Anthony Blevins is in his fifth season with the Giants and his fourth as an assistant special teams coach.
Last season, Blevins was also an assistant linebackers coach and in 2020 he was the team's the assistant defensive backs coach. In his first two seasons with the Giants (2018-19), he was the assistant special teams coach.
In 2021, Blevins helped elevate both units..
Second-year linebacker Tae Crowder stepped in as the defensive signal-caller after Blake Martinez suffered a season-ending knee injury, started every game and led the Giants with 130 tackles (64 solo). Rookie Azeez Ojulari topped the team with a franchise rookie record 8.0 sacks and was the first rookie to lead the team since sacks became an official statistic in 1982.
Last season, Giants opponents averaged an NFL-low 17.8 yards per kickoff return. The longest runback they allowed on 37 returns was 32 yards. Graham Gano extended his franchise record to 37 consecutive successful field goal attempts and made 29 of 33 tries. Gano kicked a Giants-record seven field goals of 50+ yards. Since joining the team in 2020, Gano has made 60 of 65 field goal attempts, a .923 percentage that is a Giants record for kickers with at least 50 attempts.
When Blevins coached the defensive backs in 2020, the Giants' pass defense jumped from 28th in the league in 2019 to a tie for 16th. The Giants allowed 237.9 yards game through the air, a 26.2-yard improvement over their 2019 average. Cornerback James Bradberry was selected to his first Pro Bowl after tying for second in the NFL with 18 passes defensed. Logan Ryan moved from cornerback to safety and finished second on the Giants with 92 tackles (67 solo).
Blevins assisted special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey in 2019, when the Giants finished seventh in Rick Gosselin's special teams rankings. The kickoff coverage unit led the league and finished in the top two for the second straight season by allowing an average return of just 18.1 yards. The punt coverage team was tied for fifth as opponents averaged only 5.7 yards a return. Conversely, the Giants were fourth and 10th, respectively, in the NFL in punt (9.8 yards) and kickoff (23.5 yards) return average.
The previous year, kicker Aldrick Rosas was selected to the Pro Bowl and was named second-team All-Pro after making 32 of 33 field goal attempts and 31 of 32 extra point tries. The 32 field goals were the fifth-highest total in Giants history. Rosas' .970 field goal percentage was a Giants record.
Before joining the Giants, Blevins spent five years as a coaching assistant/special teams with the Arizona Cardinals.
During his time with the Cardinals, Blevins helped special teamer Justin Bethel get selected to three consecutive Pro Bowls (2013-15) after leading the team in special teams tackles each season. In 2013 and 2015, Bethel was named first-team All-NFL by the Pro Football Writers Association.
All-Pro Kicker Chandler Catanzaro tied the NFL record for the most consecutive field goals to begin a career (17) and established a franchise rookie record with 114 points in 2014. The following season, Catanzaro finished third in the NFL with 137 points, which was also the second-highest single-season total in franchise history.
In 2017, Blevins coached rookie Budda Baker, who was selected as the NFC special teams representative in the Pro Bowl. Baker led the Cardinals with 16 special teams tackles and was selected All-Pro by the AP and the Pro Football Writers Association.
Blevins spent the 2012 season as the cornerbacks coach at his alma mater, the University of Alabama-Birmingham, following three seasons at Tennessee State (2009-11) coaching special teams and cornerbacks. He also worked at the University of Tennessee-Martin in 2008 coaching cornerbacks while serving as recruiting coordinator.
Blevins was a part of the NFL's Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship Program with the Indianapolis Colts in 2011, the Cardinals in 2010, and the Chicago Bears in 2008.
A three-year letter winner, Blevins played cornerback at UAB from 1995-98. He played professionally for the Mobile Admirals of the Regional Football League (1999), the Birmingham Steeldogs of AFL2 (2000), and for the Birmingham Thunderbolts in the XFL from 2000-01.
Blevins began his coaching career as the secondary coach and team community liaison at Meadowcreek High School in Gwinnett, Ga. in 2003-04. From 2005-07, he served as a graduate assistant at Mississippi State, helping coach wide receivers and defensive backs for the Bulldogs while also assisting special teams.
A native of Birmingham, Blevins graduated from UAB in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in sociology and earned a master's in instructional technology in 2006 from Mississippi State. In the fall of 2015, he earned a PhD in instructional systems & workforce development from Mississippi State.
2005–07 Mississippi State University graduate assistant
2008 University of Tennessee at Martin cornerbacks/recruiting coordinator
2009–11 Tennessee State University special teams/cornerbacks
2012 University of Alabama at Birmingham cornerbacks
2013–17 Arizona Cardinals coaching assistant/special teams
2018-19 New York Giants assistant special teams
2020 New York Giants assistant defensive backs
2021 New York Giants assistant linebackers/assistant special teams
2022 New York Giants assistant special teams
