Even though the New York Giants have been as bad as any team in the league in the last few years, which led to them finally firing head coach Brian Daboll, the emergence of young quarterback Jaxson Dart may lead many of the top candidates in this cycle to consider joining up with Big Blue.
While the Giants are looking at some of the top coordinators out there, New York would be wise to be kept abreast of which head coaches get the ax in the coming weeks. One of them might be the guy who can turn the Giants around.
FOX Sports listed Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski as the third-most likely coach to be fired in their most recent hot seat rankings, trailing only Miami's Mike McDaniel and Arizona's Jonathan Gannon. Even as the Browns skid toward another losing season, Stefanski might be worth taking a chance on.
If the Browns do part ways with Stefanski, he will likely have a healthy market as either a head coach or top-shelf offensive coordinator. The Giants need to put him near the forefront of their head coaching search, as he could be the secret ingredient that takes Dart from good to great.
Giants may need to hire Browns' Kevin Stefanski to unlock Jaxson Dart
On one hand, Stefanski has won just five games in the last two seasons. The passing game has looked pitiful at times, the whole Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders situations have been PR nightmares, and Stefanski's loyalty to Gabriel may end up sinking this offense.
However, many of the problems in Cleveland have proven to be beyond his control. Between the decision to offload Baker Mayfield in the nightmare-inducing Deshaun Watson pivot, many key injuries on the offensive line, and the toughness of the AFC North around him made it a miracle he managed to get the Browns to the playoffs twice.
Stefanski is still regarded as someone who can work well with quarterbacks who have a certain talent threshold. Unlike many whiz-kid OCs who become coaches, Stefanski's hire of tremendous defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz shows that he can bring in top talent on the other side of the ball.
Stefanski needs to wash off the stink of some Grade A dysfunction off himself before he can be viewed as a true home run candidate, but the Giants could ride his offensive mind and Dart's talent to plenty of wins if the two link up.