Time is winding down and the New York Giants are finalizing candidates for their head coach vacancy. New general manager Joe Schoen, owners Steve Tisch, and John Mara, as well as Chris Mara, are the ones with the big decision.
In the names that the Giants have interviewed, only one is an offensive mind, while the rest are defensive-minded. However, the chosen one needs to be a person who can lead a squad, think alike to the front office, and lift this team to relevance.
Here are three candidates most qualified to be the next head coach of the New York Football Giants:
Three Candidates for the New York Giants Head Coach Vacancy
Brian Daboll
Offensive Coordinator, Buffalo Bills (2018-present)
Brian Daboll is known as the mind behind developing Josh Allen into the top-ten quarterback he is now. Despite his recent success with the Bills, Daboll could not stick with a team in his early coaching career.
2009-2011
He spent time with the Cleveland Browns for two years, the Miami Dolphins for one, and one season with Romeo Crennel’s Kansas City Chiefs. Despite having a lack of talent at the quarterback position in his three tenures, Daboll knew how to have successful rushing offenses. His rushing offense with the Browns ranked 9th in 2009, it ranked 11th in 2011 with the Dolphins, and it ranked 5th with the Chiefs in 2012. Jamaal Charles, Peyton Hillis, and Reggie Bush registered 1,000-yard seasons with Daboll as the offensive coordinator. Also, Brandon Marshall earned a Pro Bowl nomination and registered a 1,000-yard season in Daboll’s year with the Dolphins, despite being a part of a passing offense that ranked 23rd in the NFL.
2018-present
Like Leslie Frazier on defense, Brian Daboll revitalized his offense. His offense revolved around Josh Allen’s development. In Allen’s first two seasons, the Bills were an efficiently run-heavy offense. Starting in 2020 with the acquisition of Stefon Diggs, Daboll modernized the offense into a pass-heavy scheme. Josh Allen threw 37 touchdowns and scored eight times in the ground game. During the 2021 season, the Bills rushing and passing offenses ranked in the top ten of the NFL.
Brian Daboll is the best fit since he is the mind behind the development of Josh Allen. His successful rushing offenses with better talent can land Saquon Barkley back on his feet in his second year back from an ACL tear.
Since there is a lack of talent with free-agent offensive coordinators, why not bring in one of the better minds in football with an experienced defensive coordinator like Don Martindale? The Giants may need to hurry up with Daboll interested in the Miami Dolphins head coaching spot.
Brian Flores
Head Coach, Miami Dolphins (2019-2021)
Coming off a seemingly successful tenure with the Miami Dolphins, Brian Flores is one of the hottest candidates on the market to land a head coaching job.
2019-20
While in the midst of a rebuilding mess in 2019, the team’s improvement down the stretch made the young players buy into what Brian Flores was selling. In the following draft, the Dolphins drafted Tua Tagovailoa with one of many draft picks. The team took a bright step in 2020, going 10-6 but missing the playoffs by a hair. The defense stepped up to be one of the best in getting to the quarterback and forcing turnovers. However, one of the cons to the 2020 campaign was Flores’ decision-making regarding the quarterback position. Flores repeatedly pulled Tagovailoa from games for Fitzpatrick, in an effort to win. Playing with a rookie quarterback’s confidence is not a good idea.
2021
Despite having one less win in 2021, things took a down-turn. Tua did not take a convincing step forward to some, only throwing 16 touchdowns. The offensive line got progressively worse as top draft picks from the past two seasons, Liam Eichenberg and Austin Jackson, struggled heavily. Though the Dolphins were middle of the pack in sacks allowed, the offense ranked 30th on the ground.
Despite a winning season, ongoing tensions with Chris Grier and the front office forced Flores to be fired. Apparently, control became a big factor as well as confrontation with Tua Tagavailoa and Flores wanting Deshaun Watson on his team. It did not help that the offensive coaching staffs fluctuated from season to season with the Dolphins having four coordinators in Flores’ three-year tenure.
Brian Flores showed he can get the most out of defenses with very little talent. However, his rifts with the front office and the constant coaching changes may scare the Giants away. Besides the offensive line issue, the Giants are looking for someone who can hire a staff to unlock the potential of Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley. The defense is a non-issue, minus playing without a competent edge rusher.
Whether he was right about Tagovailoa or not, having Flores possibly gone in two or three years due to discrepancies with the new general manager over control is an avenue the Giants may not want to take. Nonetheless, he is second-most qualified to take the job.
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Leslie Frazier
Defensive Coordinator, Buffalo Bills (2017-present)
Leslie Frazier is a dark-horse candidate to get the job and is known as the other Buffalo Bills candidate. Frazier is the eldest candidate at 62 years old and like Flores, has coached in the league before.
2010-2013
He took over for Brad Childress in 2010 and went 3-3 with the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings promoted him to head coach in 2011. Frazier spent three full seasons as the Vikings head coach before being fired after the 2013 campaign. He went 21-33-1 with the Vikings, which included one winning season. 2012 was Frazier’s only successful campaign as Adrian Peterson’s 2,000-yard campaign led the Vikings to the NFC Wild Card Game, only to lose to their rival Green Bay Packers. Other than the rushing attack, the defenses and offenses never succeeded with Frazier at the helm.
In 2014, Lovie Smith hired Frazier to be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator. Despite having a better defensive year in 2015, Lovie Smith and his coaching staff were let go after two seasons.
2016-present
After spending a year with the Baltimore Ravens as their defensive backs coach, Sean McDermott hired Frazier to become the new defensive coordinator of the Buffalo Bills. Despite a rocky start to the tenure, with the defense not impressing in 2017 and a 6-10 season in 2018, things only went up.
The following season, the Buffalo Bills won the AFC East and Frazier’s defense was a big reason why. The unit ranked fourth against the pass, second in scoring, eighth in turnovers, and third in total defense. Young stars Tremaine Edmunds and Tre’Davious White made the Pro Bowl as a result of their successful campaigns.
The defense took a tiny drop with the offense on the rise in 2020 but rebounded better than ever in 2021. Frazier’s unit ranked 1st in the scoring, total, and passing defense categories. The defense ranked first in pressure rate, being helped out by high-impact draft picks Carlos Basham and Gregory Rousseau. The unit also ranked 2nd in interceptions with Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer leading the charge.
Thanks to his evolving philosophy and the Bills high-end talent, Leslie Frazier is a name floating around head coaching vacancies. Questions remain about Frazier’s age and whether he can be a successful second-time coach. With the lack of good talent available at offensive coordinator, hiring an older defensive guy is a challenge.
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