You know what they say: If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.
Retired New England Patriots running back Kevin Faulk has done just that. He’s currently with the New York Giants as a Bill Walsh minority coaching intern and working hand-in-hand with Saquon Barkley and the team’s other backs.
“Pass-pro is a big focus for me, just continuing to get more confident, continue to just get more technically sound with the technique and dropping my hips, punching not catching,” Barkley told reporters on Thursday. “K Faulk is doing a really good job with me in that time. And just everything not just that: catching the ball, balance, with so many team reps and short individual time, you don’t really get that much work on yourself as a running back.
“So, we take that time to, and (Laura Young) too, we take that time to just anything, whether it’s pass-pro, catching, running back drills, just getting the hands active, getting the feet active, whatever it can be to help make me a better player. We use that time for that.”
The 46-year-old Faulk was a second-round pick of the Patriots in the 1999 NFL draft and spend his entire 13-year playing career in New England. He won three Super Bowl titles during that time but also felt the string of two crushing championship losses against the Giants.
Following his retirement in 2012, Faulk took a brief hiatus before returning in 2013 as the offensive coordinator for Carencro High School in Louisiana. He later became the director of player development at LSU (2018-2019) and then took over as their running backs coach (2020-2021).
The Giants represent Faulk’s first coaching opportunity at the NFL level.
