Jason Garrett will stay in the NFC East
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reports that Jason Garrett has agreed to become the New York Giants‘ new offensive coordinator.
The team has since confirmed the hiring.
Garrett was the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys the past nine seasons until he was recently let go after missing the playoffs. The Giants also went through a head coaching change after this year and hired former Patriots special teams coach Joe Judge shortly after firing Pat Shurmur.
“I’ve known about Jason for a long time, not only through the general public as well-known as he is as head coach of the Cowboys,” Judge said via the team website. “There were guys I worked with that I came across in my career at both Alabama and at the New England Patriots that worked with Jason through their time in Miami with him. They consistently all reflected on how smart he is, how great a teacher he is and how his perspective of the game was through a different lens than most coaches. And when he sees it, he’s able to communicate it and paint that mental image to the players. And he does a fantastic job of making in-game adjustments.
“It’s a great system he brings with great teaching that will allow our players to go out there and play aggressively.”
The Giants also made official the hiring of Patrick Graham as their defensive coordinator and Thomas McGaughey as their special teams coordinator. Graham will also serve as the assistant head coach.
The Garrett hire marks the first major move for Judge, who could use some experience on his sideline as a first-year head coach. Garrett was an OC for the Cowboys before being named head coach in 2010 and spent the past 13 years with the organization. Now Garrett will get to use his experience with the Cowboys against them, and he has a young offense to work with in New York.
While the development of quarterback Daniel Jones will be a priority, Garrett should have fun utilizing an offensive weapon like running back Saquon Barkley. The Giants receiving corps has shown potential when healthy and the offensive line steadily improved compared to the previous season. That said, there is work needed to be done.
According to NFL Research, the Giants offense has ranked in the bottom ten in several important metrics recently. Since 2016, the Giants have averaged 19.8 points per game (27th), 334.9 total yards per game (23rd), 98.4 rushing YPG (29th), produced 101 giveaways (T-25th), and had a 35.5% rate on third down (27th). Under Garrett, the Cowboys ranked in the top ten in those same categories since 2016.
How well the Giants offense adapts to Garrett’s system (or vice versa) remains to be seen, but it’s clear Big Blue wanted an accomplished coach alongside Judge in his first year.