Thomas McGaughey will reportedly remain as the New York Giants special teams coordinator under the newly-hired Joe Judge.
Earlier this week, the New York Giants made the ultimate decision to hire Joe Judge to be their new head coach. The 38-year-old will be the 19th head coach in the history of the franchise and will replace the recently-fired Pat Shurmur.
The next step is for Judge to fill out his staff. It’s unclear when the search for coordinators and assistants will conclude. Nonetheless, reports state that one familiar face will be returning. According to Alex Marvez of SiriusXM NFL Radio, Thomas McGaughey will remain with the organization as the special teams coordinator.
Source tells @SiriusXMNFL that new @Giants HC Joe Judge is keeping Thomas McGaughey as NY's special teams coordinator. More on the G-Men from 7-11 pm ET tonight with @kirkmorrison & me on Channel 88!
— Alex Marvez (@alexmarvez) January 9, 2020
McGaughey has been in this same role for Big Blue each of the last two seasons. He was also an assistant special teams coordinator for the Giants from 2007-10, having been with them for the Super Bowl 42 victory.
This is a great move by New York, considering special teams has been one of their only departments that’s found much success in recent years. This past season, the Giants only allowed 136 total punt return yards on 24 returns.
Punter Riley Dixon was additionally named a Pro Bowl alternate for his 2019 efforts. The veteran, who recently received a three-year contract extension, punted 69 times this season for 3,178 yards (46.1 yards-per-punt). The punt team downed 29 of those kicks inside the 20-yard line.
If the Giants decided to fire Shurmur during this past season, many claimed McGaughey could’ve been the interim head coach.
Look for the Giants special teams unit to improve even more in 2020, especially being that Judge was also a coordinator in those regards for the Patriots.
