January 6, 2016
Peter Solari Follow @4PeteSakeNY
Saints coach Sean Payton says he's staying in New Orleans, and there are some new candidates for the Giants' head coaching vacancy.
According to Ed Valentine at Big Blue View, Patriots' offensive coordinator and ex-Broncos coach, Josh McDaniels is the odds on favorite to replace Tom Coughlin. The Giants have also scheduled an interviews with Bears offensive coordinator, Adam Gase, on Friday, and with Jaguars assistant head coach/ex-Bills coach Doug Marrone, on Saturday.
The Giants have also reportedly expressed interest in Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott, as well as Bengals offensive coordinator/ex-Raiders coach, Hue Jackson. The Panthers and Bengals are currently in the playoffs, and any interviews with McDermott or Jackson, will have to wait.
Giants offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo remain in the running, also.
None of the above candidates can realistically be looked at as an upgrade over Coughlin.
Regardless of who the media's odds on favorite is, Ben McAdoo is clearly the front-runner. The Giants have planned on him being the next coach for several years now, and that hasn't changed. Mike Francesa, of WFAN in New York, believes this whole coaching search is merely smoke and mirrors, and he's most likely right.
The team's front office has indicated that they would like the new coach, whoever that may be, to retain McAdoo and Spagnuolo as coordinators. However, McAdoo is scheduled to interview for the Eagles coaching vacancy soon, and it appears as though his sights are set higher than offensive coordinator.
The Eagles may force the Giants' hand in this instance, but it shouldn't harm New York too much. The Giants will probably do anything they can to keep their rival from stealing McAdoo. Should he emerge as a serious candidate in Philadelphia, New York may be forced to promote McAdoo, to prevent themselves from losing him altogether. Ultimately, though, this scenario would play right into the Giants' hand.
Since the Giants have always planned on making McAdoo the coach, anyway, hiring him now wouldn't change anything for them. This also represents a best case scenario for New York. It would allow them to keep McAdoo's offense, which Eli Manning has run flawlessly for two seasons, in place, plus it would likely mean that the front office will get it's wish to keep Spagnuolo in his current role.
While I fully expect this to all happen in the coming weeks, the Giants are going to have to overlook McAdoo's lack of experience, before it becomes reality. But that really isn't hard to envision, even if some questions may linger.
For the New York Football Giants, as little change as possible on the coaching staff, is their clearest path forward. Changes on the field, however, will have to be made.
Giants' ownership retained general manager Jerry Reese for a reason, and it's about time he shows us why.
Stay tuned to The Monday Morning Quarterback for continuing coverage of the Giants' coaching search.
Editor's note: This post was originally written and was intended to be published for 5:00 PM ET Wednesday January 6th. Due to technical difficulties, I was unable to get it live until 11:50 PM on January 6th. Apologies for the delay.
