The New York Giants’ 2024 offseason has gotten off to a turbulent start as a number of the coaching staff members were let go or fired in the first week of January.
Worse, Big Blue has not responded to requests for interviews for the roles of offensive line coach and special teams coordinator. The Giants asked to interview [Atlanta] Falcons OL Coach Dwayne Ledford for the same post, but the Falcons denied the request, according to a source Bobby Skinner of the Talkin’ Giants podcast first reported.
On January 10, at approximately 6 p.m. EST, the news was received. A few hours later, at approximately 8 p.m. EST, NFL Network insider Mike Garafolo revealed that the Giants were once again barred.
According to sources, the Giants’ request to speak with special teams coordinator Ryan Ficken was denied by the Los Angeles Chargers, Garafolo reported. It is evident that LAC wants to have Ficken join the next coaching team while they search for a new head coach.
To be clear, as long as an employee is still under contract, NFL clubs have the right to refuse access to their coaching staff when they make lateral movements or leave one team to take a position on another. Even if such a team is without a head coach, which the Falcons and Chargers now are,.
At the conclusion of the 2023 season, Pro Football Focus rated Atlanta’s offensive line as the fourth-best in the league, so it makes sense that they would rather hold onto Ledford. In a similar vein, LAC was home to PFF’s top-ranked special teams squad this season.
In other words, the Giants swung big on these two interviews, but it’s not overly unexpected that both were blocked.
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