Another impressive outing by the Scottish Hammer

[MightyGiants]

https://twitter.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1587056094525915136

[DaveBrown74]

I have been very happy with him. Nice addition. He is a fun player on top of being good at his job.

I feel like our specials overall are very much propped up by having a quality punter and a quality kicker. Quite frankly, outside of those two guys, it has been a pretty mediocre unit for the most part from what I have seen.

I worry a little about McGauhey. Having a good punter and a good kicker isn't really the product of coaching. It's more a case of you either have them or you don't. The coverage and return games is more where the coaching comes in, and I just don't feel great about what I have seen from these areas both this year and to a significant extent in the recent past. I don't think McGauhey is necessarily bad, but I am not convinced we have someone really additive there either the way we do with some of the other coaches on this team right now.

[MightyGiants]

I have been very happy with him. Nice addition. He is a fun player on top of being good at his job.

I feel like our specials overall are very much propped up by having a quality punter and a quality kicker. Quite frankly, outside of those two guys, it has been a pretty mediocre unit for the most part from what I have seen.

I worry a little about McGauhey. Having a good punter and a good kicker isn't really the product of coaching. It's more a case of you either have them or you don't. The coverage and return games is more where the coaching comes in, and I just don't feel great about what I have seen from these areas both this year and to a significant extent in the recent past. I don't think McGauhey is necessarily bad, but I am not convinced we have someone really additive there either the way we do with some of the other coaches on this team right now.

I agree with the points you are making, DB.  Although I am also mindful that injuries can make special teams a bit more challenging to coach as the unit is constantly changing from week to week.  Hard to field a coherent unit like that.

[DaveBrown74]

That is fair MG, and I don't want to come down too hard on McGauhey. As stated above, I don't think he is a bad coach. But looking at his total Giants' multi-year track record (as well as this season), I'm not convinced he is adding a great deal above par either.

[MightyGiants]

That is fair MG, and I don't want to come down too hard on McGauhey. As stated above, I don't think he is a bad coach. But looking at his total Giants' multi-year track record (as well as this season), I'm not convinced he is adding a great deal above par either.

I appreciate what you're saying and don't disagree.   Although I do find it interesting that he has been the team's ST coach for the last 3 head coaches

[DaveBrown74]

I appreciate what you're saying and don't disagree.   Although I do find it interesting that he has been the team's ST coach for the last 3 head coaches

I have noticed that too. I think the more than justifiable sensitivity around African American coaches getting enough opportunities in this league may be part of the equation here. Of course, if our incoming new coaches over the last several years had felt he was bad (which we both agree he is not), then they would have probably let him go, but the fact that they all fired other coaches when they arrived but not him has been noticeable to me as well. I think it is probably a combination of (1) believing he is at least good enough that he won't hurt the team and (2) not wanting to let an African-American coach go. Mara might have his hand in this as well.

I also think McGauhey is a good guy who is well liked around the building, and that always helps any time a decision is being made about keeping someone versus letting them go (in any organization).