following the 1953 season, an important transition in giants history occurred. steve owen was fired by wellington and jack mara, and replaced by jim lee howell. owen had coached the giants for 23 seasons, and compiled a 153–108–17 record. he is credited with introducing several innovations to football, including inventing the "umbrella defense", which was the first to use four defensive backs. wellington, who was beginning to take a more active role in the team by this period, later described the move by calling it "the hardest decision i'd ever made". the change would have a profound impact on gifford. a multi-talented player who could run, catch, and throw, gifford was a star at the university of southern california as a quarterback and runner, and while at the school he had bit parts in some hollywood films. after clashing with owen, whom he considered a taskmaster, and inspiring jealousy in some of his teammates who despised his "glamour boy" status, gifford thrived under howell. lombardi switched him from defensive back, where he was already a pro bowl performer, to halfback, and gifford made seven pro bowls at the position. the giants went 7–5 in 1954 under howell. in their thirty-first and final season playing their home games at the polo grounds in 1955, they went 5–1–1 over their final seven games to finish 6–5–1. they were led by the rejuvenated gifford who played the entire season solely on offense for the first time in several years.