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It has now been one full week since Tom Coughlin stood as a podium and bid farewell as head coach of the New York Giants. So, let's assess the current state of affairs in the ongoing search for his successor.
Hue Jackson rumors
The Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator is apparently the current apple of everyone's eye. The Cleveland Browns reportedly want Jackson to be their coach. So, too, might the San Francisco 49ers. The Giants have been trying to get an audience with him and are still hoping to do so later this week. If of course, Jackson hasn't taken the Browns or 49ers jobs by then.
Re: the #Giants HC interview, I’m told the plan is for Hue Jackson to arrive in NYC Wed nite & interview Thurs am at t/ latest, at this time
— Josina Anderson (@JosinaAnderson) January 12, 2016
The Browns are reportedly pressing Jackson for an answer. The 49ers would also like to know if Jackson will guide their ship. Ralph Vacchiano tweeted this morning that the Giants are "serious" about Jackson and that the 51-year-old, who had a one-year cup of coffee as coach of the Oakland Raiders, wants to meet with them before making a decision.
Why wouldn't Jackson want to hear what the Giants have to say? The Browns might be willing to give Jackson personnel control, which he wouldn't get in New York, but they are the Browns. They are a disaster, a team that grinds up coaches and spits them out. Going there might be suicide for Jackson's head-coaching career. The 49ers are a mess -- no quarterback, little talent, not much direction. The Giants? Eli Manning, Odell Beckham Jr., stable ownership. Many believe, and I concur, that the Giants job is probably the best one available.
Candidate count
The Giants have now interviewed an eclectic mix of coaches. Ben McAdoo, Steve Spagnuolo, Teryl Austin, Adam Gase (who took the job with the Miami Dolphins), Doug Marrone and Mike Smith have all had the chance to make a pitch for the position. There are pros and cons to each available candidate. Check our coaching search tracker for all of over coverage of the search.
About Coughlin
The former Giants coach has interviewed with the Philadelphia Eagles and may also do so with the 49ers. Check our Coughlin tracker for the latest updates. The Eagles are apparently not scheduling any more interviews, which means Coughlin may well end up with that job.
Incidentally, there is an increasing groundswell of opinion in the media that the best candidate for the Giants job is actually Coughlin himself.
Ralph Vacchiano of the Daily News and Steve Serby of the New York Post both offered that opinion in recent columns.
Wouldn't it be awesome after all this that the @Giants decide that Tom Coughlin was the right man for the job?#oops https://t.co/kk9LWDOZrn
— Alex Marvez (@alexmarvez) January 12, 2016
Personally, I'm not wading into that debate. What's done is done. The choice is made. Some like it, some don't. Let's just move forward and hope the Giants don't wind up with egg on their faces.
Who's left?
There are several potential candidates the Giants have not yet spoken to, and may never speak to. Those include Nick Saban of Alabama, a possibility we discussed earlier, along with Lovie Smith, Josh McDaniels, Matt Patricia of the New England Patriots, and Sean McDermott of the Carolina Panthers.