As crazy as it may seem or sound, the New York Giants may be one of the most coveted jobs in the upcoming coaching carousel. With the regular season over, non-playoff teams are going to start their offseasons early with player re-signings and coach and staff firings alike.
The G-Men have already moved on from their head coach, Brian Daboll, and Fox analyst Jay Glazer has already stated that interim head coach Mike Kafka will be gone. General manager Joe Schoen has already cast a very large net of coaching candidates, with more being added seemingly daily, and it's only a matter of time before interviews start.
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So, what makes the head position so attractive? While the record may not reflect it, the team does have some talent. The Giants only have about $20 million in cap space at the moment, but Schoen will have decisions to make as far as the futures of multiple players on the team, including Graham Gano, Bobby Okereke, Darius Slayton, and Devin Singletary, who have high cap numbers.
They can restructure players they have as building blocks in franchise left tackle Andrew Thomas, Dexter Lawrence, and Brian Burns. Money can be opened up as needed.
Giants' head coaching opening should garner serious interest from top candidates
When you look at the foundational blocks, Big Blue has most of them checked off already. They have their franchise left tackle in Thomas, they have, who they hope to be their franchise quarterback in rookie sensation Jaxson Dart, they have a two-headed rushing attack with Tyrone Tracy Jr and Cam Skattebo (once he comes back healthy).
They also have a star receiver in Malik Nabers and one of the best defensive lines in the game with Burns, Lawrence, star rookie edge rusher/linebacker Abdul Carter, and rookie 3rd rounder Darius Alexander, who came in and had some great moments this year late in the season.
They quietly had a top-10 offensive line this year, too, a huge turnaround from recent seasons when they ranked in the bottom half of the league. Schoen will have some decisions to make.
Left guard John Runyan Jr. is set to make $10 million next season, the future of John Michael Schmitz (who actually had a solid third year before his injury), 36-year-old right guard Greg Van Roten (on a one-year deal), and right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor, who’s probably been the Giants’ best right tackle in the past decade.
With Eluemenor set to cash in during free agency, along with wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson and cornerback Cor'Dale Flott, Schoen will have to make some decisions as to who he retains. The case can be made for any of the three. While Eluemenor has been good, the Giants are locked into pick 5 in the NFL Draft, and with the top two teams needing a QB, the Giants could replace the 32-year-old with a younger option at right tackle. The same case could be made for both receiver and corner.
New York is in a position to add a blue-chip player at receiver with either Carnell Tate or Makai Lemon, or they could go after what might be the top corner in Mansoor Delane. The one caveat, though, is that the Giants have missed on so many draft picks that it would be a shame to let homegrown players we actually hit on, like Wan’Dale Robinson going over 1,000 yards and Cor’Dale Flott locking up the CB2 spot, walk, just to replace them and hope for the same production.
Schoen has to learn from his past mistakes of letting homegrown talent leave. Between free agency and the draft, the Giants will need to replace some starters and add real depth.
Whoever the new Giants coach is, they’ll have a lot to like walking into the building. The list of candidates includes a good mix of offensive-minded, defensive-minded, and veteran leadership types. Coaches should be lined up out the door. Stepping into next season with a hopeful franchise QB, a top-12 offensive line, a star receiver, a deadly pass rush, and a top-five pick should be every coach’s dream.