New York Giants coaching search: Five things I think I think

With the whirlwind of activity swirling around the New York Giants head-coaching vacancy, it's time to take a breath and assess where things stand. Let's do that with a special Wednesday afternoon edition of "Five things I think I think."

I think Hue Jackson is where he wanted to be

And I honestly think the Giants are OK with that. Some might feel that Jackson jilted the Giants by taking the head-coaching job with the Cleveland Browns before speaking with the Giants. I am not so sure I see it that way.

If Jackson REALLY wanted to hear what the Giants had to say he would have made the Browns wait another day. If Jackson was the guy the Browns really wanted all along you have to believe they would have done do.

I am also not so sure the Giants were as serious about Jackson as some might want us to think. If they REALLY, desperately wanted the former Oakland Raiders head coach why did they dilly dally when it came to getting together with him? The Browns and San Francisco 49ers were all over him as soon as the Cincinnati Bengals lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild-card round of the playoffs on Saturday night. The Giants didn't even really start making noises about talking to him until sometime on Monday.

I think I wonder about Ben McAdoo

Everyone who makes a list of the potential Giants' coaching candidates keeps putting the team's offensive coordinator at the top. The longer the process has gone on, however, the more I have begun to wonder about that.

McAdoo was the first candidate interviewed by the Giants. I think that if they REALLY loved him and were really sold on the idea that he was clearly the right guy for the top job they would have given it to him already. Especially when you consider that McAdoo is also under consideration for the Philadelphia Eagles' vacancy. If the Giants had McAdoo at the top of their list, and really believed that the Eagles would hire him away, I think the Giants would have already promoted him to head coach.

McAdoo may still get the job. I think, though, that it feels to me like the Giants are practically begging someone else to take the job away from him.

I think coaching experience is definitely a factor

When the Giants search for a head coach began the Pittsburgh Steelers model, where they hired Mike Tomlin to succeed Bill Cowher as head coach despite just one year of experience as a coordinator, was one I was told they were enamored with. The longer the process has gone on, though, the more you hear that the Giants are looking for someone with NFL head-coaching experience.

Doug Marrone, Mike Smith, and Steve Spagnuolo all meet that criteria. As much as Spags is beloved by the Giants, the fact that he really hasn't experienced much success since he left the Giants in 2008 would seem to make him an unlikely choice.

That leaves Marrone and Smith. I think I know that the hiring of either Marrone, former Syracuse Orange and Buffalo Bills coach, or Smith, former Atlanta Falcons coach, would be greeted with mixed reviews in the fan base. Both have had ups and downs in their previous stops.

It seems, though, that those trials and tribulations are part of what makes them appealing to the Giants. I think you should brace yourself because there is a strong possibility one of those two guys could be the next head coach.

I think I'm a little surprised by Steve Tisch

I have always thought of co-owner Steve Tisch as the mostly silent partner in the Giants ownership group. The goofy celebrity guy from Los Angeles who showed up at training camp occasionally in flip flops and a t-shirt and is rarely ever seen at Giants games. Maybe I'm being misled by a couple of reports or statements, but Tisch seems to be flexing a little more muscle right now.

There were reports, which John Mara denied, that it was Tisch who really wanted Tom Coughlin out as head coach. Then there was Tisch saying Tuesday that he expected the Giants to have a coach by the end of the week.

Maybe I am only surprised because most of the time when you read Tisch's name he is talking to TMZ, but he seems to have been out front a bit more than usual this offseason.

I think we need to have a word about the Eagles

I think I would be very surprised if the Philadelphia Eagles hired either McAdoo or Tom Coughlin to be their coach.

Why would they hire McAdoo when they are already more familiar with Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug Pederson, who coached with the Eagles under Andy Reid, played in Philly and has been a coordinator longer than McAdoo?

As for Coughlin, you have to wonder if that interview was just for show -- maybe on both sides. Coughlin did technically step down as Giants coach, but you get the idea that he knew he wasn't really wanted any longer. What better way for Coughlin and the Eagles to tweak the Giants a little bit than by  discussing the possibility of working together? Unless, of course, they actually do it.