NY Giants head coaching candidates: 20 intriguing names to replace Brian Daboll

Firing Brian Daboll midway through the season won’t give the New York Giants much of a head start on the search for a replacement. The only real benefit is that they can talk with any unemployed candidates now rather than in the crush of interviews after the season ends. But they’re going to have interest in plenty of candidates employed by other teams, so they’ll have to wait until the regular season ends to start that process.

It’s impossible to narrow down a list of candidates this early in the process, but here’s a wide net of potential targets arranged in separate categories that present different pros and cons:

Giants ties

Giants ownership loves familiarity, so added weight has to be given to candidates with ties to the franchise.

• Mike Kafka, Giants offensive coordinator: Kafka, who will get a seven-game audition as the interim head coach, has interviewed for eight head-coaching vacancies over the past three offseasons despite the Giants’ poor results, so there’s clearly a belief around the league that he has potential. This trial allows the Giants the opportunity to see if their coaching answer has been under their noses for four years. However, it will be an uphill climb for Kafka to show enough under these circumstances to earn the job full-time. Don’t sleep on Kafka potentially staying on as offensive coordinator, especially if a defensive-minded head coach is hired.

• Bill Belichick, North Carolina head coach: Belichick, who still speaks fondly about his stint as a Giants’ assistant from 1979-90 and for years has been a white whale for the organization, has been gone for a long time, and his star has dimmed since an unceremonious end to his six Super Bowl runs in New England. The 73-year-old now carries baggage that makes him less appealing.

• Steve Spagnuolo, Chiefs defensive coordinator: “Spags” is revered within the organization, and he’s built a Hall of Fame-caliber resume as the DC during the Chiefs’ dynasty. His disastrous run as the Rams’ head coach from 2009-11 was a coaching lifetime ago, while his four-game interim stint with the Giants in 2017 was forgettable. The Giants interviewed Spagnuolo for their head-coaching vacancy in 2016 and 2018. He has earned another look, but it’s hard to see what would be different this time.

• Lou Anarumo, Colts defensive coordinator: Anarumo was the Giants’ defensive backs coach in 2018 before leaving to become the Bengals’ defensive coordinator after one season. Perhaps more importantly, he has a history with general manager Joe Schoen from their six years together with the Dolphins. Anarumo interviewed for the Giants’ head coaching job in 2022. His son, Louis, was hired by Schoen in 2022 and is now a pro scout. The Staten Island native seems like the type of candidate the Giants could land on.

• Antonio Pierce, former Raiders head coach: Pierce would be appealing as a throwback to the glory days when he was a leader on the Super Bowl 42 champions. He has experience after earning the Raiders’ full-time job due to a successful interim stint in 2023, but he was fired after going 4-13 in 2024. He could be an early interview since he’s not coaching this season.

Experienced head coaches

The Giants could reverse course after failing with first-time head coaches Daboll, Joe Judge and Ben McAdoo. The Giants’ last successful coach, Tom Coughlin, arrived in New York as a proven winner.

• Mike McCarthy, former Cowboys head coach: McCarthy isn’t the most buzzworthy name, but he’s one of the few candidates with a Super Bowl on his resume. McCarthy interviewed with the Giants in 2020 before taking the Cowboys job. The Giants could do worse than entrusting Jaxson Dart’s development to a coach who has worked with Aaron Rodgers and Dak Prescott. Expect McCarthy, who has a .608 career winning percentage, to get serious consideration as the Giants seek a return to competency.

• Vance Joseph, Broncos defensive coordinator: Joseph would conjure Pat Shurmur vibes, as his two-year tenure as Denver’s head coach was a flop. But Joseph was the Dolphins’ defensive coordinator in 2016 while Schoen was the team’s director of player personnel, so there’s a connection. Joseph assuredly would maximize the Giants’ defensive talent. A pairing with Broncos quarterbacks coach and former Giant Davis Webb as offensive coordinator could be attractive.

• Jon Gruden, former Raiders head coach: Gruden’s affinity for Dart is well-documented from their pre-draft interactions. Gruden is another former coach with a Super Bowl ring, although that title with the Buccaneers came 22 years ago. Gruden is hungry to get back into coaching after flopping in a second stint with the Raiders, but a pending lawsuit against the NFL could make him radioactive for the Giants.

• Brian Flores, Vikings defensive coordinator: Flores was the runner-up to Daboll in the 2022 search, so he has fans in high places within the organization. However, the major complication to his candidacy is the way that the hiring process unfolded, which sparked a lawsuit against the league and the Giants for racial discrimination. Flores’ three-year stint with the Dolphins wasn’t a disaster, and he has learned lessons that will help him at his next stop. The Giants will likely feel obligated to extend another invitation to interview Flores, but the bridge may be burned.

• Kliff Kingsbury, Commanders offensive coordinator: If finding a coach to maximize Dart is the priority, Kingsbury could rise to the top of the list. Kingsbury had limited success in four seasons as the Cardinals’ coach and thrived as the OC for Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels last season.

Top coordinators

The Giants have gone this route unsuccessfully in recent cycles. Odds are the next superstar coach will come from this category, but it would be a surprise if the Giants roll the dice again on an unproven coach.

• Klint Kubiak, Seahawks offensive coordinator: The most direct path to landing a top head coach is identifying an up-and-coming offensive mind. It’s not a foolproof formula, but the rewards are enormous if a team finds a Sean McVay or Kyle Shanahan. Kubiak’s father is former Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak, so there are deep ties to the Mike Shanahan coaching tree in the family. Klint spent 2023 as Kyle Shanahan’s passing game coordinator. The 38-year-old could be the next star coach from that tree.

• Jeff Hafley, Packers defensive coordinator: Hafley is a New Jersey native with head coaching experience at the college level, spending four years running the show at Boston College. The Mara family has deep ties to BC, which is also where Coughlin cut his teeth as a coach. That head coaching experience, combined with the excellent work Hafley has done with the Packers defense, makes him an intriguing candidate.

• Jesse Minter, Chargers defensive coordinator: The 42-year-old Minter’s star is on the rise, and he’ll be listed as a candidate for every head coaching vacancy this offseason. Although a first-time head coach with a defensive background seems like an unlikely route for the Giants to take.

Wild cards

The coaches in this category are long shots because they’re not in the NFL or are currently unavailable. That being said, if anyone from this group shows interest, they’ll move to the top of the list.

• Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss head coach: There’s the obvious connection to Dart from their three years together at Ole Miss. Kiffin is thriving in the college game in what seems like a setting that is the best fit for him. However, if the 50-year-old wants another shot at the NFL after flaming out with the Raiders 17 years ago, he won’t find a more appealing situation than reuniting with Dart in New York.

• Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame head coach: It’s not clear why Freeman has suddenly become a hot name in the NFL world. The 39-year-old could have a job for life at Notre Dame based on his success in four seasons with the Irish. But if Freeman’s eye wanders to the NFL, Giants director of player personnel Tim McDonnell has deep ties to Notre Dame from his eight years working for the football program. McDonnell, who is co-owner John Mara’s nephew, will play a role in identifying coaching targets. Dipping into the college game would be a bold move, but doing so was a smashing success with Bill Parcells nearly 50 years ago, and the Giants love trying to follow past blueprints to success.

• Nick Saban, former Alabama head coach: Mara still raves about how impressive Saban’s interview was for the Giants’ head coaching job in 1997. The Giants instead hired Jim Fassel, and Saban went on to become arguably the greatest college football coach ever. Mutual interest arose a few times through the years, but the sides never got together. This may be a situation like Belichick, where that window is now closed, considering the 74-year-old Saban has been out of coaching for two years.

• Mike Tomlin, Steelers head coach: There’s growing angst in Pittsburgh because Tomlin wins at least nine games every season and then fails to deliver in the playoffs. The Giants would do anything to have that type of “problem” at this point. The Giants and Steelers are closely aligned, so it would be a natural fit if Pittsburgh decides to move on from Tomlin after 19 years. Tomlin would immediately overhaul the culture of losing that has pervaded the franchise since Coughlin’s prime.

• John Harbaugh, Ravens head coach: Harbaugh is in the same boat as Tomlin as a coach who has done nothing but win in the regular season, with frustrations mounting due to playoff failures. It’s hard to know if either organization would actually cut ties with Tomlin or Harbaugh, but either Super Bowl winner would instantly vault to the top of the Giants’ wish list.

• Kevin Stefanski, Browns head coach: Stefanski is a current head coach more likely to be available than Tomlin or Harbaugh. Stefanski has hit a rough patch in Cleveland, but he made the playoffs twice in his first four seasons. That’s no small task with the Browns. Stefanski’s offensive background, combined with head-coaching success, could be the ideal combination to take over the Giants and foster Dart’s development.

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