8 New York Giants head-coaching candidates if they replace Brian Daboll

If the New York Giants remove Brian Daboll as head coach, and no one should be certain they will, they will need a replacement.

Here are eight potential candidates. These are not in order or preference, so please don’t take them that way.

Pete Carroll

Carroll, 73, did not want to stop coaching the Seattle Seahawks after the 2023 season. The organization bumped him to an advisory role. Carroll has reportedly expressed interest in coaching the Chicago Bears, who fired Matt Eberflus a few weeks ago.

If Carroll wants to coach, should the Giants consider him?

Carroll has a 170-120-1 record (.586) over 18 seasons with the Seahawks, New England Patriots and New York Jets. He won a Super Bowl in 2013. He won an NFL Championship the following year.

Carroll has a reputation as a motivator and culture builder. Seattle had only one losing season in his last 12 years as head coach.

Would Carroll be interested in the Giants? Should they be interested in him? Carroll’s age is a complication, but I wouldn’t blame the Giants if they decided to have a conversation with him.

Ben Johnson

The Detroit Lions offensive coordinator has been at the top of everyone’s wish list for the last couple of years. Until now, Johnson has chosen to stay with the Lions.

At this point, though, he seems more inclined to take a head-coaching position than he has in the past.

Johnson won’t have any shortage of suitors. The Bears are said to be interested. Any team with a young quarterback, or in pursuit of a young franchise quarterback, is likely to be interested. Johnson will have his pick of jobs.

Does he have a burning desire to coach Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward? Does his pre-existing relationship with GM Joe Schoen from their time together with the Miami Dolphins mean anything?

I think there will be situations Johnson feels better about than stepping into the mess with the Giants.

Mike Vrabel

Like Johnson, Vrabel is likely to have several suitors this offseason. The reason, though, won’t be the same. With Johnson, it is about what he has done as an offensive coach. With Vrabel, it is about his experience, his leadership, and the program that he built with the Tennessee Titans.

Vrabel went 54-45 (.545) in six seasons with Tennessee. He took the Titans to the playoffs three times.

Rebuilding a winning culture in a locker room that has seen many of its leaders move on over the past couple of offseasons will be a big part of the job for anyone who replaces Daboll. Vrabel is well-qualified to do that.

There is also a strong Tennessee presence around the Giants already. Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen held that role for Vrable with the Titans. Tight ends coach Tim Kelly was Vrabel’s offensive coordinator. Ryan Cowden, an advisor to Schoen, was assistant GM in Tennessee.

Thus, some of the infrastructure that might appeal to Vrabel is already in place. And, both sides should be able to get good information about each other.

Mike Kafka

Honestly, I can’t imagine this one happening. Kafka, though, has received several head-coaching interviews the past two offseasons so it can’t be dismissed entirely.

Still, I’m not sure I can envision Kafka in the role of Giants’ head coach.

Steve Spagnuolo

This one is a little outside the box. If he wants a second shot at being an NFL head coach, and I know that in the past he has indicated that to be the case, doesn’t he deserve one after what he done with the Kansas City Chiefs? Wouldn’t the Giants, where he was defensive coordinator twice and interim head coach for four games in 2017, be a great spot for him to get that second chance?

I don’t know that he would have succeeded, but I have often wondered over the years if the Giants could have saved themselves a lot of embarrassment if they had just given the head-coaching job to Spagnuolo in 2018 instead of hiring Pat Shurmur.

Spags is a more aggressive defensive coordinator than Bowen, and maybe that philosophy would better suit the roster’s personnel.

The big question for Spagnuolo would be who he would bring in to run the offense. That would be critical with the Giants needing to draft and try to develop a quarterback of the future.

Joe Brady

If Schoen is going to sign off on the ouster of Daboll, Brady is a guy who might be high on the GM’s list of potential replacements. This may or may not matter depending on how much input ownership would allow Schoen into the selection of a new coach.

Schoen and Brady have not worked together, but Brady’s path through the Carolina Panthers (2020 and 2021) and the Buffalo Bills since 2022 mirrors Schoen’s.

The 35-year-old worked with Joe Burrow at LSU. At 35, he is considered one of those rising star offensive coordinators on the fast track to becoming a head coach. You know that Schoen and the Giants could get good information on Brady.

Liam Coen

Like Brady, the 39-year-old Coen is one of those rising offensive coaches likely headed toward getting a head coaching job.

Currently, Coen is coordinating a Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense that is fifth in the league in scoring. He comes from the Sean McVay coaching tree and has bounced back and forth from the college game to the NFL.

Some believe the Buccaneers will end up ousting head coach Todd Bowles and promoting Coen. If Coen gets into the head-coaching interview cycle this offseason he is likely to get several interviews.

Brian Flores

We recently discussed whether the Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator would be the right man for the Giants’ job.

I don’t know that he is. And, I do know there is a lot of water under the bridge because of the lawsuit Flores filed naming the Giants among teams with discriminatory hiring practices. There is also the matter of what Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has said about Flores’ treatment of him when Flores was the Dolphins head coach.

Still, Flores was high on the Giants’ list of candidates in 2022. I will consider him a candidate this time around until it becomes clear he is not.