The New York Giants, winners of 12 games over the past three seasons, vowed in January that they needed to change the way they do business. Things obviously have not been working, so the went off their normal path and hired a longshot candidate in Joe Judge to be their new head coach.
Judge when on to hire Jason Garrett, a former Giants player and very familiar face as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, as his offensive coordinator. He then brought in Patrick Graham, the Giants’ defensive line coach from a few seasons ago, to run the defense.
From there, they hired mainly coaches they had worked with – of for – in the past. The hiring appears to be based on trust plus competence. Not a bad thing, but not what management promised.
The theme has spilled over into free agency. Here’s a rundown of the Giants’ free agent signings and their prior association with the team and coaching staff.
Colt McCoy, QB – Signed a 1 year $1.5 million contract. Very familiar to the Giants and Garrett as the backup QB of the Redskins from 2014-2019.
Nate Ebner, FS – Signed an undisclosed contract. Played for Judge in New England since he came into the league in 2012.
Cameron Fleming, T – Signed a 1 year $4 million contract. Played in New England and also played two seasons under Garrett in Dallas. A Stanford man, one of three the Giants signed this week.
Levine Toilolo, TE – Signed a 2 year $6.2 million contract. Another Stanford man.
Kyler Fackrell, OLB – Signed a 1 year $4.6 million contract. Played under Graham in Green Bay.
Blake Martinez, ILB – Signed a 3 year $30.75 million contract. Played under Graham in Green Bay and is also a Stanford man.
James Bradberry, CB – Agreed to a 3 year $43.5 million contract. Was a second round pick by Gettleman in Carolina in 2016.