Giants hire Mike Adams as assistant special teams coach

The New York Giants are hiring long-time NFL safety Mike Adams to be their new special teams coach. Adams takes the place of Anthony Blevins, who accepted the head coaching job of the XFL’s Vegas Vipers. Thomas McGaughey, the Giants’ special teams coach, now has a new assistant to work with along with first-year coach Stephen Thomas.

Adams previously coached the defensive backs as an assistant with the Chicago Bears in 2021. Before that, he had a 16-year career as a safety with six teams, making two Pro Bowls. He played in 228 regular-season games (149 starts) and racked up 869 total tackles, 90 passes defensed, 30 interceptions, 15 tackles for loss, and 13 forced fumbles. He added eight postseason starts (10 total games).

The new Giants assistant was born in Paterson, N.J. He now takes a role just 16 miles from his old school, the Passaic County Technical Institute, where he was a star.

The Giants’ kicker and punter positions appear set, as Graham Gano and Jamie Gillan are set to reprise their 2022 roles. Gary Brightwell is still listed as the Giants’ kick returner, but the punt returner competition could go in any direction. Adoree’ Jackson, Jamison Crowder, Darnay Holmes, Kalil Pimpleton, Jaydon Mickens, Eric Gray, and Jalin Hyatt are among the possibilities.

In return coverage, the Giants performed well in 2022, ranking seventh in yards per kick return (20.7) and fourth in yards per punt return (6.2) allowed. They did face among the league’s fewest kick returns at just 27, tied for the fourth-fewest in the NFL.

Adams joins the Giants at an interesting point in time, as the new kickoff fair-catch rule may change some of the coaching calculus on special teams. As McGaughey said earlier this offseason regarding how teams may choose to approach kickoffs, “This is uncharted territory ... So, it’s one of those deals where you’ve got to play the games to see what happens.”