NFL

Fewell fits Bill for Giants

Here is a warning for the Giants now that Perry Fewell is running the defense: You do something dumb, watch out.

“If you get out there and consistently make mistakes, he’s going to blow up,” Bills safety George Wilson told The Post. “He doesn’t like repetitive mistakes. He doesn’t like silly mistakes. Hitting a guy out of bounds and getting a penalty. I saw that happen in one of our games this year — he just went berserk.

“We’re battling for field position, the guy was a veteran guy, Drayton Florence, and he should have known better, and Perry just chewed [him] out. Sometimes as players we need that. Perry does a good job of knowing when to get in your face and when to step back and do some positive reinforcement. He does a good job of doing a balancing act.”

Fewell, 47, brings that act to the Giants after he was hired Thursday as the team’s new defensive coordinator, replacing Bill Sheridan, who was fired after one miserable season. As so often is the case in these situations, the newcomer is lauded as being so very different from the coach he replaces.

Sheridan was reserved and studious. Fewell — the defensive coordinator in Buffalo the past four years — is described as emotional and inspiring, though he calls the game from the quiet of the press box rather than the tumult of the sideline.

“He’s an upbeat guy. He’s a very optimistic guy, doesn’t try to find the bad in everything,” said Wilson, who completed his fifth year with the Bills. “You can talk to him about football, you can talk to him about life. The guys respect him the in the locker room, and at the end of the day, that’s what you have to have as a coach. They will battle for him and lay their bodies on the line for him.

“He’s definitely a fiery guy that you can tell he has a passion for the game, that he wishes he could get out there and play. He always talks to us, refers back to ’79. He may see somebody make a good play and he’ll joke around and say, ‘Ah, man, I could do that back in ’79.’ I have a lot of love for Perry.”

Fewell was a defensive back at Lenoir-Rhyne in North Carolina. He was part of coach Tom Coughlin’s staff for five years in Jacksonville; if Coughlin trusts him to run the deteriorated Giants defense you know Fewell’s work ethic cannot be questioned.

This past November, Fewell received an unexpected promotion when he was named interim head coach following Dick Jauron’s firing. The Bills went 3-4 in their last seven games –three of the losses were by seven or fewer points — and Fewell grew in the job.

“He was put into a tough spot, having to step in for his friend, Coach Jauron,” Wilson said. “One thing about Perry, from the first time he addressed the team, the first time he stepped before us, he took ownership of the team. He changed the expectations. I think it was a great experience for him. I know the guys in our locker room rallied behind him.”

Fewell worked with Lovie Smith with the Rams and Bears in the Tampa Two defense that favored zone coverage, but Wilson says Fewell’s nature is to scheme aggressively with a single-high safety and plenty of pressure.

“He definitely likes to get after the quarterback,” Wilson said. “We had a lot of interceptions. We made progress in sacks. He’s definitely an aggressive coordinator. He’ll try to get a feel for what the offense is trying to do in the first drive of the game, and then he’ll make an adjustment. He’ll get a feel for the game and he’ll start to dial ’em up.”