The Giants‘ coaching search will include candidates from several different situations: some from playoff teams, some from clubs that did not reach the postseason, and others who are not currently employed at all.
The NFL has strict rules for those interviews based on the coaches’ current job status.
Here is a timeline to track when the Giants can interview candidates as they compete with the other five teams who have vacancies: the Tennessee Titans, Las Vegas Raiders, Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns and Arizona Cardinals.
And who knows? Maybe there will be more firings and openings before long.
CAN INTERVIEW ANYTIME: Mike McCarthy, Kevin Stefanski, Kliff Kingsbury, Antonio Pierce, Mike Kafka, future fired coaches
The Giants can interview a coach virtually or in person at any time if he is not under contract with another NFL club. So Kafka, their interim head coach, is eligible to interview whenever. So are former head coaches McCarthy (Packers, Cowboys) and Pierce (Raiders), the former Giants linebacker.
So are Stefanski, the recently fired Cleveland Browns head coach, and Kingsbury, the ousted Washington Commanders offensive coordinator. And this will apply to any other coach who is fired in the next month as teams are eliminated.
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ Mike Tomlin, the Green Bay Packers’ Matt LaFleur and the Buffalo Bills’ Sean McDermott are all names to watch.
CAN INTERVIEW THIS WEEK: Vance Joseph, Klint Kubiak, Lou Anarumo, Brian Flores, Klayton Adams
Any playoff coach whose team has a bye in the Wild Card round, and any coach employed by another NFL team that missed the playoffs, can conduct a virtual interview with the Giants this week.
Kubiak, the offensive coordinator for No. 1 NFC-seeded Seattle Seahawks, could interview virtually beginning on Tuesday since his Seahawks clinched on Saturday. Joseph, the defensive coordinator for the No. 1 AFC-seeded Denver Broncos, and Anarumo (Colts DC) could interview virtually beginning on Wednesday. Other names eligible to interview virtually on Wednesday include Flores (Vikings DC) and Adams (Cowboys OC), if the Giants are willing.
The Giants can’t do an in-person interview with an assistant coach who is under contract with another team until Jan. 19 at the earliest, so this is an important week for this category of coaches to get on the board with a virtual interview to kick off their candidacy.
CAN INTERVIEW NEXT WEEK: Chris Shula, Jesse Minter, Arthur Smith, Jeff Hafley, Grant Udinski, Matt Burke
Any coach whose team is playing in this weekend’s Wild Card round of the playoffs has to wait until next week to interview virtually.
Shula (Rams DC), Minter (Chargers DC), Hafley (Packers DC) and Udinski (Jaguars OC) will be eligible to interview virtually on Tuesday, win or lose, because their teams play on either Saturday or Sunday.
Smith (Steelers OC) and Burke (Texans DC) will be eligible to interview on Wednesday, because they go head-to-head on Monday.
Once the Giants wrap up their first round of virtual interviews as of Jan. 18, they will be able to move into the in-person phase of their search.
THE IN-PERSON INTERVIEW TIMELINE
Any coach whose team is eliminated can conduct an in-person interview with the Giants beginning on Jan. 19, which is the Monday after the NFL’s Divisional playoff round.
But if a coach’s team wins in the Divisional round and reaches the NFC or AFC conference championship game, that coach must wait until Jan. 26 to do his in-person interview.
After the conference title games, win or lose, those four teams’ coaches are eligible to interview in person. Coaches on the Super Bowl teams are allowed to be interviewed through Feb. 1, but they are forbidden from talking to other teams after that until Feb. 9, the day after the Super Bowl.
Coaches on the Super Bowl teams also are not allowed to interview in person with other teams during the bye week if they hadn’t done an initial virtual interview earlier in January.
No coach can either sign a contract or agree to sign a contract until their season is completed.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ROONEY RULE
All NFL teams must conduct an in-person interview with at least two external diverse — minority and/or female — candidates for any GM or head coaching interview.
The Giants, the NFL and other teams are being sued by Flores, the Vikings‘ defensive coordinator, in an ongoing discrimination lawsuit connected to the franchise’s GM and coach hiring cycle of 2022. So they need to be careful about what they allegedly tell people like Bill Belichick and when they allegedly tell him.
Interviewing at least two of Joseph, Pierce and Flores would satisfy the Rooney Rule for the Giants. If they hired one of them, it would be the first Black head coaching hire in the franchise’s 101-year history.
