Fewell's defense to play team he rejected

Perry Fewell had a decision to make. The Giants or the Bears. Tom Coughlin or Lovie Smith.

We know which way he went. But for a time during the offseason, it was up in the air. Most, in fact, thought Fewell would be leaning toward the Bears.

He flew to Chicago and New York to meet with two of his friends, mentors and former employers about their defensive coordinator openings, and as much as he tried to sell himself in those interviews, he also listened to what they were selling him.

For about a week or so after those meetings, he spent time with his family, prayed and investigated. His wife made phone calls, looking into each situation. Finally he came to a conclusion.

He was asked to talk about that decision this week.

"I choose not to," Fewell said politely to that request. "It was a personal thing, and I choose not to."

He'll do his talking on the field Sunday night. The team he joined and the team he spurned will be facing each other in a critical game. The Giants have lost two straight and are looking to give their early season direction with a victory. The Bears are trying to remain the NFC's only undefeated team.

It was the Bears against the Giants in the offseason, battling for the services of a defensive coordinator. Even Coughlin referred to the Bears as "the competition" in the Fewell chase. The Giants wound up winning that one. Sunday night they'll try to use Fewell to make it two in a row.

Those close to Fewell say it was a difficult decision and, according to one league source, he "really liked both" situations and was "torn."

"He was agonizing over a decision between two guys he really liked," the source said.

Fewell was on Coughlin's staff in Jacksonville as a coach in the secondary. He then moved to the Rams and worked under Smith, then the defensive coordinator. He also was on Smith's Bears staff in 2005.

"Sometimes you work with someone in one place and if it doesn't work out, you don't work with them in another," Smith said. "But that wasn't the case."

A third go-round wasn't in their future this time. Neither team made a formal offer to Fewell, but it was understood by all that he could have whichever of the jobs he wanted after the interviews. Coughlin and Smith gave Fewell space to make his decision, but they called him during the week of his deliberation just to check in. Their common question: "Are you coming here or not?"

Ultimately, it was the entire situation with the Giants - personnel, location, apparent stability on the staff - that made Fewell pick them.

"Perry had been with Lovie and he had been with us, so he had to make a choice," Coughlin said. "He gathered all of the information, and here he is."

The Bears wound up hiring Rod Marinelli soon after as their defensive coordinator/assistant head coach.

The Giants have a top 10 defense in terms of yardage allowed (they are a more disappointing 30th in points allowed). The Bears have the top rushing defense (39.7 yards per game) and have allowed an average of 17.0 points, tied for 10th.

"We have a defensive coordinator here that we're very pleased with and he's done a super job with our guys here," Smith said when asked if he had thought Fewell would be the Bears' coordinator this season. "Everybody ends up in the place that they belong. I truly believe that. Perry is in a great place up there with the Giants."

How great? Fewell may get more clarity to that question after tonight's game.