John Harbaugh Reaches Decision on Previous Giants Defensive Coaching Staff Members

New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh’s first major task of getting his assistant coaching staff in order is underway, and it’s apparently started with determining which of the previous Giants staff fit into what Harbaugh expects.

According to the New York Post, the answer appears to be not many. Harbaugh, who began meeting with some of the Giants' assistant coaches who were part of Brian Daboll’s staff, has decided that several will not be retained on his new staff.

The known list of coaches who won’t be retained includes defensive line coach Andre Patterson (line), inside linebackers John Egorugwu, secondary coach/pass game coordinator Marquand Manuel, and cornerbacks coach Jeff Burris.

Charlie Bullen, who began the season as the outside linebackers coach before being promoted to defensive coordinator by interim head coach Mike Kafka following the dismissal of Shane Bowen, does appear to have a chance to remain on Harbaugh’s staff.

The defensive shakeup comes as little surprise, given how much the Giants' defense, despite the talent added, underperformed in 2025.

The #NYGiants defense has been much better since Charlie Bullen, took over as defensive coordinator. Here's a look at the numbers under Bullen and Shane Bowen from this season. #GiantsNation #GiantsDefense #BigBlue pic.twitter.com/0EhcPPpzbQ
— Locked On Giants (@LockedOn_Giants) December 29, 2025

In addition, Harbaugh is reportedly not retaining special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial.

That comes as little surprise, considering there were numerous reports that Harbaugh wanted to bring Chris Horton, his special teams coordinator in Baltimore, with him to New York, only to have the Ravens block the move (for now), pending the decision of the next head coach.

There's been no word yet about the offensive assistant coaches, though it's widely believed that offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo, who is under contract to the team for 2026, has a very good chance of being retained.

"We will build the very best coaching staff that we can. I'll tell you it'll be a great coaching staff," Harbaugh said when asked about what he wanted in his assistant coaching staff.

"My dad (Jack) always said it starts with teachers. Coaches are teachers first, the ability to teach, the ability to take a vision that's well-organized, a structure that's put together in a really good way that the players can play fast, play around their skill set.

"You've got to create something like that and then present it to the guys and train it in a way that the guys can get out there and play with a lot of confidence and just cut it loose and play fast. That's what we're going to try to do and try to bring a bunch of coaches in that are capable of building that."

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