Thomas McGaughey enters 10th year with Giants despite regime changes

More than most, Thomas McGaughey understands this to be true, usually. 

“When there’s change, there’s change,” he said. 

Yes, indeed. When an NFL head coach is shown the door, much of the staff he hired follows in line behind him. The new head coach comes in and handpicks the assistants that will work for him until the next firing-hiring cycle takes hold. 

Thus it was for Joe Judge and most of his staff after the 2021 season. Just as it was for Pat Shurmur and most of his staff after the 2019 season. Lately, the head coach of the Giants is a transient position. Sign a five-year contract, make it through only two of those years, rinse and repeat. It is a terrible way to do business and a big reason why the Giants have been so terrible the past five years. 

The changes that ushered in more change bypassed McGaughey, the popular special teams coordinator. There is something about him and the Giants that just will not quit. 

He was an assistant special teams coordinator for Tom Coughlin with the Giants from 2007-10, winning a Super Bowl. He ran the special teams at LSU and for the Jets, 49ers and Panthers. He returned to the Giants in 2018 to run the special teams for Shurmur and did his job despite undergoing surgery and chemotherapy treatments for cancer discovered in his bowel duct and lymph nodes. 

Two years later, McGaughey withstood Judge’s unique scrutiny — Judge had an extensive special teams background from his years with the Patriots — and was retained. It was telling that Judge signed off on keeping McGaughey, rather than bringing in his own guy. 

When Brian Daboll was hired, he could have found a special teams coordinator from one of his many previous NFL stops and yet he decided McGaughey — someone he never worked with — could be entrusted with an important role on his first Giants’ staff. 

“I’m happy to be back here,” McGaughey said after a recent organized team activity practice. “Obviously, this is going on my 10th year here, so anytime I can put on this red, white and blue, I’m excited.” 

There must be a secret to this longevity, as it goes against the odds to survive in one job despite upheaval all around him. 

“You know, all I try and do is treat people right and do my job,” McGaughey said. “To me, I think that’s the bottom line. I think you take care of the people in the building, you handle yourself the right way, you try and be as good a servant as you can to the organization, and that’s just been my mentality, just trying to help out guys and give. What you give grows; what you keep, you lose. So I try and give as much as I can to everybody around me.” 

Amiable, personable, a straight-shooter and completely comfortable around the players and the media, McGaughey, 49, is a welcoming presence in the building and the locker room. None of this would matter much unless he was not proficient in what he gets paid to accomplish. Tucked within a brutal 4-13 season was some solid-to-excellent production from McGaughey’s units. The Giants were one of only four teams that did not give up any negative plays (blocked kick, turnover or touchdown) on special teams. The most comprehensive annual analysis of special teams, compiled by former Dallas sportswriter Rick Gosselin, put the Giants No. 10 in the 2021 NFL in special teams rankings. 

This was not all the result of kicker Graham Gano’s expertise (he made 29 of his 33 field-goal attempts). The Giants were tops in kickoff coverage, allowing a league-low 17.8 yards per return, thanks not only to Gano’s ball-placement but also solid coverage down the field. 

Clearly, Daboll did not see a reason to fix what was not broken. 

Daboll did not come in insisting on all sorts of alterations to the special teams operation. 

“I mean, it’s kind of more of the same,” McGaughey said. 

Gano returns but the Giants after four years have a new punter, former Browns player Jamie Gillan, a left-footer known as the Scottish Hammer. As usual, McGaughey will have to sift through several options before he finds suitable kickoff and punt returners. 

Kadarius Toney as a rookie struggled to stay on the field and was given only one punt return all season. Might that change? 

“Obviously that’s one of the reasons why he’s here,” McGaughey said. “KT is a super talented guy. With the ball in his hands, he’s dynamic. Again, it’ll be fun just to see those guys compete for a spot.” 

One newcomer, rookie receiver Wan’Dale Robinson, a second-round pick, should be in the mix. 

“Definitely an option,” McGaughey said. 

One way or another McGaughey usually makes it work, for whichever head coach is on the scene.