The Giants announced the hirings of Joel Thomas as the new running backs coach and Aaron Wellman as executive director of player performance.
Thomas replaces Jeff Nixon, who left for a job on the Syracuse staff.
Thomas has worked with the running backs in New Orleans since joining former head coach Sean Payton’s staff in 2015. He worked at Arkansas, Washington, Purdue, Idaho and Louisville on the collegiate level before moving to the NFL.
From 2015-22, the Saints led the NFL with 148 rushing touchdowns.
Saints running back Alvin Kamara earned five Pro Bowl selections and broke the franchise record for rushing touchdowns (54) and overall touchdowns (78) during Thomas’ time with the team.
Wellman is rejoining the Giants for a second time after just completing his fourth season as Indiana’s senior assistant athletic director for football performance. He served as the Giants’ strength and conditioning coach for four seasons before that.
Wellman led strength and conditioning programs for 15 years with stints at the University of Michigan (2011-14), San Diego State University (2009-10) and Ball State University (2004-08) in addition to the Giants (2016-19).
He owns 26 years of experience, including 14 in the Big Ten.
