Jack Del Rio “favorite” to be Giants’ defensive coordinator - report

Chris Mortensen of ESPN is reporting that Jack Del Rio is thought to be the favorite to become the New York Giants’ next defensive coordinator.

Though Pat Shurmur has yet to be officially hired by the Giants, the move is thought to be likely.

Del Rio was most recently the Oakland Raiders’ head coach before being fired when Raiders’ owner Mark Davis was able to lure Jon Gruden out of retirement.

Prior to becoming the Raiders’ head coach in 2015, he was the defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos from 2012 to 2014. During that time the team went to the Super Bowl in 2013, and Del Rio built the framework for the defense that would carry them to a championship in 2015.

Mortensen reports that Del Rio is high on Shurmur’s list of defensive coaches.

Hiring Del Rio would certainly make sense, as he has experience as a head coach at two different stops (Jacksonville and Oakland), making him a valuable adviser for Shurmur, and the experience to be allowed to run the defense with some autonomy. Also, Del Rio has typically based his defenses around 4-3 fronts with aggressive man-coverage schemes, making him a good fit with the Giants’ personnel already in place.

This is the second batch of coaching news in two days for the Giants. Saturday, reports surfaced that Thomas McGaughey could be returning to the team as the Special Teams coordinator.

And finally, in other news, former Giants’ offensive coordinator and head coach Ben McAdoo is being considered to replace Pat Shurmur as the Minnesota Vikings’ offensive coordinator.