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Joe Judge seems likely to hire an experienced offensive coordinator, and it might turn out to be Jason Garrett. But the new Giants coach had hoped to talk to Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll about the job first.
The 44-year-old Daboll, who was on the New England Patriots staff with Judge from 2013-16, was high atop Judge's wish list when he was hired by the Giants, multiple sources told SNY. The Giants requested permission for Judge to interview Daboll, the sources said, but that permission was denied by the Bills.
That wasn't surprising, considering it would've been a lateral move for Daboll, who was a big part of why the Bills finished 10-6 this past season and made the playoffs for just the second time in the last 20 years. He's also earned rave reviews for his work with second-year quarterback Josh Allen.
Daboll was so highly regarded that he interviewed for the Cleveland Browns head coaching job last week, and was reportedly a "sleeper" candidate before they hired Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski instead.
Daboll was an offensive assistant and the tight ends coach for the Patriots while Judge coached their special teams. He left to join Nick Saban's staff in Alabama as the co-offensive coordinator in 2017 and helped the Tide to a national championship, before returning to the NFL with the Bills in 2018. He has been an offensive coordinator with four NFL teams -- the Bills, Chiefs, Dolphins, and Browns. He was also the Jets quarterbacks coach in 2007-08 under Eric Mangini.
With Daboll out of the running, Judge turned his attention to Garrett, the former Dallas Cowboys head coach who interviewed for the job on Wednesday, and Mike Shula, the Giants' offensive coordinator the last two years who interviewed on Monday. It's not clear if there are other candidates at the moment, though some believe Judge has some interest in former Browns head coach and offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens.
It is believed Judge will have his offensive coordinator in place within the next day or two so he can begin to assemble the rest of the offensive staff.
One person who does not appear to be a candidate for the Giants' offensive coordinator job is Bill Callahan, the former Redskins interim head coach and a long-time NFL assistant. However, he could be a candidate for the Giants' offensive line coach job, a source said.
There has been some question over whether he'd be willing to work with Garrett, since there was reportedly friction between the two of them during Callahan's final days as Garrett's offensive coordinator in Dallas in 2014. Whether the two would be willing to work together again depends on who is asked. Some sources say they have put their differences behind them and a reunion could be possible.
Another name to watch for Giants offensive line coach is Dave DeGuglielmo, who was recently fired after one year as the Dolphins offensive line coach. He coached with Judge too, when he was the Patriots offensive line coach in 2014-15. DeGuglielmo was also the Jets offensive line coach in 2012 and was an assistant offensive line coach with the Giants from 2004-08.
