Giants coaching search: Pros and cons of hiring Adam Gase

The search for the next head coach of the New York Giants continues on Friday. The Giants have an interview set up today with Chicago Bears' offensive coordinator Adam Gase. Gase is a young coach who has rocketed to the top of coaching candidate lists, but how did he get there?

Who Is Adam Gase?

If there is a "Most Interesting Man In The (football) World" it might be Adam Gase. He has been an assistant under one of the most eclectic and brilliant collections of head coaches one could imagine.

The 37-year-old Gase got his start as a graduate assistant under Nick Saban at LSU in 2000. After three years at LSU, Gase moved to the Detroit Lions, where he was a scouting and offensive assistant under Steve Mariucci. Gase was an offensive assistant in Detroit when Mike Martz -- of "Greatest Show on Turf" fame -- became the offensive coordinator, and followed him to coach for the San Francisco 49ers in 2008.

In 2009, Gase went to the Denver Broncos to become the wide receivers coach under Josh McDaniels, and stayed in Denver and became the quarterbacks coach when McDaniels was replaced by John Fox, and Tim Tebow by Peyton Manning. In 2013, he became the offensive coordinator when Mike McCoy left to become the head coach of the San Diego Chargers

Finally, in 2015 Gase followed Fox to be the offensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears.

Pros

Gase's greatest strength has to be his incredibly diverse background. His coaching lineage is a gumbo of disparate offensive styles and influences. From Nick Saban's disciplined, old-school approach, to the West Coast principles Mariucci learned from Bill Walsh, the all-out attack of the Air Coryell offense he learned under Mike Martz, to the beautifully simple concept structure employed by the Erhardt-Perkins system that Josh McDaniels learned under Bill Belichick.

Those who have seen Gase's playbook say that it's all in there.

And while Gase only has three years as a coordinator under his belt, he has been employed by some of the best coaches the game has ever seen and is influenced by three of the major coaching trees in the NFL -- those of Bill Parcells, Bill Walsh, and Don Coryell.

Cons

The greatest knock against Adam Gase is the same one Ben McAdoo faces -- experience. Gase has coached under and learned from some great coaches, but he has yet to run a team himself.

Also, while Gase seems to be likable and well liked by his players, he hasn't been in a position to deal with anything like the New York media. Whether or not he has the personality to act as a lion tamer, on one hand feeding them while keeping the pointy teeth and claws at bay is unknown.

And finally, while this isn't exactly a "con," Gase is determined to get the situation right the first time. He was all but hired as the head coach of the 49ers a year ago, then backed out when ownership insisted that he have Jim Tomsula -- who would immediately be promoted to head coach -- as his defensive coordinator. If the Giants want to keep McAdoo (assuming he doesn't get a head coaching job elsewhere) or Steve Spagnuolo, that might turn off Gase. Although if there is a meeting of the minds, McAdoo and Gase could create a truly special offensive system.