New York Giants head coach Joe Judge has found the men he wants to go to battle with. On Saturday, he officially announced his three coordinators: Patrick Graham (defense), Thomas McGaughey (special teams) and Jason Garrett (offense).
“We’re setting out to develop a smart, tough and really sound football team and that’s going to start with the coordinators setting the tone in each room,†Judge said in a release by the team. “Each one has experience, each one has the ability to run multiples (schemes), put the pressure on the opponent, and each one is an excellent teacher.
“All these guys were priorities to add to our staff. You have a short list when you come into this and you make sure you go ahead and take your time and get those guys in with whatever it takes. The priority is to put the best teachers and the best people around your players so you can form a strong locker room and make them fundamentally sound and situational. And I think all three of these guys bring that to the team.â€
McGaughey is a holdover from Pat Shurmur’s staff and Graham, who served as Brian Flores’ defensive coordinator in Miami last season, was Ben McAdoo’s defensive line coach here with Big Blue in 2016 and in 2017.
Judge on McGaughey:
“I’ve known T-Mac from going against him as well as being in the business and I have a good relationship with him professionally and personally,†Judge said. “I have a lot of respect for him as a coach and I have a tremendous amount of respect for him as a person. He gets the most out of his players. I’ve competed against him and I knew it was always going to be tough sledding in the game there. From the perspective of having to go against him, you understand you don’t want to get him out of the building; you want to hold onto guys like that. They’re definitely key assets. He and (assistant former coordinator) Tom Quinn do an outstanding job of working together, coaching the players in techniques and coming up with schemes for game plans that allow them to apply pressure on the opponents.â€
Judge on Graham:
“We’ve had a lot of discussions, both before he came here as well as since he’s been here, in terms of what he would want to do with the scheme,†Judge said. “We share the same vision to be able to run multiples and use the players on our roster to the best of their ability to match up against the opponent.â€
The hiring of Garrett is a huge boon for the Giants. Don’t believe all the nonsense about him not winning in Dallas. He’s a top-notch offensive mind who the Giants hope gets the most out of an offense that features running back Saquon Barkley and quarterback Daniel Jones.
Judge said he has the utmost respect for Garrett and likes what he brings to the staff.
“There were guys I worked with that I came across in my career at both Alabama and at the New England Patriots that worked with Jason through their time in Miami with him,” said Judge. “They consistently all reflected on how smart he is, how great a teacher he is and how his perspective of the game was through a different lens than most coaches. And when he sees it, he’s able to communicate it and paint that mental image to the players. And he does a fantastic job of making in-game adjustments.â€
There are still a few assistant slots to be filled, but the mainframe of the coaching staff is in place and by all accounts, the Giants look like a better team already.