Of all the offseason hires NY Giants head coach Brian Daboll made this offseason, it can be argued that Carmen Bricillo was the most important for him. Daboll fired Bobby Johnson as offensive line coach right after the 2023 campaign came to a close.
He was able to poach Bricillo from the Las Vegas Raiders, a move that should still be celebrated in East Rutherford. Bricillo has wasted no time connecting with his new hosses, including former All-Pro left tackle Andrew Thomas. Thomas, hoping for a bounce-back season in 2024, appears to be a big fan of the new leader for the group up front:
Andrew Thomas on what makes OL Coach Carmen Bricillo unique
— GiantsTV (@GiantsTV) July 8, 2024
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Carmen Bricillo is being trusted to overhaul the NY Giants offensive line
"I would say what makes him unique is just his passion for the game. You can tell that he's very intrigued with understanding offensive line play, the offense as a whole, and I will also say that he really cares about how we see it as players if that makes sense."Andrew Thomas
It looks like Bricillo is on the same page with his linemen, which is a great start for the turnaround. In 2023, the Giants' offensive line was a joke, giving up a league-worst 85 sacks. That simply can't be the case again, otherwise Daniel Jones is going to have no shot in trying to save his career.
As for Thomas, he missed a good chunk of the season due to a hamstring injury suffered Week 1, but he has all the talent in the world to remind everyone he's one of the best tackles in the game. Some of the offseason OT rankings have forgotten about how dominant he was in 2022, which is a shame.
With Thomas being the leader of the line, we expect things to get back to normal now that he's healthy. The additions of Jermaine Eluemunor and Jon Runyan Jr. will prove to be massive, while everyone can be cautiously optimistic that Bricillo will help Evan Neal reach his potential too. The video above with Thomas gives people hope that strong play could be on the way for the Big Blue OL - and it's certainly needed.