Tag: Anthony Blevins

Giants’ Anthony Blevins named head coach of XFL’s Vipers

New York Giants assistant coach Anthony Blevins is the new head coach of the XFL Vegas Vipers.

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Anthony Blevins, who has served as an assistant under three head coaches for the New York Giants since 2018, has been named the head coach of the XFL’s Vegas Vipers.

From the New York Post:

XFL executive vice president of football operations Marc Ross — who oversaw the Giants’ drafts for 11 seasons but just missed crossing paths with Blevins — was involved in the hiring.

“Anthony’s talent and potential were evident throughout the interview process,” Ross said in a statement, “and in speaking with some coaches, staff and former players from the New York Giants, it was clear that he knows how to connect with players and staff.”

Blevins, 46, was hired by then Giants head coach Pat Shurmur to be the team’s assistant special teams coach in 2018, a position he held for two seasons.

In 2020, under head coach Joe Judge, Blevins was shifted over to the defensive side of the ball as the assistant defensive backs coach. The next year, he was given the added responsibility as the assistant special team coordinator.

When Brian Daboll took over the reins as head coach, he kept Blevins on as the special teams assistant but also made him an assistant linebackers coach.

Before coming to the Giants, Blevins, who is nicknamed “Doc Blev”, coached five seasons for the Arizona Cardinals as their assistant special teams coordinator.

Favorite for special teams coordinator set to interview today in Berea

The search for a new special teams coordinator could be a short one.

The Cleveland Browns decided to let special teams coordinator Mike Preifer go yesterday and have started to look for his replacement. The reported favorite for the job, Bubba Ventrone, is reportedly in Berea today to interview. One would assume that if the interview goes well the search could already be over with the former Browns player back as the special team’s coordinator.

Indianapolis’ special teams unit under Ventrone has been one of the better units in the league the past few seasons. He is a well-respected coach and should be an upgrade over Preifer whose units just haven’t been up to the task the last couple of seasons resulting in his firing.

The Browns won’t just be interviewing Ventrone today as they are set to interview Giants assistant special teams coach Anthony Blevins over zoom today.

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Browns request permission to interview Giants’ Anthony Blevins

The Cleveland Browns have requested an interview with Anthony Blevins of the New York Giants for their vacant special teams coordinator job.

The New York Giants managed to hang onto both offensive coordinator Mike Kafka and defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, but they could still lose some assistant coaches this offseason.

Running backs coach DeAndre Smith has already taken off for Indianapolis and now the Cleveland Browns have their sights set on assistant special teams coordinator Anthony Blevins.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the Browns have formally requested an interview with Blevins for their vacant special teams coordinator job.

Blevins is widely respected throughout the Giants organization and across the NFL as a whole. He’s loved by his players and also drew interest for several coordinator roles last season, but ultimately ended up returning to East Rutherford.

Schefter also notes that Blevins previously interviewed for the Denver Broncos special teams coordinator job.

Although the Giants’ special teams unit was underwhelming in 2022, that was largely due to lacking personnel and mounting injuries throughout the season and not necessarily the coaching.

The 46-year-old Blevins has been with the Giants since 2018 and in addition to working alongside Thomas McGaughey, he’s also served as an assistant defensive backs coach and assistant linebackers coach.

Many current Giants players feel Blevins is “ready” for a promotion, either inside of the organization or outside of it.

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Browns request to interview Giants assistant special teams coordinator Anthony Blevins

The Browns request to interview another special teams coordinator candidate.

The Cleveland Browns have requested to interview a second candidate for their vacant special teams coordinator position. Looking to speak to the assistant special teams coordinator of the New York Giants, Anthony Blevins is expected to speak with the Browns about their vacancy after firing Mike Priefer. However, this comes after a report from ESPN’s Stephen Holder that they were already expected to add Bubba Ventrone as their new special teams coordinator. This is likely due diligence by the Browns to speak to as many qualified candidates as possible as they make another massive improvement to their coaching staff this offseason.

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Chargers interview Giants’ Anthony Blevins for special teams coordinator position

The Chargers are hard at work searching for their new special teams coordinator.

The Chargers are hard at work searching for their new special teams coordinator after parting ways with Derius Swinton II.

After interviewing Giants special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey earlier this past week, they turned to his assistant, Anthony Blevins, to discuss the opening, according to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan.

Along with special teams, Blevins worked as New York’s assistant linebackers coach this past season. Before that, he spent the 2020 season as the assistant defensive backs coach.

Prior to joining the Giants, Blevins spent five years as a coaching assistant/special teams with the Cardinals.

Giants assistant Anthony Blevins generating interest around the NFL?

New York Giants assistant coach Anthony Blevins is reportedly generating some significant interest around the NFL.

While the New York Giants are resetting their organization searching for a new general manager and head coach, other teams are seeking to poach some of their people.

One assistant coach garnering interest around the league, per Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News, is Anthony Blevins, an assistant linebackers and special teams coach.

Anthony Blevins, 45, is a riser that sources expect to land something bigger. Blevins has a wide range of experience coaching DBs, LBs and special teams. He could fill the Los Angeles Chargers’ special teams coordinator vacancy or make the jump to coaching inside/outside LBs full time. Blevins would be a logical asset on staffs with Bucs coordinators Byron Leftwich or Todd Bowles — both of whom he worked with in Arizona — or with Jim Caldwell, the Colts’ head coach when Blevins interned.

The Giants aren’t likely to retain many of Joe Judge’s assistants as they wipe the slate clean here. A new GM will get the hire the new head coach and they will assemble their own staff. Some of Judge’s assistants could end up interviewing for openings, but the vibe is the Giants want a fresh start.

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Giants make several more coaching staff changes

The New York Giants continued shuffling their coaching staff around recently, changing the roles for several assistants.

The New York Giants have done some more shuffling to their assistant coaching ranks under head coach Joe Judge.

In addition, Mike Treier has gone from defensive quality control coach to the assistant defensive backs coach. Bielema was the Giants’ outside linebackers coach who left in December after accepting the head coaching job at the University of Illinois.

On offense, the Giants are led by coordinator Jason Garrett who heads a staff consisting of Burton Burns (running backs), Derek Dooley (tight ends), Freddie Kitchens (senior offensive assistant), Rob Sale (offensive line), Tyke Tolbert (wide receivers), Jerry Schuplinski (quarterbacks), Ben Wilkerson (assistant offensive line coach), Jody Wright and quality control coach Nick Williams.

On defense under coordinator Patrick Graham, there is Blevins, Treier, Kevin Sherrer (linebackers), Jerome Henderson (defensive backs), Sean Spencer (defensive line) and senior defensive assistant Jeremy Pruitt.

Special teams are led by coordinator Thomas McGaughey and assistant Tom Quinn. Amos Jones returns as the assistant coach for special projects and situations and Ryan Hollern is the chief of staff.

Pat Flaherty has also returned to the team and will work with the offense, defense and special teams.

Report: Vikings interviewed Anthony Blevins for special teams job

Blevins, 44, served as an assistant special teams coach for the Cardinals from 2013-17 and for the Giants from 2018-19.

The Vikings are looking for the replacement for Mawan Maalouf after one nightmare season in Minnesota.

One possibility is Giants assistant defensive backs coach Anthony Blevins. Per Jordan Raanan, Blevins interviewed with the Vikings for the open special teams coordinator job.

Blevins, 44, served as an assistant special teams coach for the Cardinals from 2013-17 and for the Giants from 2018-19. Last season he was the assistant defensive backs coach for New York.

We’ll see if anything comes from the interview.

Report: Giants’ Anthony Blevins drawing interest as a special teams coordinator

New York Giants defensive backs coach Anthony Blevins is drawing interest from around the league as a possible special teams coordinator.

New York Giants assistant defensive backs coach Anthony Blevins, who spent seven seasons as an assistant special teams coordinator with the Arizona Cardinals and Giants, is reportedly drawing significant interest around the league.

ESPN’s Jordan Raanan reports that Blevins recently interviewed with both the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings for their special teams coordinator openings.

After Blevins’ playing career, which spanned three years between the AFL2 and XFL, he broke into coaching as a graduate assistant with Mississippi State from 2005-2007. He joined the Chicago Bears as a minority summer intern in 2008 before moving onto the Tennessee Titans as a special teams/cornerbacks coach from 2009-2011.

In both 2010 and 2011, Blevins also served as a minority summer intern for the Cardinals and Indianapolis Colts.

Prior to his aforementioned stints with the Giants and Cardinals, Blevins spent the 2012 season coaching cornerbacks at UAB.

Under head coach Joe Judge, Blevins was moved from assistant special teams coordinator to assistant defensive backs coach.

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4 Giants assistant coaches on staff for 2021 East-West Shrine Bowl

Four New York Giants assistant coaches will be on staff for the 2021 East-West Shrine Bowl Professional Development Opportunity.

Four New York Giants assistant coaches will participate in this year’s East-West Shrine Bowl Professional Development Opportunity.

At the conclusion of the regular season, NFL clubs “nominated active assistant coaches who were reviewed by a panel of NFL Football Operations staff, East-West Shrine Bowl leadership and members of the NFL’s General Managers Advisory Committee to serve as coaches for this year’s event.”

The Giants will be represented by assistant defensive back coach Anthony Blevins, offensive quality control coach Bobby Blick, defensive quality control coach Mike Treier and linebackers coach Jody Wright.

The game, which was originally scheduled to be played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida on January 23, was cancelled due to COVID-19. Instead, “the student-athletes chosen as players will still participate in various virtual training/informational drills with current NFL coaches and members of the NFL Operations staff. Some 2021 all-stars will also participate in various virtual experiences with Shriners Hospitals for Children patients in recognition of the game’s nearly century-long commitment to supporting the health care system’s life-changing mission.”

Over the years, many future Giants have played in the event reserved for college seniors such as Hall of Famers Lawrence Taylor and Frank Gifford. Coaches affiliated with the Giants include Dan Reeves and Romeo Crennel.

The East-West Shrine Bowl has been played for 95 years and is the nation’s oldest all-star game. 98 players from the 2020 East-West Shrine Bowl signed with an NFL team last fall.

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