Go behind the scenes with Big Blue
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If the past decade of Giants offensive lines has taught us anything, it’s to be certain that assembling the second-worst unit in NFL history isn’t the same as reaching rock bottom.
Every time it looks as if things can’t get worse — after 2015 first-round pick Ereck Flowers busted or after 2018 free-agent signing Nate Solder flopped or after the Giants ranked No. 30 or worse in ESPN’s pass-block win rate three times from 2017-20 — they do.
Is this the end of the road or is the cycle starting anew?
An angry fan mob was thrown a piece of meat Monday when the Giants fired offensive line coach Bobby Johnson, who oversaw the stunted development of four 2022 and 2023 draft picks over his two seasons.
But the solution isn’t as simple as replacing Johnson with the Raiders’ Carmen Bricillo (who is expected to interview) or any other candidate up through semi-retired legend Mike Munchak. If it were, the Giants wouldn’t have had seven offensive line coaches and four assistant offensive line coaches in the last nine seasons.
“A lot of the times we get caught up in, ‘Who’s the coach?’” left tackle Andrew Thomas said. “I think some of the blame has to be on the players. That’s why I said I want to be a better leader. Sometimes I get focused on myself — just worried about my issues, my injuries or whatever. At the end of the day, it’s a players’ game. All they can do is tell us what the play is, what the technique is. We have to block.”
Using 11 different starters in 2023, the Giants allowed 85 sacks — 20 more than any other team and a total eclipsed only by the 1986 Eagles (104). The Giants also converted just 64.7 percent on third- or fourth-and-shorts on the ground despite having one of the NFL’s best running backs in Saquon Barkley.
“We battled every week and we had a lot of adversity,” guard Ben Bredeson said. “For a while, it just seemed like everyone was getting banged up and we would have a new line every single week. Continuity is a major thing, and you can’t build it when there are new guys every week.”
Head coach Brian Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka struggled to build an offense around the line shortages caused by injuries amplified by a series of coaching and management misevaluations on personnel.
“As Dabes looks for a new offensive line coach, I think history of developing players will be something we’ll definitely hit on,” general manager Joe Schoen said. “Ultimately, it’s a team game. I’d like to believe that starts up front on both sides of the ball. So, yeah, that’s something that we’re going to have to look into. We have to be better.”
The Giants led the league in different offensive line combinations.
“This was what I’ve always prepared for,” said Bredeson, who led the offense in snaps played while rotating among left guard, right guard and center. “And it all happened this year.”
Here is a deep dive on the state of the offensive line that a new position coach will inherit:
Free agents: OG/C Ben Bredeson (16 starts this season), OG Justin Pugh (12), OG Shane Lemieux (1), OT Matt Peart (1), J.C. Hassenauer (0)*
Under contract: OT Andrew Thomas (10), C John Michael Schmitz (13), OT Tyre Phillips (9)*, OT Evan Neal (7), OG Mark Glowinski (6), OG Marcus McKethan (5), OT Joshua Ezeudu (5), OT Sean Harlow (0), OT Yodny Cajuste (0), OG Jalen Mayfield (0), OT Joshua Miles (0)
*Finished the season on injured reserve
The big question: Is Neal a guard or a tackle?
Neal is reluctant — maybe unwilling — to move after two failed seasons at right tackle. Schoen reviewed Neal’s college tape during the season and came away convinced the No. 7 pick in the 2022 draft is best suited at tackle, but also declared Neal “needs to get better,” after which Neal didn’t return to the field and underwent ankle surgery.
Schoen did not commit to penciling in Neal as an unchallenged starter in 2024.
“We’ll go through all those conversations over the next couple of weeks,” Schoen said. “Evan worked his tail off last offseason, came in in great shape, had a good start to camp, had the concussion [in training camp]. I expect him to attack this offseason the same way, and we’ll see how it plays out.”
There is a chance that the highest-graded player on the draft board when the Giants pick at No. 6 is Penn State’s Olu Fashanu. Selecting “best available” then would mean moving Neal inside to guard, asking Fashanu to switch from left tackle to right tackle, just as Neal has struggled to do, and using a third top-seven selection in the past five drafts on an offensive tackle.
“Do you invest once again another first-round pick in an offensive line?” ESPN analyst Jordan Reid said. “I don’t know if Joe Schoen is going to be ready to do that and admit he was wrong on Evan Neal.”
The best asset: Thomas — a soon-to-be 25-year-old All-Pro left tackle signed through 2029 — is a premier building block, though even he comes with concerns. He had offseason ankle surgeries after his first two seasons and missed seven games because of a hamstring injury in 2023.
“I’m trying to do all the rehab and pre-hab I can do to be ready for next year,” Thomas said. “I missed a lot of time this year, which I think hurt the team. You try to convince yourself that there are things you can do to prevent certain injuries, but it’s football. Things are going to happen, but I’m just trying to be more aggressive this [offseason] in making sure that everything is fine-tuned when the first snap happens.”
What’s needed? Two new starters, at a minimum.
A pass for Schmitz — the No. 37-ranked center in the league by Pro Football Focus — on his rough rookie season still only gives the Giants two entrenched starters.
An upgrade at one guard spot over Pugh, Bredeson and Glowinski, who is likely to be cut for $5.7 million in salary-cap savings, is a requirement to fill a third spot in the lineup.
Adding a veteran free-agent right tackle should be prioritized. The loser of a training-camp battle between the newcomer and Neal becomes a potentially high-quality swing tackle and avoids repeating the mistake of being caught short-handed with Ezeudu and fringe backup Peart.
The Giants could leave one spot open on the line for the possibility of re-signing Pugh to a one-year deal with the hope that one of their recent draft picks — Ezeudu or McKethan — develops into a starting guard. That plan also provides wiggle room to move Neal to guard if his other option is the bench.
“It’s a big year, third year,” Schoen said of Ezeudu and McKethan. “You’ve got to show something.”
The late-season torn quad suffered by Phillips, which could sideline him until December, is a big blow to depth.
Who’s available?
The top free agents, according to Pro Football Focus, are tackles Tyron Smith, Trent Brown, Mike Onwenu, Mekhi Becton and Jonah Williams, guards Kevin Dotson, Robert Hunt and Kevin Zeitler, and centers Connor Williams and Andre James.
Then there is the draft.
Fashanu, Joe Alt (Notre Dame), JC Latham (Alabama), Kingsley Suamataia (BYU), Taliese Fuaga (Oregon State), Jordan Morgan (Arizona), Amarius Mims (Georgia), Tyler Guyton (Oklahoma), Graham Barton (Duke), Sedrick Van Pran (Georgia), Patrick Paul (Houston) and Troy Fautanu (Washington) are top-50 offensive line prospects, according to The Draft Scout. The Giants hold three top-50 picks.
The Giants’ special teams could be about to undergo their biggest overhaul in 17 years.
Tom Quinn was the coordinator from 2007-17, and his first top assistant was Thomas McGaughey (2007-10). McGaughey made the rounds in college and the NFL over the next seven years before succeeding Quinn as coordinator — and then bringing back Quinn as his assistant in a roles switcheroo from 2018-21.
McGaughey was fired Monday after six seasons at the helm.
So, where will the Giants turn next?
Just like The Post provided a list of defensive coordinator candidates to replace Wink Martindale, Sports+ gives you a list of special teams coordinator candidates:
Larry Izzo, Seahawks special teams coordinator: He is tied to both Daboll — he was a special-teams standout for the Patriots from 2001-08, when Daboll roamed the sidelines — and to the Giants as one of Quinn’s former assistants (2011-15). The Seahawks ranked No. 2 in special teams in the Bill Belichick-touted annual rankings published by sports reporter Rick Gosselin in 2022.
Doug Colman: The New Jersey native played 43 games for the Giants from 1996-98. He most recently coached at Toledo as a senior defensive and special teams coach, but spent 2014-21 as an assistant special teams coach in the NFL (Texans, Cowboys, Browns). His only stint as a coordinator was when he shared responsibilities at Coastal Carolina (2012-13).
Tom McMahon, Raiders special teams coordinator: With the coaching staff in flux, interview requests are coming in for Raiders’ assistants. McMahon has been an NFL special teams coordinator every season since 2009 for five different teams, including crossing over with Daboll (who served as the offensive coordinator) for the 2012 Chiefs.
Joe Pannunzio, Eagles assistant special teams coordinator: A 43-year coaching veteran of the college and NFL ranks, Pannunzio spent the past five seasons with the Eagles, including three in his current role. Does he want to run his own unit again late in his career? If so, he and Daboll have a relationship from their season together as coordinators at Alabama in 2017.
Chase Blackburn, Rams special teams coordinator: The former Giants co-captain and Super Bowl XLVI hero for his interception likely is under contract in 2024 after joining the Rams staff in 2023. Would the Rams grant interview permission? Blackburn previously spent four seasons as the Panthers special teams coordinator and was heavily influenced by Quinn and McGaughey.
Matthew Harper, 49ers assistant special teams coordinator: After eight seasons as an assistant special teams coach — broken up by time coaching receivers — it could be Harper’s time to run a unit. He is a New Jersey native who was on the Eagles’ staff from 2013-20. The 49ers retained Harper after changing coordinators in 2022.
Phil Galiano, Saints assistant special teams coordinator: The home-run hire would be Saints assistant head coach and special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi, who is regarded as one of the NFL’s best and worked alongside both Daboll and Schoen with the Dolphins. Maybe Rizzi recommends his longtime multi-stop lieutenant Galiano, who ran the special teams at blocked-kick-happy Rutgers for a few years.
What compensation will the Giants receive if assistant general manager Brandon Brown gets hired as a GM? How valuable is it?
The Chargers and Panthers have requested interviews with Brown, 35, for their vacancies.
A Nov. 2020 addendum to the NFL’s Rooney Rule aimed at increasing minority hires in leadership roles rewards franchises with third-round picks in back-to-back drafts for developing minorities who become general managers and head coaches.
Brown was hired from the rival Eagles to be Schoen’s right-hand man in Feb. 2022. He was one of 42 participants last month in the NFL’s Front Office & General Manager Accelerator Program.
So, what is Brown’s role with the Giants?
“It’s a kitchen sink, actually,” Brown said before the 2023 season. “I’ve been fortunate with my relationship with Joe. It’s everything from us doing the renovation on the draft room, and free agency, and trade talks, and contracts — all those things fall under the umbrella. I’d like to steal Joe’s words where he says, ‘Hey, somehow if I’m not available one day, the ship should be rowing smooth, and the boat all goes in the same way, and the agenda doesn’t change.’ That’s why I’m so glad that we’re [tied] at the hip.”
The Chargers’ job sure sounds like a better option than the Panthers’, given that Tom Telesco’s successor inherits 25-year-old Pro Bowl quarterback Justin Herbert under contract through 2029. The Panthers’ job comes with the uncertainty around disappointing rookie quarterback Bryce Young, no first-round pick in 2024 (when it would’ve been No. 1 overall) and meddlesome owner David Tepper.
The 49ers have received eight compensatory picks for minority hiring since 2020. The extra picks provided the 49ers with the extra draft capital to trade for running back Christian McCaffrey.
What is a reserve/futures contract?
The Giants signed 10 players Monday to reserve/futures contracts. Such deals only are available to players who did not end the season on a 53-man roster or injured reserve, such as free agents or practice-squad players.
All of the Giants’ signees finished the season on their own practice squads, which disappears once a team’s season ends. But teams are free to poach from each other’s practice squads, too.
A futures contract will not count against the salary cap until March 13 — the first day of the new league year.
There is no limit to how many futures contracts a team can issue as long as they remain under the offseason 90-man roster maximum, though the deals typically are for the minimum salary commensurate with a player’s experience level and include few, if any, bonuses and guarantees.
For reference, the Giants signed 12 players to futures deals after the 2022 season. Most made it to training camp, but only one — running back Jashaun Corbin — appeared in games (six) for the Giants this season after he was first released, signed with the Panthers practice squad and later returned to the Giants for a spot on the active roster.