Giants Make Some Organizational Changes

The Giants have made several staff changes ahead of the scheduled start of next month’s training camp.

In the scouting department, the team hired Marquis Pendleton as an area scout. Pendleton, a UMass Amherst graduate who served as a public relations staff intern in 2014, had previously been the Giants’ BLESTO scout. Blaise Bell, a former wide receiver at Holy Cross, replaces Pendleton as the Giants’ BLESTO scout.

The Giants had at least three known vacancies in their scouting department following the dismissal of Ryan Jones and Donnie Etheridge earlier this year, and the retirement of Steve Verderosa.

The Giants also have reportedly restructured their player engagement program, previously headed by former wide receiver David Tyree. Dr. Lani Lawrence will fill the newly created role of director of wellness and clinical services and will oversee the Giants player engagement program along with assistant director Ashley Lynn.

Lawrence, per her professional bio, was previously a clinical and sports psychologist at the University of Southern California. In addition to being an adjunct professor for the school’s freshman seminar, Lawrence headed a program tasked with providing performance consulting services and mental health support to athletes of 21 elite NCAA Division-I teams. She also served as a member of the USATF sport psychology group.

In addition to adding Lawrence to the staff, head coach Joe Judge, an advocate of providing as much structure as possible to players as they transition to life in the NFL, will assign two assistant coaches—senior defensive assistant and outside linebackers coach Bret Bielema and special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey—to specifically collaborate with the player engagement team.

Tyree, who was with the Giants from 2003-08 is perhaps best known for his helmet catch in Super Bowl XLII in the Giants stunning upset of the New England Patriots, who sought to become the first undefeated team in the league to win a Super Bowl since the 1972 Miami Dolphins.

Tyree was hired to fill the player engagement director’s role in 2014 following the departure of former fullback Charles Way, who left the Giants to pursue a position with the league office. Tyree, who is no longer with the organization, has since launched a Clean Juice franchise with his wife Leilah in Morristown, New Jersey.

The New York Post reported that Tyree is no longer with the Giants organization.