In the coming weeks, there will be plenty of attention surrounding the New York Giants' search for a new head coach. With a young core in place on offense and a talented defense, they'll need to nail the hire to start digging themselves back out of mediocrity.
But the next head coach's staff will be nearly as important as the coach himself. It's crucial that New York finds capable play-callers on both sides of the ball for next season.
Related: Abdul Carter didn’t hold back when talking about Giants coach’s future
One candidate just became obvious. The Arizona Cardinals fired head coach Jonathan Gannon on Monday. On paper, it makes sense for the Giants to hire him as their next defensive coordinator. But with a deeper look, the Giants should be running for the hills.
Giants must steer clear of Jonathan Gannon in defensive coordinator search
Especially in an offseason when most of the top head coach candidates are current defensive coordinators, there aren't many obvious options for the DC position. Gannon will likely land a coordinator job fairly quickly, and the Giants may be at the top of his list. They're loaded with talent on the defensive line, and he's familiar with the NFC East. In his time as the Philadelphia Eagles' DC, the coach led a dominant unit. But the marriage would be doomed to fail.
The Cardinals' defenses in recent years have been known for using unorthodox coverage looks to confuse offenses and put their best players in positions to make game-changing plays. It sounds great on the surface, but this identity wasn't even established by Gannon. In fact, the former Arizona head coach hasn't even been calling plays for the last couple of seasons. The innovations seen on that side of the ball can be attributed to Cardinals' defensive coordinator Nick Rallis, whom Gannon handed the reins to immediately upon hiring him back in 2023.
Despite being lauded as a defensive mastermind, Gannon hasn't even called plays consistently since 2022. Sure, he put together an elite defense with the Eagles, but that unit was talented enough for most coordinators to get production out of. Soon after he left, current DC Vic Fangio has continued Philadelphia's dominance on defense.
This potential hire may seem like a natural fit, but it would be a mistake for the Giants. If they choose to go with an offensive-minded head coach like Kevin Stefanski or Mike McCarthy, they should steer clear of hiring Gannon for the defensive coordinator position.