|
|
| E-GIANTS
HIRING NEXT DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR MAY BE GIANTS' BIGGEST DECISION By
Aaron Klein By now you are also well into the post-Perry Fewell era and looking forward to hearing the name of the Giants' next defensive coordinator. No doubt you have your favorites, or just favorite, but getting your heart set on just one future king may not be prudent. Yes, I know. "Once a Giant, always a Giant." No one represents that mantra more than Coughlin himself, who coached the Giants wide receivers under Bill Parcells, only to leave for head coaching stints at Boston College and the then-expansion Jacksonville Jaguars before returning to the warm bosom of East Rutherford to take over the Giants and proceed to deliver two more Lombardi Trophies in the process. Hiring the next defensive coordinator may be the biggest decision the Giants will make since they decided to retain Coughlin and Reese or since letting offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride go. Maybe even since hiring of Coughlin as head coach in 2004, which was a Franchise decision with a capital F since that was the year they also moved heaven and earth to get Eli Manning. This process continues and part of it includes hiring a new defensive coordinator and, more than likely, at least a few defensive assistants, let alone work on the 2015 roster with Reese and the front office in the coming months. First, of course, is the coaching staff and while no one should rush things, the Giants must interview and vet the best candidates they can bring in, all with an eye toward the future when Coughlin himself could trot off into retirement and someone, maybe from within, would take over. The Giants want the right guy and won't compromise. As a franchise that prides itself as having a level, measured and consistent operation, the Giants won't scamper to the hottest coach on the market. They are in a curious spot, however, since the word is that co-owner John Mara has read Coughlin and Reese a riot act of sorts and told them, allegedly, that 2015 shall be a year of great success or they may be asked to vacate the premises. It's hard to imagine Mara and ownership partner Steve Tisch giving Coughlin an ultimatum, but there may have been softer and kinder words spoken after 2014 ended, albeit with a similar undertone. The Giants could go in several directions. They could go with an inexperienced but gifted assistant knowing that, if the staff is purged after 2015, he could go with it. They could look for a highly regarded former head coach with an eye on experience and success. They could also hire, in effect, a potential candidate as the future head coach once Coughlin retires, whether that's next year or not. The Giants began their search last week, when they asked, and were granted permission to interview Washington defensive line coach Raheem Morris. Right, the same guy who coached the Tampa Bay Bucs and watched the team fall apart before being run out of town when the Bucs fell in love with ex-Rutgers coach Greg Schiano. Morris, it is widely believed, was more a victim of his lack of experience than his lack of ability. He's a Tampa-2 guy and that style might be too close to what Fewell liked to run, when he could. The Giants want fresh thinking. Still, they interviewed him and all signs now point to the team saying, "Thanks but no thanks." Next up, Number 52 on the roster, Number 1 in your hearts, former star linebacker Thomas "Pepper" Johnson, who interviewed on Monday. Pepper spent over a decade coaching and preparing under his former DC, none other than Bill Belichick, yet never rose above defensive line coach. He went to Buffalo and did not step up to the DC position there, either. His resume could lead the Giants to think one of two things: 1) He's expendable in case of a mass purge, or 2) He's a fresh mind who could electrify the players. Steve Spagnuolo and Dennis Allen (reportedly) followed Pepper this week. Allen is the former Oakland Raiders head coach with a good rapport with players and a solid defensive resume. Spagnuolo? We know him well. The fans want him badly, but don't send it to the bank now that he has met with the Giants' brass. Sure, he was the coordinator who helped send the Giants to the Super Bowl. After a long career as a college coach, Spagnuolo began his pro career as a defensive assistant with Philadelphia, then as defensive backs coach and then linebackers coach before emerging as one of the bright young defensive minds on the open market in 2007. He took over for Tim Lewis as the Giants' defensive coordinator that year and, with the help of Michael Strahan, Justin Tuck, Antonio Pierce and Osi Umenyiora, roared through the playoffs before shutting down the New England Patriots' high-scoring offense in Super Bowl XLII. Spagnuolo (word has it he dislikes the "Spags" nickname) was hotter than a lava flow and Washington came calling with an opening as head coach. Spagnuolo famously rejected the offer and received instead a three-year extension by the Giants, fueling speculation that he was in line for the head coach slot once Coughlin retired. In 2008, the Giants went 12-4 with an even better team yet inexplicably lost to Philly in the playoffs. But Spagnuolo was still a hot commodity and took over the St. Louis Rams, where his three-year stint was an abject disaster, winning just 10 games in three seasons. After the Rams fired him, he took the defensive coordinator post in New Orleans and was thrust into an even larger role when Saints' head coach Sean Payton (another former Giants' assistant) was suspended as part of the Bountygate scandal. The Saints allowed more yardage that year than any team in NFL history and the Saints missed the playoffs. He was fired shortly after the season was over. Most recently, Spagnuolo has been the Baltimore Ravens' secondary coach and received permission to talk to the Giants after the Ravens bowed out of the playoffs. Why the resume review? Well, since his short and brilliant stint with the Giants, Spagnuolo has yet to replicate that success. And just because he won once with the Giants doesn't mean he can do it again, especially considering his penchant for using blitzes heavily out of the 4-3... the Giants may not have the horses to run that race. Sometimes, it's the personnel, not the just coach. The John Fox Conundrum: Right, another former Giants' defensive coordinator. Fox had mixed reviews as head coach of Carolina but, with big-bro Peyton Manning in tow, found success in Denver, though he never won a championship. Fox may be the biggest, most in-demand coach on the market and, reportedly, has already interviewed with Chicago and is the favorite for the job. Still, nothing is cut in stone as of this writing and Fox could opt for another job, retirement, or taking a year off. This is the problem: if Fox doesn't take the Chicago job, someone in East Rutherford will be looking to the future, thinking about the what-if scenarios, like "what if the Giants tank again next year and they have to purge the coaching staff?" Or, "what if we have a good season but TC retires on top?" The Giants notoriously look from within first when it comes to promotions and, as we discussed many times, the unspoken word is that offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo may have been hired to become the next head coach someday. Fox has a track record and has several good years left. Should the Giants open the vault to have Fox come in as a Defensive Coordinator/Assistant Head Coach? He wouldn't take it and the Giants wouldn't offer it. Would the Giants consider offering Fox a suitcase of cash to act as a consultant for a year, waiting in the wings for the head coach job to open? Doubtful. Would the Giants reconsider their decision on Coughlin and go after Fox instead? No way. The Giants are nothing if not honorable. Instead, they can only cross their collective fingers and hope Fox opts for a year off, does a little television, a little fishing, and comes back out healthy and rested for 2016... if they want him at all. It could also be someone no one has mentioned publicly yet. Remember, after Gilbride's retirement, McAdoo surfaced despite everyone's belief that it was going to be Mike Sullivan, yet another former Giants assistant.
Have something to say? Ask a question? Check out
Dave's website at E-GIANTS
where you can subscribe to his newsletters which
run much more frequently than what is available here. NOW - Send a request to davesklein@aol.com for a free week's worth of news!
| ||||||||
|
Stop in and visit "Mike's Keys to
the Internet" |
Website by Mike |