Joe Judge is gone. Dave Gettleman is gone. And now the Giants move forward, trying to find the right coach and general manager combination after a decade of disaster.
First, the Giants will pick a new general manager to replace Gettleman and, if co-owner John Mara is to be believed, that GM will have the autonomy to hire his own head coach. That sets up an intriguing scenario, especially as the Giants primarily focus on executives from some of the better-run organization, most of them currently in the playoffs:
What about a package deal?
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Meaning: It’s not inconceivable that the Giants would hire a general manager who could bring a top head coaching candidate along with him to East Rutherford.
As of Tuesday night, the Giants had requested interviews with nine people in other organizations. All of them come from teams that also have a potential head coaching candidate in tow, too.
We ran through the combinations to explore the possibilities of what the Giants could get if they pulled off a package deal:
Buffalo Bills
Head coach: Brian Daboll.
GM: Joe Schoen.
Analysis: Of all the pairings on this list, this feels like the one that might be the most realistic — if the Giants can reel Schoen in as GM. He was the first candidate the Giants requested to interview and he’ll be interviewing with the team via Zoom on Wednesday morning. Schoen has ties to Bill Parcells and has been groomed under Bills GM Brandon Beane, one of the best decision-makers in the league.
Daboll has been head coaching candidate for a couple years now thanks to the way he unlocked Josh Allen’s potential and helped turn him into an MVP-caliber quarterback. The Giants should be trying to bring in offensive-minded coach and Daboll is one of the best available in that regard.
Kansas City Chiefs
Head coach: Eric Bieniemy.
GM: Ryan Poles.
Analysis: Poles, 36, is one of the youngest GM candidates the Giants are pursuing, but he’s been in the Chiefs organization for 11 years and learned about roster building from Andy Reid, Brett Veach, John Dorsey and Scott Pioli. And Bieniemy, an offensive coordinator, has been a hot candidate for head coaching jobs for each of the last few years but just hasn’t gotten the gig yet. If he doesn’t this year, it might never happen — but he certainly has the credentials to help turn the Giants offense around.
San Francisco 49ers
Head coach: DeMeco Ryans
GM: Adam Peters (or Ran Carthon)
Analysis: Peters is one of the top GM candidates. He’s credited with helping to bring in many of the 49ers’ best players, namely tight end George Kittle. And he also previously spent time in the Broncos and Patriots organization — so don’t rule out a pairing with someone (like Josh McDaniels) from his past either. Carthon is also highly-regarded and his father played fullback for the Giants.
Ryans, the former standout linebacker, worked wonders as Robert Saleh’s replacement as defensive coordinator this year and is considered an impressive leader and coaching candidate on the rise.
Baltimore Ravens
Head coach: Don “Wink” Martindale.
GM: Jon Hortiz.
Analysis: It is never a bad idea to pluck someone from the Ravens front office. He’s been one of the top members of Baltimore’s front office both for Ozzie Newsome and Eric DeCosta, and the Ravens have always been one of the most well-run organizations that seems to draft well every single year.
Martindale, Baltimore’s defensive coordinator, was a finalist for the Giants job in 2020 before they ultimately settled on Joe Judge. He continues to be one of the best defensive minds in the league, though he is 58 years old.
Arizona Cardinals
Head coach: Vance Joseph
GM: Adrian Wilson (or Quentin Harris)
Analysis: Wilson is another front office riser, working his way through the Cardinals front office since retiring as a Pro Bowl safety to become GM Steve Keim’s righthand man. Joseph worked his way up through scouting and apparently played an important role in the Cardinals’ decision to draft Kyler Murray just one year after picking Josh Rosen. Harris, also in Arizona’s front office, is getting interviewed this week.
Joseph has re-established himself as one of the NFL’s best defensive coaches in Arizona after a failed head coaching stint with the Broncos, where he went 11-21 in two years.
Tennessee Titans
Head coach: Todd Downing.
GM: Monti Ossenfort (or Ryan Cowden)
Analysis: Ossenfort felt like a more legitimate candidate when Judge was still potentially being brought back as head coach — mainly due to their Patriots ties. But that shouldn’t keep Ossenfort out of contention for the job. He’s played a crucial role in building the Titans into a contender and has learned from Bill Belichick. Cowden is also expected to interview. He’s been the No. 2 to Jon Robinson in Tennessee and started out his career as a scout.
Downing replaced Arthur Smith — now the Falcons coach — as offensive coordinator and impressively managed to keep Tennessee’s offense above water all year as they dealt with injuries to their best players, namely running back Derrick Henry.
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And some intriguing potential pairings from GM candidates that the Giants haven’t requested to interview yet:
– Dallas Cowboys: Will McClay (GM), Kellen Moore (HC)
– Indianapolis Colts: Ed Dodds (GM), Matt Eberflus (HC)
– New England Patriots: Dave Ziegler (GM), Jerod Mayo/Josh McDaniels (HC)
– New Orleans Saints: Jeff Ireland (GM), Dennis Allen (HC)
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Zack Rosenblatt may be reached at zrosenblatt@njadvancemedia.com.
