Pat Shurmur said when he was introduced as the 18th Giants head coach that he is not going to chase good coaches out of the building. The majority of Ben McAdoo’s staff is already gone, hired elsewhere, but there will be a few holdovers.
Indications are Craig Johnson, the running backs coach, has been retained by Shurmur, according to a source. Lunda Wells will stay with the Giants as well, The Post confirmed. Wells has been with the Giants since 2012 as an offensive assistant and, for the past five years, the assistant offensive line coach, working at first with Pat Flaherty and most recently with Mike Solari. Shurmur has made a change, and Wells will move over to coach the tight ends. Wells attracted interest from other teams, including the Raiders, according to ESPN.
Another holdover from McAdoo’s staff: Bill McGovern will continue to coach the linebackers. McGovern and Shurmur worked together with the Eagles.
Johnson was brought in by Tom Coughlin in 2014, the same year Coughlin hired McAdoo as the offensive coordinator. This past season, Johnson worked with Paul Perkins, Orleans Darkwa and rookie Wayne Gallman in a rushing attack that averaged only 96.8 yards per game. Perkins opened the season as a starter but could not hold onto that role. Darkwa finished with a career-high 751 yards and Gallman (476 yards) showed promise and improvement, Darkwa is an unrestricted free agent.
The only major position coach spots left for Shurmur to decide upon are at offensive line and quarterback. Shurmur also has yet to hire an offensive coordinator. He added James Bettcher as the new defensive coordinator; Bettcher held that job for the Cardinals the past three seasons. Thomas McGaughey (formerly of the Panthers and a one-time Giants assistant) is the new special teams coach. Anthony Blevins, most recently with the Cardinals, will be the assistant special teams coach.
Shurmur has added Tyke Tolbert to coach the wide receivers, Gary Emanuel to coach the defensive line and Lou Anarumo to coach the defensive backs.