Giants Head Coaching Candidates: A Ranking

After the unmitigated failure of the Dave Gettleman era, the New York Giants’ organizational reconstruction is underway. Former Buffalo Bills’ assistant general manager is now installed as the team’s new general manager. With that important foundational piece in place, the next item on Big Blue’s to-do list is to fill a perhaps more important position: head coach.

The Giants have interviewed six candidates to become Joe Judge’s successor. One of those candidates, Dan Quinn, has informed teams that he’ll be staying put as the Dallas Cowboys’ defensive coordinator. With Quinn out of the picture, that leaves five candidates competing for the job. New York is set to complete an in-person interview with their third candidate today, so a decision could come swiftly after that.

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So, to get a better idea of who the Giants’ next head coach just might be, let’s rank the remaining five candidates in order of their viability, while making a case for and against their getting the job.

1. Buffalo Bills OC Brian Daboll

Case For

Daboll’s case for the job rests almost entirely in his role in the development of quarterback Josh Allen. Under Daboll’s watch, Allen transformed from the raw, toolsy prospect that threw fewer touchdowns than interceptions as a rookie into the hyper-productive franchise quarterback leading the Bills back to glory. Buffalo finished third in points-per-game in each of the last two seasons. If there’s anyone who can tap into Daniel Jones‘ potential and/or develop BIg Blue’s next quarterback, Daboll is the guy.

Case Against

Did Brian Daboll make Josh Allen, or did Josh Allen make Brian Daboll? It’s at least concerning that Daboll has never coordinated an above-average offense when he wasn’t getting elite quarterback play. By points-per-game, Buffalo’s offense ranked 23rd in 2019 and 30th in 2018. From 2009-2012, Daboll coordinated bad offenses with the Cleveland Browns, Miami Dolphins, and the Kansas City Chiefs. We have no evidence that Daboll can elevate an untalented offense.

2. Former Miami Dolphins HC Brian Flores

Case For

Flores isn’t the only candidate with head coaching experience, but he has the most recent track record of success in that capacity. He led the Miami Dolphins to winning records in each of the last two seasons, and even eked out five wins in 2019 when the Dolphins were ostensibly tanking. Flores is a defensive coach, and led Miami to a top-five defense by points-allowed-per-game in 2020. He runs an aggressive, blitz-heavy scheme, which consistently leads to takeaways (Miami finished top-ten in that category the last two seasons).

Case Against

If Flores exceeded expectations in Miami, why did he get fired? It could simply be a product of dysfunction within the Dolphins’ ownership, but the rumors of personality conflicts are certainly worrisome. Also, Flores could never straighten out the offense in Miami. He switched his offensive coordinator every year, and his regular pulling of rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in 2020 was questionable. In an NFL that is increasingly about offense, hiring a coach that can’t provide a level of quality on that side of the ball is scary.

3. Buffalo Bills DC Leslie Frazier

Case For

Ever since Frazier took over as the Bills’ defensive coordinator in 2017, they’ve had a good defense. Buffalo has finished top-20 in points-allowed-per-game, finishing first this past season. The Bills don’t have any stars on their defense, either, so Frazier has done a great job of getting the most out of his players. Frazier has head coaching experience as well, head-manning the Minnesota Vikings to a playoff berth in 2012.

Case Against

Much like Flores, hiring Frazier doesn’t guarantee a specific offensive vision. It’s been a while since he was a head coach, and he wasn’t successful as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defensive coordinator in 2014 and 2015. Maybe Frazier can thrive in his second go-round as a head coach, but the upside is hard to find.

4. New York Giants DC Patrick Graham

Case For

For as frustratingly disappointing as the Joe Judge era has been, Graham was the lone bright spot. He led the Giants’ defense to a top-ten finish by points-allowed-per-game in 2020, despite very low expectations. Big Blue’s defensive players have raved about him, so you can be confident he’d get buy-in from the locker room.

Case Against

The Giants’ defense has been better than their offense the last couple of years, but it’s been far from dominant. Given how John Mara has mentioned needing to reset the organization, promoting Joe Judge’s assistant to the main job would be a tough sell. Graham hasn’t gotten any head coaching consideration from any other team. It’s tough to see him as a serious candidate.

5. Cincinnati Bengals DC Lou Anarumo

Case For 

The Bengals had a better defense than expected this season despite few great players. They finished 13th in points-allowed-per game. Anarumo was the Giants’ defensive backs coach in 2018, so he has familiarity with the organization.

Case Against

Anarumo has been the Bengals’ defensive coordinator since 2019, and they were an objectively bad unit until this season. He was a surprise of an interview in the first place. He’d be an even bigger surprise of a hire. Anarumo needs to pad his resume a bit more before he can claim to be a serious head coaching candidate.

– Ryan Cuneo is the Managing Editor of Full Press Giants. He covers the New York Giants. Like and follow on Follow @ryan_cuneo Follow @FullPressGiants and Facebook.