Giants Make Their Coordinator Hires Official
The Giants have announced their three coordinators who will serve under head coach Joe Judge this year.
Jason Garrett (offense), Patrick Graham (defense/assistant head coach) and Thomas McGaughey (special teams) will oversee their respective units for Judge, who is getting ready for his first season as an NFL head coach.
“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 statement released by the team Friday night.
“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 shortlist 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.”
All three of the new coordinators also have previous ties to the Giants organization.
Garrett is a former Giants backup quarterback from 2000-03 who recently completed a 10-year stint as the Dallas Cowboys’ head coach.
Before that, he served as the Cowboys offensive coordinator from 2007 until his appointment as head coach midway through the 2010 season.
“I’ve known about Jason for a long time, not only through the general public as well-known as he is as head coach of the Cowboys,” Judge said.
“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. 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.”
In 2000, Garrett joined the Giants and spent four seasons as a backup, primarily to Kerry Collins. He spent the 2004 season with Tampa Bay and Miami without appearing in a game. Garrett began coaching with the Dolphins the following year.
Graham, who served as the Giants defensive line coach in 2016-17, is an 11-year NFL coaching veteran who has been on eight playoff teams during that span, including one Super Bowl (XLIX). He most recently was the Dolphins defensive coordinator.
“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.”
McGaughey served as the Giants special teams coordinator under former head coach Pat Shurmur the last two seasons. Earlier in his career, he was the Giants’ assistant special teams coach from 2007-10.
“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."
Judge also indicated that Tom Quinn, who has been an assistant to McGaughey the last two years after serving as the team's special team coordinator, will remain in that role.
"(McGaughey) and 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.”
