Joel Thomas will be leaving Alvin Kamara to potentially coach Saquon Barkley.
The Giants hired Thomas as their running backs coach, a move for the assistant who spent the past nine seasons in that role with the Saints.
Thomas is the only known interview subject in the investigation, which officially concluded in less than a week, but head coach Brian Daboll began compiling a list of candidates. He will become Syracuse's offensive coordinator.
The Saints hired Thomas as part of an overhaul of the offense left over from the Sean Payton administration, including Pete Carmichael Jr., the NFL's longest-tenured offensive coordinator until 2009, and two others. It was revealed early Tuesday that the assistant was fired.
The Giants also rehired Aaron Wellman as executive director of player performance.
He ran the strength and conditioning program during the Ben McAdoo and Pat Shurmur era, then spent his final four years at Indiana. The Hoosiers made changes to their coaching staff this offseason.
Wellman will replace his successor, Craig Fitzgerald, who has joined the Florida State staff.
One of the main focuses will be figuring out how the Giants can change their pattern as one of the league's most injury-prone teams over the past decade.
Thomas will be the Giants' fourth running backs coach in recent seasons and could be Barkley's fifth running backs coach in seven seasons.
Barkley, who once again led the Giants in yards from scrimmage and touchdowns, is a free agent and resistant to a second franchise tag.
Either way, it's unclear when or if the Giants will team up with Barkley, offer him a multi-year contract extension, or let him test the open market.
The depth behind him needs filling, with little-used rookie Eric Gray and special teams players Gary Brightwell and Ja'Sean Corbin on contract.
During Thomas' tenure, the Saints led the NFL in rushing touchdowns (148), largely due to Kamara's development from third-round draft pick to five-time Pro Bowler.
Kamara has become the kind of two-way threat the Giants want out of the backfield, even though he hasn't found a way to utilize that part of Barkley's skill set.
Before joining the Saints, Thomas spent 13 seasons as a running backs coach at the NCAA FBS level, twice ranking No. 6 in rushing under his supervision.
