The New York Giants continued filling staff vacancies on Tuesday and put a cap on their hunt for a new running backs coach and a new executive director of player performance.
The team officially announced the hire of Joel Thomas as their running backs coach, replacing Jeff Nixon, who left to coach the offense at Syracuse.
Thomas had been the New Orleans Saints’ running backs coach since 2015, overseeing the likes of Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram. Prior to his time in The Big Easy, Thomas spent 13 years coaching at the college level, including a stint as Washington’s co-head coach (offense).
Thomas takes over an uncertain running back situation for the Giants. Saquon Barkley is slated to become an unrestricted free agent in March and has once again expressed a desire to avoid the franchise tag. For the first time, his future with the team is very much in doubt.
Meanwhile, the Giants also announced the hire of Aaron Wellman as their executive director of player performance, replacing Craig Fitzgerald, who left for Florida in December.
If you recognize Wellman’s name it’s because he spent four years as the Giants’ strength and conditioning coach under both Ben McAdoo and Pat Shurmur. During that time, the Giants were among the most-injured teams in the league.
Wellman left the Giants following the 2019 season and joined Indiana as their senior assistant athletic director for football performance.
In addition to his time with the Giants and Indiana, Wellman also had stints at Ball State University (2004-2008), San Diego State University (2009-2010), and the University of Michigan (2011-2014).
