The Giants‘ new running backs coach already knows Tyrone Tracy Jr. well.
Brian Daboll is hiring Iowa running backs coach Ladell Betts for the same position on New York’s coaching staff, sources said Monday.
Betts, 45, a former NFL running back, has coached the Hawkeyes’ RBs since the 2021 college season.
So he was on Iowa’s staff in Tracy’s final season there, as a wide receiver who saw some carries, before he transferred to Purdue and eventually switched to full-time running back as a Boilermaker.
The Athletic first reported Betts’ hiring.
Daboll now has added another piece of Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz’s coaching tree with the Hawkeyes coach’s sons James Ferentz (assistant OL coach) and Steven Ferentz (defensive assistant) already on the Giants’ staff.
Betts joins a coaching staff on the hot seat, however, and fills a vacancy where Daboll has been unable to find consistency.
Betts will be the Giants’ fifth running backs coach in five years and their fourth in four years under Daboll. The position was empty because Joel Thomas left after only one season to return to the New Orleans Saints, where he spent nearly a decade from 2015-23.
DeAndre Smith left after the 2022 season for a lateral move to the Indianapolis Colts. And Jeff Nixon left after the 2023 season for the Syracuse offensive coordinator job during an offseason that marked an exodus of numerous staffers.
The Giants’ addition of Betts is happening as the team’s front office personnel and coaching staff board their flights for Indianapolis for this week’s NFL Combine.
GM Joe Schoen holds the No. 3 overall pick in the NFL Draft and is scheduled to speak to reporters on Tuesday morning.