Several New York Giants GM candidates have plenty of options

Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis (left) and New York Giants co owner John Mara before the game at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis (left) and New York Giants co owner John Mara before the game at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports /
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As the New York Giants’ general manager search enters its next phase, several of the top candidates for the job have drawn interest from other teams 

The New York Giants concluded the first round of interviews with nine candidates to replace the retired Dave Gettleman as general manager on Monday, with in-person second interviews with finalists likely beginning this week, some of whom have drawn interest from several teams.

Giants owner John Mara, chairman Steve Tisch, and senior Vice President of Player Personnel Chris Mara met over ZOOM with Bills assistant general manager Joe Schoen, Chiefs executive director of player personnel Ryan Poles, Titans director of player personnel Monti Ossenfort, 49ers director of player personnel Ran Carthon, Cardinals vice president of pro player personnel Adrian Wilson, Cardinals vice president of player personnel Quentin Harris, Titans Vice President of player personnel Ryan Cowden, Ravens director of player personnel Joe Hortiz, and 49ers assistant general manager Adam Peters.

Of the nine candidates the New York Giants have spoken to so far, Schoen also interviewed with the Chicago Bears, Poles has drawn interest from the Bears and Minnesota Vikings, Ossenfort also interviewed with the Bears and Vikings, and Carthon has drawn interest from Chicago.

How does New York Giants’ general manager job compare to the competition?

Following the Las Vegas Raiders’ decision Monday to move on from general manager Mike Mayock, there is one more vacancy, with a roster that took the Cincinnati Bengals to the brink in the NFL Playoffs on Saturday, which could interest some of the executives the New York Giants have on their radar.

How the Raiders figure into these searches remains to be seen, but Las Vegas is clearly the closest of the current vacancies to winning a Super Bowl.

With the Vikings and Bears closing in on Schoen, Poles, and Carthon and Ossenfort, it is fair to wonder just how attractive the New York Giants’ situation is, comparatively.

Unlike the New York Giants, who are currently projected to be $6.44 million over the cap in 2023, the Bears are slated to have $35.2 million in cap space, the 11th most spending flexibility in the league, with the Vikings in a far worse cap situation than either team, currently $15.7 million over the cap.

Meanwhile, the Raiders have over $30 million in spending flexibility with the optionality at quarterback to either move forward with Derek Carr or perhaps get involved in the veteran market, targeting the likes of Russell Wilson, Deshaun Watson, or Jimmy Garoppolo this offseason.

But, what could make the Bears’ job the most attractive of the bunch is the prospect of building around No. 11 overall pick Justin Fields at quarterback, while running one of the NFL’s heritage franchises.

“It’s the job with the best quarterback,” an NFC coordinator told FanSided recently, on the attractiveness of the Bears’ head coaching job. “Nothing else really matters. Chicago’s most attractive, because when you look at a situation like Jacksonville, they have Trevor Lawrence, but they need an entire culture change. Chicago still has a bit to go but is much closer, and Justin Fields has the chance to be great if he can learn to play in the cold.”

Where the Bears seem set at quarterback, there are significant questions about Daniel Jones both in terms of his ability to develop into a premier quarterback in this league as well as how he recovers from a neck injury that ended his season after Week 12.

Likewise, Minnesota’s veteran roster could be appealing.

Unlike the Bears and Vikings, who are currently also interviewing head coaching candidates simultaneously as potential general managers, the New York Giants will not begin their head coaching search until a general manager has been hired.

The New York Giants’ roster will likely need an overhaul along the offensive line, with adding four new starters a top priority. But, the Giants boast blue chip talent such as left tackle Andrew Thomas, wide receiver Kadarius Toney, and safety Xavier McKinney could be a challenge that an executive looking for a significant rebuild to undertake could find attractive.

How candidates view the New York Giants’ lack of cap space and high-end talent compared to the possibilities that the No. 5 and No. 8 overall picks in the NFL Draft promise could be a difference-maker in how this job is viewed compared to the other openings.

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