The New York Giants might finally get their head coach hire right after the firing of Brian Daboll, but Joe Schoen and the rest of the brain trust in New York seem to once again find themselves chained to the same outdated and archaic thinking that got them in this mess to begin with.
According to Jordan Ranaan of ESPN, three candidates who are almost assuredly going get interviews for the vacant Giants job are Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, and former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce.
Between Anarumo (who was once a Giants defensive backs coach), Spagnuolo (who helped coordinate the Giants to a Super Bowl), and Pierce (a linebacker on that Super Bowl team), Schoen and the front office seem to be only interviewing those with a past connection to the franchise.
Maybe, just maybe, having worked for the Giants in the past shouldn't be a factor in a coaching search of this magnitude? Maybe take a look at some of the hotter names in this cycle before cycling back to some retreads?
Giants need to stop focusing on ex-New York coaches to replace Brian Daboll
While Anarumo is a quality candidate who will earn some buzz after his brilliant start in Indianapolis, he shouldn't start the Giants' coaching search as the top candidate. Pierce would be tremendous as an assistant head coach or possibly a defensive coordinator, but a head coach might be one step too far after his Raiders stint.
Spagnuolo has a legitimate case for the title of greatest defensive coordinator in NFL history. However, he will turn 66 years old in December, his last non-interim head coaching experience came almost two decades ago, and he won just 11 games in three years with the then-St. Louis Rams.
Notably, all three of the coaches mentioned by Ranaan have defensive backgrounds in a league trending more toward hiring offensive coaches. The ways of the old Giants teams are in the past, as they have shown nothing but Jets-like dysfunction in most of the last decade. A new way of thinking is needed.
There's a difference between having respect and reverence for what the Giants represent as a football institution and simply trying to repeat the creation of this football fantasy that will never come to pass, and the front office is doing more of the latter.