The New York Giants have hired Carmen Bricillo as their offensive line coach in place of Bobby Johnson. Bricillo’s trade from the Las Vegas Raiders had 45 reasons to cheer for the Giants.
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That figure shows how many sacks the Giants and Raiders have given up thus far this season. Bricillo’s line surrendered forty sacks, forty-five fewer than the Giants gave up.
On Thursday, January 11, Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News confirmed the hiring. He also brought up Bricillo’s stint with the Patriots.
Bricillo’s primary goal will be to improve pass protection, but the Giants may benefit in other ways from his arrival as well. In particular, Big Blue may even bring back a position that was neglected in the running game.
The Giants must never allow 85 sacks in a season, but Bricillo will have to overcome several obstacles to strengthen the defense. As per Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post, the first of these obstacles is “figuring out how to salvage Evan Neal’s career — the No. 7-overall pick in the 2022 draft profiles as an injury-plagued bust after two seasons — and if he moves to guard or stays at right tackle.”
Beyond Neal’s destiny, Bricillo has other issues to deal with. Andrew Thomas, a left tackle, and John Michael Schmitz, a center, are two more players who lack skill. Johnson was unable to enhance “Neal, Schmitz, Josh Ezeudu, and Marcus McKethan — four of general manager Joe Schoen’s draft picks,” as Dunleavy also pointed out.
For the Raiders, Bricillo wasn’t exactly working with top players, but he was still able to put together a strong line. This team “tied for the sixth-highest pass-blocking efficiency rating (86.3) in the NFL in 2023,” according to Zoltan Buday of Pro Football Focus.
Notably, Bricillo maintained the Raiders’ offensive line performance at a high caliber despite star left tackle Kolton Miller missing four games due to a shoulder injury. Without a significant financial commitment, Bricillo will strengthen the current team if he can do a similar miracle for the Giants.
He witnessed the Patriots’ illustrious line coach Dante Scarnecchia accomplish that. According to Dan Duggan of The Athletic, Scarnecchia lauded Bricillo as a “very smart guy, good football coach, great work ethic.”
If the blockers already on the roster produce better than Johnson did, Bricillo could be able to completely change the Giants’ rushing attack.
