The New York Giants had the busiest day in their search for a new coach, interviewing New England Patriots coordinators Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia.
McDaniels, the Patriots’ offensive coordinator, met with new general manager Dave Gettleman, Giants co-owner John Mara and assistant general manager Kevin Abrams on Friday afternoon in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Patricia, the defensive coordinator, talked with the trio in the morning.
The Patriots have a first-round bye, allowing their coaching staff to be interviewed this week.
McDaniels has been a member of New England’s coaching staff for all five of the Patriots’ Super Bowl championships, including two as offensive coordinator. He has coached under Bill Belichick for 14 of the last 17 seasons.
This past season was his sixth in his second stint as New England’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. The Patriots led the NFL in total yards (394.2 per game) and were second in passing yards (276.1) and scoring (28.6 points).
McDaniels first served as an assistant with the Patriots from 2001-08, and played a key role on a staff that won three Super Bowl titles and four AFC championships.
McDaniels spent the 2009-10 seasons as coach of the Denver Broncos. He had an 8-8 record in his first season and was fired late in his second with a 3-9 record, finishing 11-17 overall.
He rejoined the Patriots in 2012 after spending a year as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach of the St. Louis Rams, who coincidentally were then coached by Steve Spagnuolo, who finished this season as the Giants interim coach after Ben McAdoo was fired on Dec. 4.
Spagnuolo interviewed for the Giants job on Wednesday.
A snowstorm forced the Giants to postpone a planned interview with recently fired Denver Broncos running backs coach Eric Studesville on Thursday. He will meet with the team next week. Coincidentally, he finished the 2010 season as the Broncos’ interim coach after McDaniels was fired.
New York also plans to talk to Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur on Saturday. There were reports that Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz would meet with the team on Sunday, but that no longer is certain.
Patricia has been a member of the Patriots’ coaching staff since 2004 and the defensive coordinator for the last six seasons. The 43-year-old has been a part of three of their five Super Bowl victories, as well as their losses to the Giants after the 2007 and ’11 seasons.
The Patriots ranked 29th in yards allowed (366.0), but held opponents to an average of 18.5 points. Only one of the Patriots’ final 12 opponents scored more than 24 points.
Patricia’s 2016 defense finished No. 1 in the NFL by allowing 15.6 points per game.
Prior to joining the Patriots, Patricia spent six seasons coaching in college. He worked as an aeronautical engineer for two years before returning to coaching at Amherst in 1999. Patricia’s first coaching experience came in 1996, when he served as a graduate assistant at RPI, where he was a center and guard.
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