Brian Daboll’s New York Giants coaching staff: Where things stand

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll has been busy filling out a coaching staff, that includes several holdovers from the previous regime

Ever since the New York Giants hired Brian Daboll, they’ve begun searching for new position coaches and coordinators, while they have made a couple of hirings, there is still a long way to go until the coaching staff is fully filled out.

Whether it be bringing in fresh faces, or retaining some coaches from the previous staff, Giants general manager Joe Schoen and Daboll have done their due diligence in hiring.

Regardless of whether or not the NY Giants are bringing in someone new or not, some of these names should have New York Giants fans excited, as they have played important roles on teams in the past.

Here’s a look at how Brian Daboll’s coaching staff is shaping up for the New York Giants

Offensive Coordinator: Mike Kafka, QB coach of the KC Chiefs

The New York Giants hired Mike Kafka as offensive coordinator on February 3rd, and some fans are very excited.

One of the biggest reasons fans are excited is because Kafka was the former QB coach of Patrick Mahomes, who is one of, if not the best quarterbacks in the entire NFL.

Kafka was drafted by the Eagles in the 4th round of the 2010 NFL Draft after putting together a solid career at NorthWestern, however, he didn’t last very long in the NFL and became the quality control coach of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2017. Kafka would eventually be promoted to the QB coach in 2018 once Patrick Mahomes entered the starting lineup.

While it is unlikely that Mike Kafka will call plays for the NY Giants, as new Head Coach Brian Daboll is likely to do so, he joins a staff that will play a crucial role in Daniel Jones’ development.

After seeing what he was able to do with Patrick Mahomes, NY Giants fans should be very excited to add a coach like Kafka to the staff.

Defensive Coordinator:  Patrick Graham

It was announced on 1/31/22 that Patrick Graham would be returning as NY Giants defensive coordinator for the 2022 season, if he was not hired by the Minnesota Vikings, after interviewing twice for their head coaching vacancy.

Now that the Vikings are expected to hire Kevin O’Connell as head coach, league sources tell FanSided’s Matt Lombardo Graham is expected to return as Giants defensive coordinator.

Graham has had a long and successful career in the NFL as a coach, being part of several successful New England Patriots teams, while also being a very good coordinator.

This is Graham’s second stint with the New York Giants, as he was their defensive line coach in 2016, however, he was let go after the season.

Graham returned to the New York Giants, this time as their defensive coordinator, in 2020, where in two seasons he has led a quite successful defense.

In 2020 the NY Giants defense ranked 16th in passing yards allowed, 25th in passing TD’s allowed, 23rd in rushing yards allowed, and 23rd in rushing TDs allowed, a very solid defense for a rebuilding team.

While things were not nearly as good in the 2021 season,  they could have been worse, as the New York Giants defense ranked 18th in passing yards allowed, 16th in passing TD’s allowed, 8th in rushing yards allowed, and 17th in rushing TD’s allowed.

However, one of the biggest reasons for the New York Giants’ lack of statistical success this season was due to the new “bend but don’t break” message Graham instilled. This was likely due to how poor the offense performed all season, making it so the team wanted the defense on the field for an extended period of time.

Graham has shown a good amount of his success during his tenure as the NY Giants defensive coordinator, so it makes a lot of sense that they bring him back for another season.

QB’s coach: Shea Tierney,  assistant QB’s coach for the Buffalo Bills

Schoen and Daboll have tabbed several of the Buffalo Bills’ rising assistants and their choices to join Daboll’s staff with the Giants, this makes sense as both Daboll and Schoen were previously with the team.

Shea Tierney started his career in coaching with the Bills in 2020 after he was promoted from offensive analyst to assistant QB’s coach, making him a somewhat fresh face to the coaching game.

While Tierney has been around the game for a while, serving as an intern and analyst for the Eagles from 2013-15, and joining the Alabama Crimson Tide as an offensive analyst in 2016, he is still new to the coaching game, so it will be interesting to see how he pans out.

Tierney was a part of the QB coaching squad that helped turn Josh Allen into one of the best QB’s in the league today, combining him with Kafka could be crucial to Daniel Jones’ development.

Offensive Line coach: Bobby Johnson, O-line coach for the Buffalo Bills

Yet another Buffalo Bills alumni, it is nice to see Daboll and Schoen go with people they already know.

Bobby Johnson has been around the NFL for a very long time, starting his career with the Buffalo Bills as their assistant offensive line coach in 2010, then he would go on to coach for 4 other NFL teams before returning back to Buffalo in 2019.

With over 25 years of coaching experience between the NCAA and NFL, Bobby Johnson is probably the most experienced coach on this staff so far

Ever since returning to the Bills, they have had a very solid offensive line, with left tackle Dion Dawkins even making the Pro-Bowl this season.

The New York Giants had quite possibly the worst offensive line in all of football this season, so if Bobby Johnson can turn the line around that would be unbelievably huge for the offense.

Special Teams Coordinator: Thomas McGaughey

The New York Giants retaining Thomas McGaughey is something that is not surprising, as the NY Giants have had one of the better special teams in the NFL,  as according to SI.com, the NY Giants special teams crew ranked 10th in the NFL this season.

While the NY Giants had punting issues, with Riley Dixon having a bad year, everything else on the special teams was spot on, especially in terms of kicking, with Graham Gano being deserving of a Pro-Bowl spot this season.

McGaughey has been coaching in the NFL since 2005 where he has, for the most part, been a special teams coordinator for various teams, similar to Bobby Johnson, he brings a ton of needed experience.

If the NY Giants can have continued success with special teams, it would bode well for Thomas McGaughey and the Giants front office for retaining him.

Defensive Backs Coaches: Jerome Henderson and Mike Treier

This is another move that is not very surprising, with the NY Giants having a very young and promising secondary, it makes sense to keep the backs with the same coaches.

Jerome Henderson has been coaching in the NFL since 2007, where he has been a defensive backs coach for this entire career. Henderson joined the NY Giants in 2020 after the New York Giants signed Joe Judge and it looks like Henderson is here to stay.

With talents like James Bradberry, Adoree’ Jackson, Aaron Robinson, and Darnay Holmes, it is not surprising at all to see the NY Giants keep Henderson around, as he will be a crucial part of Robinson and Holmes’ development.

Mike Treier is another coach who is being retained from the previous coaching staff, and being the safeties coach, it is not surprising to see this, as he has helped turn Xavier McKinney into one of the most promising safeties in the NFL.

Prior to joining the NY Giants, Mike Treier was the defensive backs coach for Marshall university and Colorado State, and ever since joining the NY Giants in 2020, he has shown good reason to keep him around.

If both of these coaches can continue to succeed it will be huge for the NY Giants defense and the development of its rising stars.