The Giants continue to miss out on their top head-coaching candidates.
A day after Mike McCarthy signed on with the Dallas Cowboys, New York’s top choice, Matt Rhule, has reportedly joined the Carolina Panthers according to multiple reports on Tuesday morning.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Panthers knew how big a threat the Giants were in the Rhule sweepstakes and “did not want him to get on the plane” to the Meadowlands. An interview between the coach and Giants was scheduled for Tuesday.
Rhule, 44, had built his head-coaching reputation as an offensive guru at the collegiate level after working as an assistant offensive line coach with the Giants in 2012.
In four years at Temple University, he turned the Owls from a 2-10 program in 2013 to a power in the American Athletic Conference with two-straight 10-4 campaigns that finished with rankings in the AP Top-25 Poll and bowl game appearances.
He did the same thing for Baylor, pulling them out from the Art Briles scandal and completely retooling the program. Two years after going 1-11 in 2017, Rhule led the Bears to an 11-3 season, a national ranking as high as No. 8, and an appearance in the Sugar Bowl.
The calling card of Rhule’s teams is a physical offense that stresses protection along the offensive line that allows running back to do as he pleases.
For a Giants team that has a foundation piece in Saquon Barkley, the hypothetical possibilities of his stat lines would have been endless under Rhule.
What might have been more important about Rhule’s coaching style is his ability to work with and nurture the quarterback. His main responsibility would have been to help further develop young quarterback Daniel Jones into a star.
Jones showed flashes of being just that in his debut season in 2019. He set a Giants rookie franchise record for passing yards and touchdowns but had difficulties hanging on to the football at times.
Now, the Giants will have to continue their search, which still includes the likes of Ravens defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, and Cowboys defensive backs coach Kris Richard.
The biggest name, however, continues to be former Dallas head coach Jason Garrett, who looms as a possible favorite for the Giants job.
It was reported by Paul Schwartz of the New York Post on Tuesday morning that Garrett will be “a fallback option… but only if things go sour with Rhule.”
Consider them soured.
