The Giants’ coaching guessing game has officially begun.
One day after the Giants parted ways with Brian Daboll amid another lost 2-8 season, Evan Roberts and Tiki Barber floated early predictions of who might succeed the newly fired head coach, with a certain Super Bowl winner making the cut.
“As much as I would love to go the young whippersnapper who’s going to be an offensive genius, I do think they need someone who’s done it before, and the obvious answer is Mike McCarthy,” the former Giants running back said Tuesday on WFAN.
Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, Washington offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and ex-Raiders coach and Giants great Antonio Pierce were also mentioned in WFAN’s coaching conversation.
McCarthy’s name has gained traction following the departure of Daboll, whose three-and-a-half-season run came to an end Monday in the wake of another loss punctuated by a fourth-quarter meltdown.
He owned a 20-40-1 record in a tenure that featured a 2022 postseason win during his first season.
“The past few seasons have been nothing short of disappointing, and we have not met our expectations for this franchise,” co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch said in a statement Monday. “We understand the frustrations of our fans, and we will work to deliver a significantly improved product.”
Mike Kafka, the offensive coordinator and assistant head coach, was elevated to interim head coach.
General manager Joe Schoen will remain in his position and is tasked with guiding the search for a new head coach.
That search could possibly include McCarthy.
The 62-year-old previously coached the Packers for 13 seasons and won a championship alongside Aaron Rodgers in February 2011. He was released by the team at the tail end of the 2018 regular season.
After sitting out the 2019 season, McCarthy was in demand for the 2020 coaching cycle and even interviewed with the Giants, who would go on to hire Patriots special teams coordinator Joe Judge for two disappointing seasons.
The division rival Cowboys instead secured McCarthy as their next head coach, a position he held for five seasons.
He and the team parted ways in January, with McCarthy posting a regular-season record of 49-35 and four postseason appearances.
McCarthy’s name isn’t the only one that’s been swirling following Daboll’s dismissal.
Bill Belichick has also been entertained among some, given his ties to the franchise as a Super Bowl-winning defensive coordinator in the 1980s.
When asked about the Giants speculation Tuesday, the current UNC football coach made it clear he’s focused on the Tar Heels’ upcoming clash against Wake Forest.
Daboll’s successor will be the Giants’ fifth head coach in nine years.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
