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Giants head coach Brian Daboll added two more assistant coaches, Bryan Cox and Kevin Wilkins, on Wednesday.
Cox, a former Super Bowl winner and three-time Pro Bowler as a player, and a coach with five other NFL teams, will be an assistant defensive line coach. He’ll work with line coach Andre Patterson on defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale’s staff.
Wilkins, who worked with the Ravens last season as a defensive assistant, will work in the same role for the Giants.
Cox, who will turn 54 on Thursday, last worked in the NFL as the Falcons’ defensive line coach from 2014-16. In his final season with the team, the Falcons went to the Super Bowl. He started his coaching career as the Jets’ defensive line coach from 2006-08 under Eric Mangini. Mangini later took Cox with him in 2009 to Cleveland, where he coached the defensive line.
Cox was the Dolphins’ pass rush coach in 2011 before joining the Buccaneers for two seasons as their defensive line coach.
A fifth-round draft pick by the Dolphins out of Western Illinois in 1991, Cox played linebacker and was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1992, ’94 and ‘95. He also played for the Bears (1996-97), Jets (1998-2000), Patriots (2001) and Saints (2002). He was on the Patriots team that defeated the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI.
Wilkins got into the league in 2015 when he joined the Ravens as a video intern for two years. He was the Ravens’ video operations coordinator from 2017-20 and then went into doing special projects for the Ravens’ defensive coaching staff in 2019 before he was made a defensive assistant for the 2021 season.
Mike Kafka, Daboll’s newly hired offensive coordinator, who spent the past two seasons as the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator for the Chiefs, spoke to Bob Papa on a team podcast about his role to “fit these pieces’’ on the Giants’ offense together.
“We have an idea and a vision for what we think this offense is going to look like,’’ Kafka said. “We got to find out who those pieces are. Right now, we’re going through that process, going through free agency, evaluating the guys currently on the team. I’m excited about the players we have in the building. I’m excited about the prospects that are out there.’’
When Kafka was with the Chiefs, their passing offense ranked among the top four in each of the past two seasons.
Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, speaking recently on the “Breaking Big Blue” podcast, expressed optimism about the new coaching staff.
“I think if you look at what they were doing in Kansas City and the success they were having, I think [Kafka] was a significant part of that,’’ Jones said. “That’s exciting for me.’’
Left tackle Andrew Thomas had surgery on his left ankle in late January, according to a report in the Athletic. Thomas had surgery on the same ankle his rookie season. According to the report, Thomas is expected to be ready to participate in the offseason program.
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