Mike Florio ,
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In more than 17 seasons as coach of the Packers and Cowboys, Mike McCarthy has a record of 185-123-2. Since 2012, the Giants have a record of 83-147-1.
It’s no surprise, then, that McCarthy is the early betting favorite to become the next head coach of the Giants, at 7-1.
Interim Giants coach Mike Kafka is just behind McCarthy at 8-1, along with Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.
Those three candidates crystallize the primary challenge the Giants will face in picking a new coach. They’ve failed with three first-time head coaches who had been coordinators. Along the way, they also failed with a former head coach, in Pat Shurmur.
Do they try to find a rising star? Or will they want an established head coach?
The other question is whether to hire someone with an offensive background, or someone with a defensive background. Given the presence of a potential franchise quarterback in Jackson Dart, it’s important to develop consistency in his coaching. If the Giants hire a defensive coach (Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is the favorite from that side of the ball, at 9-1) and if the offensive coordinator does well with Dart, the offensive coordinator likely will get a chance to become a head coach elsewhere. And then the Giants will need another tutor for Dart.
Whoever it is, the next hire will be critical to getting the most out of Dart — and to reversing a trend of chronic failure since they won Super Bowl XLVI to cap the 2011 season. Since then, the Giants have been to the playoffs twice in 14 seasons, with only one postseason victory.
They’ve got a young nucleus of talent. They need to get the most out of it. They need a coach who can do it, and who otherwise can navigate the realities of leading one of the two teams in the NFL’s biggest and most scrutinized market.
Big Shield combines gambling, pro football, and the mob into a cautionary tale regarding inside information, and the dangers that come from selling it.
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