You can tell something about a first-time NFL head coach by the makeup of his first coaching staff. The group Brian Daboll has put together is a fairly eclectic mix and shows he is unafraid to surround himself with assistants with whom he has no previous association, in the league or on a personal level. 

There is some familiarity on Daboll’s staff, a sprinkling of guys — and one woman — he has worked with at other stops. There are also a few returnees from Joe Judge’s staff. There are a bunch of newcomers. Here is a closer look at the Giants’ 2021 coaching staff: 

Head coach: Brian Daboll, 46 

This is the first head-coaching job at any level for Daboll, who has five Super Bowl championship rings from his time with the Patriots and one national championship ring from his one season at Alabama. He developed the Bills’ offense the past four years and has an everyman persona and light touch around the building. 

Director of coaching operations: Laura Young 

Young has 18 years of NFL experience and is the first woman to hold a coaching position in Giants history. She entered the NFL in 2004 as an executive assistant with the Ravens and followed Rex Ryan to the Jets. She was with the Bills the past four years, linking her with Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen. Young assisted players and their families getting acclimated to Buffalo, and the past two years was the Bills’ COVID-19 coordinator. Daboll calls her “a rock star.’’ 

Offensive assistant/game manager: Cade Knox 

A former wide receiver at Harvard, Knox was hired by the previous Giants front office 18 months ago as a football data and innovation intern. He is now a part of Daboll’s staff and will work game days from the coaching box. 

Coordinator: Mike Kafka, 34 

What an interesting choice, considering Kafka and Daboll have never worked together and have no connection to each other. Kafka was an Eagles 2010 fourth-round draft pick out of Northwestern — he threw 16 passes in his NFL career, all in 2011 — and his only NFL coaching experience is with Andy Reid and the Chiefs. The next offensive play Kafka calls will be his first. Will Daboll allow Kafka to call the plays with the Giants? 

Quarterbacks: Shea Tierney, 35 

The Giants hope whatever Tierney, another former Bills assistant, did to help Josh Allen develop rubs off on Daniel Jones. Tierney, a Philadelphia native who arrived to the NFL as an Eagles intern, has ties to Daboll from Buffalo and also from their one year together (2017) at Alabama. 

Running backs: DeAndre Smith, 53 

This is the first NFL job for Smith, who has 22 years of experience coaching running backs at the college level. Among his many campus stops: Illinois, Syracuse, Purdue, North Carolina, Utah State and the last three years at Texas Tech. Mr. Smith, meet Mr. Saquon Barkley, who gets his third position coach in five years. 

Wide receivers: Mike Groh, 50 

The former Virginia quarterback got his NFL start in 2000 with the Jets, hired by the head coach, his father, Al Groh — a Giants assistant and defensive coordinator from 1989-91. Mike Groh is a former Eagles offensive coordinator and most recently was the receivers coach with the Colts. 

Tight ends: Andy Bischoff, 51 

He won two Grey Cups as an assistant with the Montreal Alouettes, and worked with the tight ends with the Bears and Ravens. Coached tight ends on David Culley’s one-and-done-staff with the Texans in 2021. 

Offensive line: Bobby Johnson, 48 

Daboll thought enough of Johnson in their three years together with the Bills to entrust him to oversee the Achilles’ heel position group of the Giants. In 2019, Johnson helped indoctrinate four new starters on the offensive line in Buffalo, a scenario he could be faced with this season with the Giants. 

Assistant offensive line: Tony Sparano Jr., 35 

The former defensive lineman at Albany got his NFL start in 2011 with the Dolphins, working for his father, head coach Tony Sparano. He was a Jets intern in 2012 and worked with the offensive line for the Panthers last season. 

Offensive assistant: Christian Jones, 28 

He spent the past three years with the Vikings. The former Northwestern wide receiver (128 receptions in 51 games) worked with the receivers in Minnesota in 2021. 

Coordinator: Wink Martindale, 58 

Pressure is coming. Martindale likes to bring the heat. He will blitz from start to finish and demand that his cornerbacks hold up in man coverage. He was with the Ravens for a decade — the past four seasons running the defense — but things got stale in 2021 and he was let go. He is not Rex Ryan, but Martindale brings a big personality to the staff and shapes his unit in his own aggressive image. 

Defensive line: Andre Patterson, 61 

Patterson is the oldest member of Daboll’s staff and has 40 years of coaching on his résumé — 18 in the NFL, the past eight for the Vikings. He was the co-defensive coordinator in 2020 and the assistant head coach in 2021. Patterson inherits a stud in Leonard Williams and will be tasked with helping Dexter Lawrence’s further career advancement. 

Inside linebackers: John Egorugwu, 35 

He was at Vanderbilt last season and comes with recommendations from high inside the Giants staff — he has ties to Daboll (with the Bills) and Martindale (with the Ravens). 

Outside linebackers: Drew Wilkins, 34 

For the past decade, Wilkins worked with Martindale on the Ravens and has now been handed the responsibility of generating a pass rush and continuing the development of Azeez Ojulari. 

Defensive backs: Jerome Henderson, 52 

An extremely popular assistant the past two years, Henderson returns off Judge’s staff. He made a strong impression on Daboll from their time together as assistants with the Jets and Browns. Henderson has shown an ability to incorporate young players into the secondary and aided in Xavier McKinney’s ascension. 

Assistant defensive line: Bryan Cox, 54 

A Super Bowl winner (with the Patriots) and three-time Pro Bowl linebacker, Cox has not coached in the NFL since 2016 with the Falcons. A high-energy personality, Cox will add some zest to the staff. This is the sixth NFL team to hire him as an assistant. His first assignment was in 2006 with the Jets, working for Eric Mangini. 

Assistant defensive backs: Michael Treier, 31 

Trier returns to the role he filled on Judge’s staff, working directly with Henderson. This allows continuity for the young defensive backs, notably 2021 third-round pick Aaron Robinson. Before coming to the Giants, Treier was at Marshall University for six years. 

Defensive assistant: Kevin Wilkins, 30 

Daboll believes in allowing his coordinators to make the call on assistants on their side of the ball, and Wilkins worked under Martindale in Baltimore. He joined the Ravens in 2015 as a video intern and is the younger brother of Drew, the outside linebackers coach. 

Coordinator: Thomas McGaughey, 48 

This will be the fourth different Giants coaching regime for McGaughey, who was an assistant for Tom Coughlin, and the past four years was a coordinator for Pat Shurmur and Judge before being retained by Daboll. That shows how capable and loyal McGaughey is. Smart and insightful, he is an asset to any staff.

Assistant special teams: Anthony Blevins, 45 

This is the third Giants head coach for Blevins, who came to the franchise in 2018 as part of Shurmur’s staff and was retained by Judge — who moved him from special teams to defensive backs. Blevins received his NFL coaching start with Bruce Arians in Arizona in 2013. 

Special teams quality control: Nick Williams, 31 

Hired by Judge as an offensive assistant, Williams gets his third different coaching assignment for his second NFL head coach.