New York Giants left tackle Andrew Thomas saw enough chaos and coaching dysfunction throughout his first six years that, when he sees something he likes from John Harbaugh’s staff, his thoughts should carry immense weight.
Gone are the days of Joe Judge’s vacant stare or the dysfunctional final weeks of the Brian Daboll era. Harbaugh has brought stability and optimism, in part because of a staff largely familiar with both him and his brother, Jim.
Take senior assistant Greg Roman, for example. A longtime NFL offensive coordinator at various stops, the 54-year-old has worked with the Harbaugh family since 2009, when he joined Jim's Stanford staff as the associate head coach.
Thomas, who is the Giants’ second-longest tenured player behind Darius Slayton, is already quite a fan of Roman’s.
“His scheme is so complex, so thought out,” Thomas said this week. “He has a run and an adjustment for every single front, every single pressure. And obviously we’re not game planning in the joint practice."
What New York Giants fans must know about Greg Roman
Amid the ongoing Tyrone Tracy Jr. saga, it can become easy to forget just how potent the Giants’ rushing game could be. Regardless of what the national media’s misinformation might suggest, Cam Skattebo and Jaxson Dart both impressed as rushers throughout their rookie seasons, though not without cost; Skattebo suffered a season-ending leg injury in October and trainers evaluated Dart for a concussion at least five times.
As an offensive coordinator in San Francisco and Buffalo, Roman had Frank Gore and LeSean McCoy tearing through defenses on a weekly basis. But perhaps his greatest achievement is properly utilizing Lamar Jackson as a dual-threat quarterback rather than try to build him up as a passer. That’s far easier said than done, especially with the Ravens’ playoff struggles when Roman became the offensive coordinator ahead of the 2019 season.
To be clear, we’re not projecting that Dart is going to become Jackson, nor do we believe that Skattebo will resemble McCoy. There’s no denying Roman’s presence nonetheless carries significant value, and his input on the offense is already appreciated, at least by Thomas.
Thomas is the face of a Giants offensive line that returns four of five starters, with right guard and first-round pick Francis Mauigoa the exception. Roman is exactly the kind of coach you’d want in positional meetings and film study sessions. An offensive line with that kind of continuity should be able to thrive, and there have recently been strong reports on left guard Jon Runyan Jr.
Mauigoa and the Giants’ rookies are likely too young to remember the 2011 49ers, when Roman and a Harbaugh brother came out of nowhere to make the NFC Championship Game. It’d sure be something if history repeated itself, now wouldn’t it? At least Roman wouldn’t need to worry about losing to the Giants again.
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