is gone, and the Giants have promoted their LB coach, Bill Sheridan.  One could argue -  I would, at least - that the linebackers were the weak(er) link on defense this year.

Was it a case of personnel?  Possibly. The Giants will surely make moves to improve quality and depth at LB.  And hopefully whoever replaces Bill Sheridan will have the same success turning things around that Chris Palmer did.

I thought the parallel was interesting.  There's certainly something to be said for loyalty and continuity.  It's obviously hard - as show by the first 2.5 games of 2007 - to adjust to a new system.

Thoughts?