Giants' Perry Fewell awaits chance to coach rookies Prince Amukamara, Marvin Austin

Published: Tuesday, June 14, 2011, 3:36 PM Updated: Tuesday, June 14, 2011, 5:15 PM
Zach Berman/The Star-Ledger

In defensive coordinator Perry Fewell's preparations for April's draft, he did not expect cornerback Prince Amukamara to drop to the Giants at No. 19. When Amukamara slipped and the Giants drafted defensive tackle Marvin Austin the second round, Fewell's No. 7 overall defense improved overnight.

"I am enthused about working with him," Fewell said of Amukamara. "I’m sad that I haven’t had an opportunity to work with him at this point of time. I’m very, very excited. I think he showed some really good things on tape from Nebraska. We’d like to take it to another level.”

But as Fewell mentioned when discussing the first-round pick, the NFL's lockout has prevented the coaching staff from working with the team. In fact, the only coaching Fewell has scheduled at this point are the Giants' non-contact youth camps beginning later this month.

Fewell will work at the camp at Our Lady of the Valley in Wayne from June 27 to July 1 while also roving around the 29 other camps throughout the tri-state area. Fifteen of those camps are in New Jersey. (More information below)

Whenever football returns, Fewell said he will not use the missed time as an excuse for his unit. He will have to lead the Giants' defense for the second consecutive season after an offseason in which Fewell interviewed for head coaching vacancies with four NFL teams.

With free agency still upcoming when a labor agreement is reached, Fewell does not yet know the composition of the roster. But he'll have Amukamara and Austin, who was suspended from his senior season at North Carolina.

“I don’t know how you can account for what happened to him," Fewell said. " I do know this: Evaluating his junior tapes and looking at some of his workout, he is extremely talented. Now, will he make a commitment and be a consistent for us and make it pay off for us this fall? That’s the challenge for us going into 2011 season."

Fewell's offseason job interviews proved to him that he was prepared to become an NFL head coach. (Fewell finished 3-4 in seven games as the Bills' interim head coach in 2009.) His return turned out to be a boon for the Giants -- especially during a lockout-riddled season -- because he brings continuity to a defensive unit that has already had three coordinators since winning the Super Bowl in 2008.

“I think all we did was just scratch the surface of what we can be with the New York Giants," Fewell said. "I thought we played well, but we didn’t play consistent enough. And as a guy that aspires to be a head football coach, we want consistency in our play and in our game.

"If I can be more consistent, if the players can be more consistent, if we can win more consistently, then we’ll have a chance for that fourth Super Bowl with the New York Giants."

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Fewell's endorsement of the Giants' summer camps go beyond his personal involvement. Fewell will send his nine-year-old son, Daniel, to the camp and has other relatives visiting New Jersey to attend the camps.

Daniel has wanted to play football and Fewell's wife, Kathleen, provided permission. It was Fewell who was hesitant, although he thinks the fundamentals Daniel can learn during the non-contact camp will help as Daniel becomes older.

"We'll talk about how to do things, how to place your face and make a football tackle, how to do the fundamentals of the game of football," Fewell said.