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Tom Quinn

Tom Quinn is in his fourth season with the Giants and his third as the team's special teams coordinator. His first year with the team was spent as an assistant to Mike Sweatman, who retired following the 2006 season. Head coach Tom Coughlin quickly named Quinn to replace Sweatman.

The special teams played a huge role in the Giants' success in 2008. Three special teamers - kicker John Carney, punter Jeff Feagles and long snapper Zak DeOssie - were named to the NFC Pro Bowl team. Chase Blackburn was named a Pro Bowl alternate as a cover specialist.

Carney was signed on Aug. 30 because Lawrence Tynes was sidelined with an injury suffered three weeks earlier in training camp. Quinn quickly integrated Carney into the kicking unit and the veteran had the best season a Giants kicker has ever had. Carney kicked 35 field goals in 38 attempts, a .921 percentage that is the best in franchise history. Carney's 35 field goals tied the team single-season record, which he shares with Ali Haji-Sheikh (1983) and Jay Feely (2005).

Feagles continued to improve in his 21st season. He had a gross average of 44.0 yards and a net average of 40.2 yards on 64 punts. His previous best net average was 38.2 yards in 1995, his first Pro Bowl season. Feagles' gross average ties for the second-highest of his career and is just three-tenths of a yard less than the career best of 44.3 yards he set with Arizona in 1997.  Feagles holds the NFL records for punts (1,649), punting yards (68,607) and punts downed inside the 20-yard line (531). Feagles is also the Giants' holder.

In addition to the Pro Bowlers' exploits, Quinn's coverage teams played extremely well throughout the season. The Giants' special teams were ranked fourth in the NFL according to a comprehensive survey by the Dallas Morning News. The Giants allowed only 140 punt return yards all season and were ranked third in the NFL in punt coverage, giving up an average of only 5.85 yards a return. The team's field goal percentage of 92.3 was ranked third. The Giants blocked three field goals and opposing teams converted 73 percent of their attempts, the fourth-lowest figure in the NFL. The 40.2-yard net punting average was a Giants record and placed them fourth in the league. their opponents averaged 5.8 yards a return, the NFL's third-best figure. Domenik Hixon averaged a team-record 60.0 yards on three kickoff returns at Arizona.

The special teams overcame adversity and performed well in the Giants' 2007 championship season. Long-snapper Ryan Kuehl suffered a season-ending injury in training camp, and the Giants used rookie snappers Jay Alford (on placekicks) and DeOssie (for punts) the entire year. Tynes, in his first season with the Giants, made 23 of 27 field goal attempts (85.2 percent), the same numbers posted the previous season by Feely. Tynes also made the biggest kick of the postseason, a game-winning 47-yarder in overtime in the NFC Championship Game in Green Bay.
 
Quinn employed three kickoff returners - Ahmad Bradshaw, Reuben Droughns and Domenik Hixon - and the Giants finished seventh in the NFL with a 23.9-yard average. The coverage teams were also strong; Giants opponents averaged only 6.2 yards on 28 punt returns.

Quinn, 41, coached in the collegiate ranks for 15 years. Before joining the Giants, he spent four years on the coaching staff at Stanford University. Quinn coached the special teams in each of those seasons, plus the tight ends in 2002 and 2003, and the outside linebackers in 2004 and 2005.

Quinn began his career coaching linebackers at Davidson in 1991. From 1992-94, he was the special teams coach and recruiting coordinator at James Madison. In 1995, he was the defensive coordinator at Boston University and from 1996-98 Quinn was the defensive coordinator at Holy Cross.

Quinn moved back to the West Coast in 1999 at San Jose State, where in three years he worked with the linebackers, tight ends and with the special teams. He joined the staff at Stanford in 2002.

Quinn grew up in Southern California, where he played at Foothill High School. From 1986-90, Quinn was a linebacker at the University of Arizona, where he played on three bowl teams. He earned a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies in 1990 and a master's in education the following year.

Quinn and his wife, Alison, have a son, Shane, and two daughters, Logan and Riley.

QUINN AT A GLANCE

1991.............................Davidson College...........................linebackers coach
1992-94.........................James Madison.........special teams/recruiting coordinator 1995.............................Boston University......................defensive coordinator
1996-98.........................Holy Cross..............................defensive coordinator
1999-01........................San Jose State...........linebackers/tight ends/special teams
2002-03........................Stanford University...................special teams/tight ends
2004-05........................Stanford University.........special teams/outside linebackers
2006.............................New York Giants.....................asst. special teams coach
2007-09.........................New York Giants.....................special teams coordinator