jason garrett

New York Giants should target sneaky good wide receiver in 2020 NFL Draft

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New York Giants, Chase Claypool

With the hiring of former Dallas Cowboys head coach, Jason Garrett, to feature as the New York Giants‘ offensive coordinator, we can expect two things — the Giants will sign/draft a big-bodied wide receiver who can dominate in red zone settings, and the heavy utilization of tight ends.

The New York Giants could use a big-bodied wideout:

The biggest pass-catcher currently featuring on the Giants is Darius Slaton at 6’2″, but he’s more of an elusive receiver than a possession option. However, quarterback Daniel Jones used Slayton as a security blanket frequently during his rookie campaign, which should indicate an increase in action during 2020.

With Slayton, Golden Tate, and Sterling Shepard a part of the Giants’ WR core, we shouldn’t anticipate any additional pass catchers being added, but one option from Notre Dame could fit the bill perfectly.

The Fighting Irish’s best receiver in 2019 was Chase Claypool, a 6’5″, 229-pound receiver who not only has reliable hands but great awareness on the field.

Claypool was formerly a four-star Canadian recruit who exploded onto the scene in his senior year at Notre Dame, logging 66 receptions for 1,037 yards and 13 touchdowns. His wide frame would make him a fantastic red zone option for Jones, and a consistent target on deep balls.

His size is reminiscent of Calvin Johnson, and while he’s far from comparable, his physcial attributes match up perfectly. Also, their motions and long-stride are similar. With ample size like Claypool possesses, his potential is sky-high and could be worthy of a third-round pick if he falls.

The upcoming NFL Draft has one of the best WR classes in recent memory, so there will be plenty of options to choose from, but Claypool remains a sleeper option that would fit the bill nicely in Garrett’s offense. With the Giants missing a big, physical wideout, Claypool becomes an enticing option, and Jones would only benefit from his services.

New York Giants: Jason Witten In Play For Tight Ends Coach?

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The New York Giants are continuing to fill out their coaching staff this week. The team’s new head coach has already hired his three main coordinators. New York is retaining Thomas McGaughey as special teams coordinator. Patrick Graham will be the team’s defensive coordinator in 2020 after holding that same position with the Miami Dolphins in 2019. However, the Giants’ most interesting hire came at offensive coordinator.

Jason Garrett, former Dallas Cowboys head coach, has agreed to join Joe Judge’s staff as the Giants’ offensive coordinator. Garrett was an offensive coordinator for the Cowboys before being promoted to head coach in 2011. The Cowboys had numerous top-ten offenses under Garrett as both head coach and coordinator.

Many have speculated that Garrett will be bringing some colleagues to New York with him. Bill Callahan is someone the Giants are considering for their vacant offensive line coach position. Now, a new and utterly unexpected name has entered the discussions. Chris Mortensen of ESPN has reported that Cowboys tight end Jason Witten is considering reuniting with Jason Garret in New York.

A Player Or A Coach?

Mortenson’s report includes the critical detail that Jason Witten “hasn’t ruled out” playing next year. It is possible that Witten’s reunion with Garret would be as a player. However, the Giants have a couple of tight ends on the roster that they are excited about.

Evan Engram and Kaden Smith have both shown flashes of great potential. Engram’s only knock is his injury problems, missing 5 games in 2018 and 8 games in 2019. But his explosive receiving ability is bound to keep him around.

Kaden Smith was an unknown name heading into 2019 but quietly made his presence known by season’s end. Smith started in 6 games for the Giants and caught 31 passes for 268 yards and 3 touchdowns. Smith is also a great run-blocker, though, he does not possess Engram’s athletic prowess.

With two talented tight ends already on the roster, it is hard to see where Jason Witten could fit into the equation as a player. However, a coaching role might make much sense for the veteran tight end.

Mike McCarthy, the Dallas Cowboys’ newly hired head coach, had “no on-field coaching spot” on his staff for Jason Witten (Mortenson). This report indicates that Witten was initially looking for a coaching job, but is open to playing if he cannot find one. Witten’s familiarity with Garrett and the Giants’ talented but young tight ends group could make Jason Witten a good fit as New York’s tight ends coach.

Jason Witten is a 37-year-old tight end that has already retired once. He came out of retirement for one last go with the Cowboys this past season, but the team seems ready to move on. Witten’s time in the broadcast booth was not much of a smashing success either. Maybe coaching is the best possible option for the future Hall of Fame candidate.

New York Giants OC Jason Garrett opens up about taking the job

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New York Giants, Jason Garrett, Dallas Cowboys

It’s never easy for a head coach of over a decade to take the step back down to coordinator, but for Jason Garrett, he found himself in a position of disadvantage. With teams having locked up their HC already, Garrett was left scouring the league for lesser jobs, and he managed to latch on with the New York Giants and new coach, Joe Judge.

Garrett brings the experience necessary to help Judge refine his abilities and look at the team differently. Seeing things as a whole and not concentrating on specific units is often a challenge for head coaches. Garrett can provide him with the mental stability to weather the New York media storm, but also help him focus in on the details of the team without being overwhelmed.

While some might have imagined Garrett taking the demotion poorly, he was excited to work with Daniel Jones, who has the potential to be a great quarterback in the NFL for years to come.

Via the Giants Huddle podcast, Garrett stated:

“It just felt right me,” Garrett said about joining the Giants after spending the last nine and a half seasons as the Dallas Cowboys’ head coach. “It felt really comfortable to be around him (Judge). We have shared values as people, shared values as football coaches and what we want to build with the Giants, so I’m just excited to be a part of it.”

While Dallas wasn’t in the market for a passer in the first round, they still did the due diligence on Daniel Jones, and they hade similar reviews to Dave Gettleman, so it seems.

“We (the Cowboys) thought a lot of him coming out of college,” said Garrett. “We weren’t in the market for a quarterback in the first round but you still go through that evaluation process. Anyone that was around him in our organization with the Cowboys, just thought the world of him. He was highly regarded on out draft board.”

With how Garrett has operated his offense in the past, we can expect the Giants to go out and get a big body wide receiver to act as a primary red-zone threat. Also, they will utilize their tight ends frequently in the passing game. The transition should be exciting, especially with Garrett’s experience at the top level.

Giants: Joe Judge reveals his three coordinators

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New York Giants, Joe Judge

New York Giants head coach Joe Judge has found the men he wants to go to battle with. On Saturday, he officially announced his three coordinators: Patrick Graham (defense), Thomas McGaughey (special teams) and Jason Garrett (offense).

“We’re setting out to develop a smart, tough and really sound football team and that’s going to start with the coordinators setting the tone in each room,” Judge said in a release by the team. “Each one has experience, each one has the ability to run multiples (schemes), put the pressure on the opponent, and each one is an excellent teacher.

“All these guys were priorities to add to our staff. You have a short list when you come into this and you make sure you go ahead and take your time and get those guys in with whatever it takes. The priority is to put the best teachers and the best people around your players so you can form a strong locker room and make them fundamentally sound and situational. And I think all three of these guys bring that to the team.”

McGaughey is a holdover from Pat Shurmur’s staff and Graham, who served as Brian Flores’ defensive coordinator in Miami last season, was Ben McAdoo’s defensive line coach here with Big Blue in 2016 and in 2017.

Judge on McGaughey:

“I’ve known T-Mac from going against him as well as being in the business and I have a good relationship with him professionally and personally,” Judge said. “I have a lot of respect for him as a coach and I have a tremendous amount of respect for him as a person. He gets the most out of his players. I’ve competed against him and I knew it was always going to be tough sledding in the game there. From the perspective of having to go against him, you understand you don’t want to get him out of the building; you want to hold onto guys like that. They’re definitely key assets. He and (assistant former coordinator) Tom Quinn do an outstanding job of working together, coaching the players in techniques and coming up with schemes for game plans that allow them to apply pressure on the opponents.”

Judge on Graham:

“We’ve had a lot of discussions, both before he came here as well as since he’s been here, in terms of what he would want to do with the scheme,” Judge said. “We share the same vision to be able to run multiples and use the players on our roster to the best of their ability to match up against the opponent.”

The hiring of Garrett is a huge boon for the Giants. Don’t believe all the nonsense about him not winning in Dallas. He’s a top-notch offensive mind who the Giants hope gets the most out of an offense that features running back Saquon Barkley and quarterback Daniel Jones.

Judge said he has the utmost respect for Garrett and likes what he brings to the staff.

“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,” said Judge. “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.”

There are still a few assistant slots to be filled, but the mainframe of the coaching staff is in place and by all accounts, the Giants look like a better team already.

BREAKING: New York Giants hire Jason Garrett as offensive coordinator

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New York Giants, Jason Garrett, Dallas Cowboys

The very moment the New York Giants fired former head coach, Pat Shurmur, Dallas’ long-time HC, Jason Garrett, was quickly connected to the vacant job opening. Most believed it was to replace Shurmur, but it was soon released that he would fill the offensive coordinator position, replacing Mike Shula.

After spending 13 seasons with the Cowboys, a majority of them being above .500, Garrett was let go, primarily due to the lack of postseason appearances and success in elimination rounds. The Giants bringing him in would not only make sense, but it would benefit Daniel Jones, who learned under Shurmur last season.

The New York Giants can trust Jason Garrett as their offensive coordinator:

Garrett’s familiarity with developing quarterbacks and coaching quality players would be a perfect fit for Jones, and his utilization of Ezekiel Elliot would be a benefit for Saquon Barkley.

Some may neglect this move out of pure bias, but Garrett has the experience and quality to put the Giants’ offense in an advantageous position. His influence on Joe Judge will also be significant.

Expect to see an up-tempo offense that relies heavily on deep crossing routes and running back screens. Barkley will be a focal point, as he should be.

Report: Giants to interview former Dallas OC Scott Linehan

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The New York Giants continue their quest to upgrade their coaching staff under new head coach Joe Judge. The offensive staff is still in flux with no coordinator in place and the Giants are still interviewing candidates.

So far they have not made any formal announcements of any hirings to the staff. They will do that when the hirings have been completed. Thus far, they’ve re-hired wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert and have brought in a new quarterbacks coach, Jerry Schuplinski.

They interviewed former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett for the OC role but they are still seeking to interview more candidates it seems. Veteran NFL reporter Chris Mortensen reports that the Giants will speak with former Dallas OC Scott Linehan this week.

What role Linehan will be interviewed for is unclear. He’s been an offensive coordinator in college (Idoho, Washington, Louisville) and in the NFL (Dallas, Minnesota, Miami, Detroit) as well as a head coach (St. Louis Rams, 2006-2008).

New York Giants: Could Jason Garrett As OC Bring Amari Cooper With Him?

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The New York Giants are heading into the 2020 offseason as a completely different team. They fired head coach Pat Shurmur and replaced him with Joe Judge. Daniel Jones, not Eli Manning, will be the team’s starting quarterback in Week 1. And, with free agency and the draft upcoming, the Giants’ roster could look drastically different.

But before the Giants can start targetting free agents and draft prospects, they need to get their coaching staff in place. New York still has yet to hire an offensive coordinator, one of the staff’s most important positions. However, there is one prominent name that the Giants are considering for the job: Jason Garrett.

The former Dallas Cowboys head coach interviewed with the Giants for their vacant offensive coordinator position and he is considered to be a strong candidate. Hiring Jason Garrett would be an exceptional move, bringing a veteran coaching presence to an otherwise inexperienced staff, not to mention Garrett’s impressive track record coaching top-ten offenses.

Jason Garrett gets the most out of his quarterbacks. This would be good news for Daniel Jones as he heads into his second professional season. But Jason Garrett has also coached up a few ultra-talented receivers in Dallas. One of these receivers, Amari Cooper, is about to be a free agent. The Giants should try to arrange this reunion between the former Cowboys coach and player in the 2020 offseason.

Amari Cooper Would Require A Big Contract

The Dallas Cowboys are in a bit of trouble regarding their salary cap. They just paid Ezekiel Elliot and Demarcus Lawrence, and they still have not paid Dak Prescott. New head coach Mike McCarthy will have some tough decisions to make regarding the team’s impending free agents, and he might have to let some big names walk out the door.

Amari Cooper could end up being the one that got away in Dallas. The receiver out of Alabama is about to get paid in a big way. According to Spotrac, Cooper has an estimated market value of $19.7 million on average annually. This is a massive contract to hand out to a wide receiver, but the Giants have the cap space to do it.

The New York Giants are estimated by Spotrac to have over $69 million in cap space before they start trimming the fat and cutting veteran contracts. Singing Amari Cooper would put a big dent in the Giants’ cap space, but they would still have roughly $40 million left to spend.

What Amari Cooper Would Bring To The Giants

Amari Cooper is known as one of the best route runners in the NFL. He has the shiftiness to break cornerbacks’ ankles and toast them on double moves. Check out this filthy route Cooper ran to get himself open against the Eagles:

Cooper has always possessed great talent in the NFL, but they were not being utilized correctly during his time with the Oakland Raiders. This led to the Cowboys trading a first-round pick for Cooper, who then went on to tear it up in Jason Garrett’s offense.

In the 6 games Amari Cooper played with the Raiders in 2018, he totaled 280 yards and 1 touchdown. After being traded to Dallas, Cooper racked up 725 yards and 6 touchdowns in 9 games. 2019 featured more of the same. Amari played in all 16 games this season and totaled a career-best 1,189 yards and 8 touchdown receptions.

Amari Cooper is a dependable primary wide receiver that creates separation as well as anyone in the league. Bringing him and Jason Garrett over to the Giants would instantly elevate the Giants’ offense into one of the most lethal groups in the league.

What the New York Giants would be getting in Jason Garrett as offensive coordinator

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New York Giants, Jason Garrett, Dallas Cowboys

While former Dallas Cowboys’ head coach Jason Garrett isn’t the first name most New York Giants fans want to hear in relation to vacant coaching positions, there’s no denying his connection with the team and experience in the field.

The Cowboys have been loyal to Garrett for years, and while it was a painful breakup, their desire to hire Mike McCarthy outweighed their willingness to keep the ball in Garrett’s hand. Acting as their head coach, Garrett gave up offensive play-calling in 2013, but his influence on quarterbacks Tony Romo and Dak Prescott can’t go unnoticed.

The former quarterback in the NFL would be a perfect fit with Daniel Jones, who needs an experienced mentor to pick up where Pat Shurmur left off. Factor in the focused nature of being an offensive coordinator, and I believe Garrett would be a stellar option after years as a head coach. He would also be a significant addition for Joe Judge, who’s enduring his first stint as an HC in the NFL.

The New York Giants’ offense would benefit:

Garrett knows how to utilize a running back (Ezekiel Elliott), and his knowledge of quarterbacks would go a long way in opening up opportunities for Jones in the passing game. Judge hired former New England QB coach, Jerry Schuplinski, who worked with Jacoby Brissett, Tom Brady, and Jimmy G, all solid to elite-level quarterbacks in the NFL, to assist in Jones’ development.

Putting Garrett and Schuplinski in charge of helping the Giants’ franchise quarterback become a top arm in the league would be a best-case scenario.

New York Giants Interview Jason Garrett For OC Job

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New York Giants, Jason Garrett, Dallas Cowboys

Former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett isn’t a very popular choice for the New York Giants offensive coordinator job, but it looks like he’s receiving serious consideration regardless. Garrett has been somewhat linked to the Giants ever since they fired Pat Shurmur, and after Garrett was officially fired from Dallas himself, there was speculation about him taking the head coach role.

In reality, the job went to Joe Judge, despite the Giants also interviewing Garrett. But now, Garrett has supposedly interviewed for the Giants again, not for the head coaching job this time but for the offensive coordinator spot which is still sitting vacant.

The decision on who to bring on as the coordinator is going to be left up to Judge, and co-owner John Mara has already said that personally, he has no objections to bringing in Garrett.

After being with the Cowboys since 2011 and receiving a lot of leeway for failure, but still managing to not win much in the playoffs or even reach the playoffs at all in most of his years, there’s a lot of skepticism within the Giants fanbase about the potential hire – especially because Garrett coached a division rival, putting his skills or lack thereof on display for Giants fans in big games twice a year.

The Cowboys, in fact, often haven’t played great against the Giants. Despite having their number for the past few years, their performances are rarely anything too earth shattering, and it makes sense that Giants fans would be skeptical of having this offense come to their team after witnessing how the Cowboys have played in the NFC East under Garrett.

But with continued interest between Garrett and the Giants, a deal might just be inevitable at this point. No other candidate has interviewed once for the head coaching job and once for a coordinator job, after all.

New York Giants: John Mara Has No Objection To Jason Garrett As OC

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New York Giants, Jason Garrett, Dallas Cowboys

Is New York Giants co-owner John Mara losing touch with the fanbase? Or has he perhaps already lost it? Many may be asking those questions with some of the decisions Mara has made in the offseason so far, starting with the decision to keep around General Manager Dave Gettleman despite a number of failures and continuing with more recent news. That recent news has to do with the offensive coordinator position.

Some candidates are more popular than others but one definitely unpopular candidate is former Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett, who had his eyes on the head coaching position before but has now been linked to the Giants in the context of the offensive coordinator spot, which has yet to be filled.

Head coach Joe Judge is picking his staff, but John Mara has said that he wouldn’t have a problem with bringing Garrett in if Judge desires it.

There’s not a lot of fans that want to see Garrett get a spot with the Giants but the past experience of the Dallas coach seems to keep him in the conversation, even if that conversation is for offensive coordinator rather than head coach.

But with most of the league already being set at head coach at this point, it does make sense that Garrett could be considering a step down in position. The hiring of Joe Judge by the Giants and Matt Rhule by the Panthers seem to have demonstrated a trend these days of teams going for younger head coaches with potential behind them rather than track record.

What do you think? Does Garrett’s experience make him worth a hire as an offensive coordinator, or should John Mara restrict Judge from bringing him on if necessary?