During Saturday’s 10-6 loss to the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium, New York Giants executive director of player performance Aaron Wellman took a big hit along the sideline courtesy of Jets running back Xazavian Valladay, who was pushed out of bounds.
Wellman was flattened and thrown backward, flipping over his head before quickly bouncing back to his feet with the help of cornerback Darnay Holmes and kicker Graham Gano.
Coach took this hit like a champ 😅👏 pic.twitter.com/2WborNQioY
— NFL (@NFL) August 25, 2024
Despite how it initially appeared, Wellman was uninjured. A few seconds later, he was seen yucking it up with wide receiver Jalin Hyatt.
“I saw that this morning. (Laura Young) showed it to me and that was a pretty big hit. So one, he’s tough. He got right back up,” head coach Brian Daboll told reporters on Sunday. “And two, the clip that she showed me. . . He’s not a big smile guy. He’s pretty serious. I think that’s the biggest smile I’ve ever seen him have since I’ve met him.”
One reporter even suggested that Wellman may have enjoyed the hit more than anything else he’s done for the Giants.
“He might have,” Daboll joked. “He might have.”
Wellman is in his second sting with the Giants organization. He previously served as their strength and conditioning coach from 2016 through 2019.
