The Giants have lost a key member of their offensive coaching staff as today the team announced that quarterbacks coach Chris Palmer, a 20-year NFL coaching veteran who spent his last three seasons with the Giants, is retiring.
“I had a great run with the Giants,” Palmer said. “I want to thank the Maras and the Tisches for three great years. I enjoyed my time there very much. And it was not only the players, but the people and the organization. It was a very, very good situation for me.”
Palmer, who was Giants head coach Tom Coughlin’s offensive coordinator when the two were in Jacksonville, came to the Giants in 2007 when Kevin Gilbride was promoted to offensive coordinator. Under Palmer’s tutelage, QB Eli Manning flourished into a Super bowl MVP and Pro Bowl quarterback.
“I really enjoyed working with Coach Palmer,” Manning said. “Over the last three years we've had some great success and I've improved as a quarterback. He's a terrific coach when it comes to technique. He's great not only on the field but also in the meeting room. I'm really sorry to see him go.”
In 2009, Manning had his best season, setting several career highs including completions (317 of 509); pass completion percentage (62.3), passing yards (4,021), touchdowns (27); and passer rating (93.1).
“It was very rewarding to me to work with Eli, because you had a player who grew every year,” Palmer said. “We won the Super Bowl. He was a guy that you looked forward to coming to work with every day, because he was going to challenge you and he was going to look for ways to get better. We hit it off from day one.”
Palmer’s previous NFL coaching experience included Cleveland, where he was the head coach in 1999-2000; Jacksonville (1997-98) and stops in Houston (for both the Oilers and the Texans), New England, and Dallas.
“I think Chris was an excellent addition to our staff,” Coughlin said. “I hired Chris to be my offensive coordinator in Jacksonville. Because of my knowledge of his unique abilities as a quarterback coach, I wanted him here and I wanted him to be able to work with Eli. He came in and we had a historic year here in 2007. Eli had a great playoff run and Chris was a part of that.
“Chris did an outstanding job coaching Eli," Coughlin added. "He has been Eli’s coach and confidant in the years that he’s been here. Eli and Chris had a very good working relationship. I believe Eli has established himself as one of the top quarterbacks in the National Football League, and I see nothing but continued improvement in the future. Chris was very well thought of here. Ownership thinks highly of Chris and so do I. We wish him well going forward.”
** Update: According to a report by MSG, Palmer is on the verge of being named the new head coach of the New York Sentinels of the UFL (soon to be renamed the Hartford Sentinels). **
