John Harbaugh wasted no time making major changes to the Giants.
Kevin Abrams — who started with the Giants in 1999, spent 20 years as an assistant GM and once seemed heir apparent to the GM job — was let go Wednesday.
Defensive line coach Andre Patterson, inside linebackers coach John Egorugwu, secondary coach/pass game coordinator Marquand Manuel and cornerbacks coach Jeff Burris also will not be retained, sources told The Post.
But none of those coaches were part of the organizational fabric like Abrams, who was the chief negotiator for two Super Bowl-winning front offices.
He finished the 2017 season as interim GM and was in line to succeed Dave Gettleman before losing became so routine that Joe Schoen’s outside view was deemed necessary.
Abrams surrendered his assistant GM title in 2022 to Brandon Brown but remained in charge of the salary cap, which is as healthy as it has been in years entering this offseason.
Among the defensive assistants assembled last season by former head coach Brian Daboll, only Charlie Bullen (outside linebackers) — who was promoted to interim defensive coordinator with five games remaining — still has a chance to remain. Bullen and Schoen have a close relationship from their days together with the Dolphins.
Harbaugh began meeting with incumbent assistants under contract Wednesday, but at least some of the coaches who were let go did not get the chance to make a case to the new boss.
Schoen informed some assistants that they were not part of Harbaugh’s plans and were free to look elsewhere without coming in for a face-to-face meeting, according to sources.
“Great coaches, I believe, on this staff that we’re looking forward to talking to,” Harbaugh said Tuesday.
None of the field staff changes are a surprise considering Harbaugh is the only coach listed on the Giants website.
It is unclear what the future holds for the offensive staff, though Carmen Bricillo is considered the leading candidate to be offensive line coach after receiving a ringing endorsement from John Harbaugh’s father, former coach Jack Harbaugh.
The Ravens are not expected to block many — or any — of their offensive assistants from following Harbaugh or making lateral moves, a source said.
Patterson is a 24-year NFL assistant and former Vikings defensive coordinator who helped Dexter Lawrence take his game to a three-time Pro Bowl level by moving him to nose tackle. He and Egorugwu were members of Daboll’s original staff in 2022.
Egorugwu is a former Ravens assistant under Harbaugh (2015-2016) so it was speculated that he might have a chance to stick.
Manuel, a former Falcons defensive coordinator, and Burris were added to the staff last season. Both Manuel and Burris played in the NFL, which garners respect with today’s generation.
Harbaugh could go in several different directions for his defensive coordinator, including former Ravens players or position coaches who became defensive coordinators elsewhere such as Zach Orr (Ravens), Dennard Wilson (Titans), Anthony Weaver (Dolphins) and Jim Leonhard (Wisconsin).
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
