The New York Giants remain on the hunt for a defensive coordinator but the well is beginning to run dry.
While other teams fill out their respective staffs with relative ease, the Giants continue to struggle to sell their current vision and brand. Much of that stems from a dysfunctional 2023 campaign that saw in-fighting between head coach Brian Daboll and former defensive coordinator Wink Martindale.
In addition to the optics from that circus, the Giants also regressed on the field and will now enter Year 3 of the Joe Schoen-Daboll regime with those two planted firmly on the hot seat.
With that elephant in the room, ESPN’s Jordan Raanan reports that the Giants missed out on two of their top defensive coordinator candidates.
The delay in the timeline in the defensive coordinator hunt is because the #Giants did not land two of their top targets, according to a source familiar with the search. They have since recalibrated.
There was some concern from candidates given that Brian Daboll and this regime… https://t.co/4U7x4rALEN
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) February 5, 2024
One of those top candidates was likely Dennard Wilson, who chose to join the Tennessee Titans after two interviews with the Giants.
In addition to Wilson, the Giants have also interviewed Minnesota Vikings defensive backs coach Daronte Jones, Brendan Daly (Chiefs linebackers coach), Shane Bowen (Titans defensive coordinator), Derrick Ansley (Chargers defensive coordinator), Anthony Campanile (Dolphins linebackers coach), Jerome Henderson (Giants secondary coach), and Bobby Babich (Bills linebackers coach).
But it’s not just the defensive coordinator position that has resulted in some rejection. The Giants also had at least one rejection in their search for a special teams coordinator before hiring Michael Ghobrial.