The New York Giants didn’t have to look far to find their new special teams coordinator.
The team announced on Thursday that they have brought in Michael Ghobrial, who spent the previous three seasons as an assistant on the New York Jets’ coaching staff. The 35-year-old replaces Thomas McGaughey, who was fired on Jan. 8 after six seasons at the position.
During his time with the Jets, Ghobrial worked under special teams coordinator Brant Boyer and alongside Leon Washington, creating one of the top special-teams units in the NFL.
New York’s kick-off coverage allowed an average of 15.3 yards per return, which ranked first in the NFL, while their opponents’ 40.4-yard net average on punts was seventh-best.
Jets rookie returner Xavier Gipson ranked second in the NFL with an average of 23.2 yards per kick-off return and was tied for 12th-best with a 9.7-yard punt return average. He famously provided the game-winning, 65-yard punt return for a touchdown in Week 1 this season against the Buffalo Bills after Aaron Rodgers went down with his season-ending ACL injury.
The hope within the Giants’ ranks is that Ghobrial can boost a unit that once again struggled in 2023.
They clearly have something promising in punt returner Gunner Olszewski, who won NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors in Week 17 for a 94-yard punt return for a touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams. It was the Giants’ first punt return for a touchdown since December of 2015.
But Big Blue’s kick-return game ranked third-worst in the NFL, averaging just 19.2 yards per return and their field-goal percentage ranked second-worst (71%).
Before joining the Jets, Ghobrial worked in the college ranks as a special teams coordinator for Washington State (2020), Hawaii (2018-19), and Tarleton State (2016-17), where he participated with the Detroit Lions as part of the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship.
