Big Blue View
The more we discuss potential head-coaching candidates for the New York Giants, the more it becomes clear that among currently available coaches there is no perfect, slam-dunk choice. The few guys who might be are all coaching other NFL teams right now.
With that in mind, I wanted to look at the categories I believe are most important for the next head coach. I have identified four. Within each are probably sub-categories I am not going to dive deeply into.
Below are my categories, the reasons I believe them to be important, and the coaches who I feel at least to some degree possess those characteristics.
I will grade the coaches I list in each category, using a scale of 1-5 points with five being the highest score, based on how I see their fit in each category. At the end, each candidate will get a point total.
This is a subjective rather than a scientific exercise. I recognize there will be disagreement. It is, though, a reference point to discuss candidates, detail what you would like to see in the next head coach, and who you currently prefer.
The Giants have been through Ben McAdoo, Pat Shurmur, Joe Judge, and Brian Daboll since removing Tom Coughlin as head coach after the 2015 season. Of those, only Shurmur had head-coaching experience, and his 9-23 (.281 winning percentage) with the Cleveland Browns hardly established him as a coach players knew they could win with.
The Giants, a proud franchise once capable of fielding great teams, have lost their way. They have no identity, beyond as a losing team. They have no standards, and too little accountability. The shortcomings we often see on the field come from lack of attention to detail, lack of discipline, lack of standards, lack of accountability — all of which lead to not being able to do the things it takes to win when it matters.
The Giants, in my view, would be best served at this point in time by a coach who walks in the door at 1925 Giants Drive in East Rutherford carrying instant credibility and automatically elevating the expectations for everyone around him.
A first-time head coach might be able to establish that. A coach who has been there and done that with a winning pedigree brings it with him.
There is one other factor in favor of an established coach with a winning track record. The Giants’ decision-making structure, with dual ownership, family members and some untouchable people who have been in the front office for decades mean there are a lot of voices beyond the coach and general manager. A strong-willed coach with a track record of success likely has a better chance of navigating that and getting what he feels he needs.
A coach with that kind of cachet would also seem more likely to be able to attract the best assistant coaches.
**Mike...
