Giants look for experienced head coaches as candidate list grows

There is a definite theme to the early stage of the Giants head coach search.

Experience matters.

The Giants reportedly arranged interviews in the next week with former head coaches Mike McCarthy (Packers and Cowboys) and Raheem Morris (Buccaneers and Falcons).

McCarthy and Morris join a growing candidates list that includes former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski (interviewed Wednesday) and former head coach and current Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, who is available by Zoom until Saturday under NFL rules.

McCarthy interviewed with owner John Mara and longtime executive Kevin Abrams on Jan. 4, 2020 — a few days before he was hired as Cowboys head coach. The Giants pivoted to Joe Judge.

The Cowboys and McCarthy parted ways after last season, and he took a gap year for the second time in his career.

He raved about Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart during a recent appearance on the “Pat McAfee Show,” which carries weight given his work during the prime of Aaron Rodgers’ and Dak Prescott’s careers.

Morris, a New Jersey native and Irvington High School product, was fired Sunday by the Falcons despite a season-ending four-game winning streak.

He won a Super Bowl as the Rams defensive coordinator before becoming the Falcons’ choice over Bill Belichick, though he went 16-18 in two seasons.

Morris is also expected to interview with the Titans and Cardinals.

Morris and Joseph are minority candidates, as is former Giants great and Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce, who is on the radar.

Under the Rooney Rule, the Giants must hold in-person interviews (not Zooms) with at least two external minority candidates before making a hire.

The Giants also submitted an interview request for Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo.

Candidates for wild-card playoff teams are not eligible to be interviewed this week, so it’s possible the Giants just have not submitted requests ahead of time for the likes of Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula and others.

The Giants completed their interview with interim head coach Mike Kafka earlier this week, The Post has learned.

That means Kafka, who went 2-5 after replacing Brian Daboll, and Stefanski were not forced to awkwardly share the building Wednesday.

Kafka, who has been on head-coach interviews with eight other franchises since 2023, is of Puerto Rican descent and qualifies as a minority but is not “external” for the Giants.

Interim defensive coordinator Charlie Bullen is a defensive coordinator candidate for several prospective head coaches, according to NFL Network.

Bullen cleaned up the communication and simplified responsibilities during his five-game stint, Kafka said.

General manager Joe Schoen said he will allow assistants under contract to interview for lateral moves with other teams on a “case-by-case” basis. Bullen is a Joseph protégé.