EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – New York Giants senior vice president of football operations and strategy Kevin Abrams is leaving the organization after 27 years with the team, multiple sources told ESPN.
It was part of a busy second day on the job for new coach John Harbaugh. He met with multiple assistant coaches and informed most of the defensive staff they would not be returning for next season, the sources said.
Among the coaches who will not be returning is special teams coordinator Michael Ghorbial. He was in his second season as a coordinator with the Giants. He came over before the 2024 season from the New York Jets.
Harbaugh and the Giants were denied a request to interview Baltimore Ravens special teams coordinator Chris Horton in recent days, a source told ESPN. The Ravens are amid a coaching search themselves, and Horton is under contract.
Defensive line coach Andre Patterson is among the defensive coaches who won’t be returning, sources said. Patterson coached this past after being diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2025 and is a favorite among his players.
The Giants’ medical department and athletic training staff are also expected to be part of the shakeup.
It’s all part of the new regime under Harbaugh, who was given somewhat unprecedented power by the Giants. He is reporting directly to ownership rather than general manager Joe Schoen and was insistent that was written into his contract. It’s the same setup he had in Baltimore.
The Giants’ organization had always believed in a structure that had the coach reporting to the general manager during most of the modern era. The general manager would then report to ownership. Not this time around.
Abrams was the Giants’ assistant general manager for 20 of his 27 years with the team, including serving as the interim GM during the 2017 season. He worked under four general managers stretching back to Ernie Accorsi and was part of two Super Bowl-winning front offices.
Abrams negotiated and handled contracts for much of his time with the Giants. He was the Giants’ salary cap analyst in his first three years with the team. The moves come just one day after Harbaugh was introduced as the team’s new head coach. With a new coach typically comes a new organizational structure. It began on Wednesday.
Harbaugh is expected to bring multiple Ravens staffers with him to New York, according to sources. The Giants put in multiple slips for interview requests across multiple departments in recent days.
“I would say there’s a number of guys that I have a pretty good idea they’re coming with me. But you can’t know that until it’s done,” Harbaugh said after his introductory news conference on Tuesday. “So keep our fingers crossed on some guys.” In order to make room, he started making significant moves on Wednesday.
