McGaughey is one of the most experienced kicking game coaches in the NFL.
New Patriots head coach Jerod Mayos is currently in the process of constructing his coaching staff, and by the number of interviews he has scheduled it appears plenty of change might be coming to New England under his leadership. Among the positions that is open is the special teams coordinator spot still officially held by Cam Achord.
One of at least three candidates in consideration is Thomas McGaughey. While he was recently let go by the New York Giants, the 50-year-old offers considerable experience.
With that said, let’s take a closer look at him and what he might bring to a rebuilt Patriots coaching staff.
Who is Thomas McGaughey?
Most recent position: New York Giants special teams coordinator (fired)
Age: 50
Playing background: Following a five-year career as a defensive back and special teamer at the University of Houston, McGaughey entered the NFL as a rookie free agent in 1996. He was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals and later also spent time with the Philadelphia Eagles, but besides a stint on the latter’s practice squad had an uneventful career as a pro.
McGaughey moved to Europe in 1997, helping the Barcelona Dragons win NFL Europe’s World Bowl. He later also played for the Houston Outlaws of the Regional Football League, which folded after its 1999 season.
Coaching background: In 1998, after his time in NFL Europe, McGaughey returned to his alma mater to serve as a graduate assistant. He eventually returned to coaching in 2001, joining the Kansas City Chiefs’ training camp staff via the Bill Walsh Minority Fellowship. Later that same year, he interned as a pro scouting assistant with the Houston Texans, helping them get ready for their inaugural season.
In 2002, McGaughey moved back to Kansas City to work as assistant special teams coordinator. One year later, he returned to the University of Houston for a two-year stint as special teams coordinator.
By 2005, McGaughey was back in the NFL as assistant special teams coordinator with the Denver Broncos. Two years later, he joined the Giants in that same role and helped them upset the 18-0 Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. After four seasons in New York, he went back to the college level as the special teams coordinator at LSU.
McGaughey lasted three seasons with the Tigers before taking jobs as the New York Jets’ (2014), San Francisco 49ers’ (2015), Carolina Panthers’ (2016-17), and eventually Giants’ special teams coordinator. He lasted six years in that final role, but was let go by the organization earlier this month.
Why do the Patriots see him as a potential defensive coordinator?
In order to assess this question, we touched base with Ed Valentine of SB Nation’s Giants blog, Big Blue View. Here is what he told us about the Patriots’ coaching candidate.
How would you assess the overall job McGaughey has done in New York? McGaughey was with the Giants for six years, through the tenures of Pat Shurmur, Joe Judge and now Brian Daboll as head coaches.
If you look at Rick Gosselin’s special teams rankings, the Giants’ special teams were up and down during that time. Sometimes good, sometimes awful. The question is, how much of that is T-Mac’s fault? Or, is it simply because during his six years with the Giants they only had one winning season — meaning the rosters he was trying to mold into functional special teams groups weren’t very good?
Why did the Giants decide to fire him? A few factors, I think.
McGaughey was in his second stint with the Giants — the first as an assistant ST coach for several years. Fair or not, after outlasting two head coach there was an impressions from the outside that maybe he was comfortable. Maybe he was stale.
McGaughey and Daboll had never worked together before 2022. There were some special teams screwups going all the way back to the first preseason game, where you could clearly see Daboll wasn’t thrilled with McGaughey. Personalities could be part of it.
Mostly, though, the special teams haven’t been good enough.
What do you think makes McGaughey an attractive candidate for the Patriots? McGaughey is a class act. He’s been a good coach for a while now despite the lack of success with the Giants.
To be honest, I think there is also a Joe Judge factor with New England. Judge seemed to meddle in everything during his two years with the Giants, not really trusting assistants to do their jobs. McGaughey never complained publicly, but with Judge’s special teams background I know he felt that way.
I think you would get a highly-motivated McGaughey in New England, a guy who would want to prove he can succeed his way.