Ranking the New York Giants Coaching Staff: Ben McAdoo’s First Crew
By Mike Luca
20. Joe Danos (Performance Manager)
What could possibly be the point of replacing strength and conditioning coach Jerry Palmieri, but not Danos when the two titles work in such close association?
Certainly there’s value in pairing a newcomer with a more tenured liaison. Danos hails from the collegiate ranks, most recently Florida State University upon New York hiring him back in 2013. That should serve the next S&C man Aaron Wellman comfortably enough (getting back to that later).
Seeing as Palmieri stood by Tom Coughlin through a 12-year era and two Super Bowls, a freshened palette was equally necessary, whereas Danos’ “escalation” in just three seasons may simply be shown the respect of another chance.
More significantly, Danos’ retainment shows the concept of analytics is lingering without fully festering with an old-school franchise.
“The Giants’ hiring of performance manager Joe Danos underscores their commitment to tracking player health…” – ESPN on Danos’ initial hiring three off seasons ago
Around this time last year, ESPN ranked the Giants in a skeptics category based on the Great Analytics Rankings’ measurements of teams’ use and belief in biometric data to enhance health and performance. Traditional approaches of Jerry Reese and Coughlin made it slower to come by in New York, and skepticism heightened when 22 players reached the injured reserve in 2014, falling on Danos in part.
Injuries remained a blaring theme in 2015 in another losing effort, so how can the outlook on Danos possibly change? McAdoo must’ve seen something and is choosing patience and loyalty over his Coughlin upbringing, while the common fan will hardly scapegoat Danos’ name or job in this Wellman experiment.
Next: Getting Some Assistants