New York Giants: Coaching search is well played

Does anyone else find the Bill Belichick back to Big Blue rumors laughable now?

Well, New York Giants fans should see subterfuge for what it is. The current New England Patriots head coach isn’t going anywhere, but his top lieutenants are likely leaving. Interestingly enough, neither will be hired by the G-Men. Defensive coordinator Matt Patricia likely ends up with the Detroit Lions. Offensive genius Josh McDaniels looks to be heading to the Hoosier State – with the Indianapolis Colts.

Patricia will cite his relationship with Lions GM Bob Quinn and the presence of Matthew Stafford as the reasons he is in Motown. McDaniels will talk about what a gem the Colts have in quarterback Andrew Luck. Of course, the Lions are the NFL’s second worst franchise. In Indianapolis, no one knows for certain when Luck will play again, and McDaniels will also have to deal with owner Jim Irsay.

And those are better jobs than the opening with the New York Giants?

Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News is the New York Giants beat writer for the newspaper. On Sunday, he bemoaned how far the franchise has fallen, as evidenced by the coaching search gone wrong.

"“It was truly a statement of the Giants’ fall from grace on Sunday when Patricia passed on Big Blue’s four Super Bowl trophies and storied history for the Lions, who have never even reached the big game in the Super Bowl era.”"

Nonsense. Something smells in Foxborough for sure.

New York Giants

The worldwide leader of rumors

Who knows if there’s any validity to the huge story that Seth Wickersham broke about the Pats last week. We do know that ESPN gets played more times than a rented set of drums. The Worldwide Leader gets fed more information from players and sources than you can shake a stick at.

Got an agenda, call ESPN.

Now, the Pats have a difficult task – to repeat as Super Bowl champion. Excuse the team if they think that they walk on water. Last year’s come from behind victory in Super Bowl LI could make anyone feel they are special. We won’t get into the fact that the Atlanta Falcons had a lot to do with the New England win.

Is it possible for a Super Bowl champion to be an underdog?

No one knows for sure, but manufacturing a story to create the “world is against us” aura never hurts. Alabama’s Nick Saban does it constantly, even though he always has a top recruiting class.

Wickersham claims that he interviewed “New England staffers” as part of his research. The motivation of those staffers to speak to ESPN seems dubious at best. And what started out as momentum for another Super Bowl run could also have been used to foil the New York Giants in their coaching search. It certainly seems that way.

Fast forward to right now – no Bill Belichick, no Matt Patricia and no Josh McDaniels for the G-Men.

And that happened on its own?

Crocodile Tears

The simple truth remains that the New England Patriots franchise is petty and vindictive. It operates more like a cult. No one can speak ill of the Holy Trinity of Belichick, owner Bob Kraft and quarterback Tom Brady.

Patriots fans went off the deep end when Brady was suspended by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. It’s clear that fans identity revolves around their favorite NFL team. Internally, the Patriots don’t like to win, they hate to lose. The gain every edge possible.

The fans and organization deserve each other. Even when they win, which is often, the team and its fans also revel in the misery of others. Crapping on the lowly New York Jets continues to be fun for Brady and company.

The cockomaime tale of Belchick to the Giants circulated for a couple days, or just enough time to get in the middle of the team interviewing the New England assistants.

How’s that for timing?

After the initial story broke, the Belichick to the New York Giants rumors started full steam. These were fostered by a willing New York media. The press took one story, then they cut it and pasted it to reflect something else. A perfect example showed up in Newsday:

"“Anyone who saw him get misty-eyed in the NFL Films documentary of him when he walked through Giants Stadium for the final time in 2009 knows that the Giants hold a special place in his heart. ‘This is a great organization,’ he said in that interview. ‘It’s hard not to get choked up about it . . . I loved it here’.”"

Are you kidding me?

This past weekend, the New England Patriots dismantled the Tennessee Titans 35 -14. They certainly did not look distracted. When it comes to the Patriots, don’t believe anything, and always sit facing the front door.

Thankfully, New York Giants brass didn’t get caught looking in the strike zone. By choosing Pat Shurmur, Big Blue doesn’t get caught up in the cult atmosphere either. For that, we should be thankful.

Maybe Dave Gettleman can return the favor by sending out a few offer sheets to restricted free agents.