Twenty-eight days have passed since Wink Martindale left the Giants.
Daronte Jones, the secondary coach for the Vikings, was the ninth candidate interviewed by head coach Brian Daboll on Sunday for the position of defensive coordinator. Jones has never held the role in the NFL. In 2021, he was the defensive coordinator at LSU.The WFAN anchor Evan Roberts suggested the Giants hire a former Jets coach in light of their obvious difficulties in finding a successor for Martindale.
“Will you be able to find someone who benefits the most from this group if you’re not drawing in the best candidates?” Roberts stated through Audacy. “I have another nice guy who is similarly desperate. And that’s the crucial element. This individual is undoubtedly skilled at coordination, and it would enable Brian Daboll to assign the defense to someone else. I’m going to use this quarterback, who we’ll presumably draft, to repair the offense.
“His name is Rex Ryan…he could be brilliant as defensive coordinator.”
When the Ravens defeated the Giants in the 2000 Super Bowl, Ryan was their defensive line coach. In 2005, he was elevated to the role of defensive coordinator for Baltimore, where he served until 2008. In 2009, he accepted a job as head coach of the Jets.
When Ryan was the Jets coach, the team’s defense was always at the top of the ratings. Gang Green finished in the top 10 in yards per game five times in six seasons. In 2009, they topped the NFL in the number of points allowed per game (14.8), while in 2010, they were placed sixth (19). In both of those seasons, the Jets were defeated in the AFC title game.
Two of the remaining coaches have already secured positions: Bobby Babich, the linebackers coach, who stayed in Buffalo in order to advance to defensive coordinator, and Dennard Wilson, the former secondary coach for the Ravens, who joined the Titans as their defensive coordinator.
The remaining contenders are former Titans defensive coordinator Shane Bowen, former Chargers defensive coordinator Derrick Ansley, former Dolphins linebackers coach Anthony Campanile, former Giants secondary coach Jerome Henderson, and former Chiefs linebackers coach Brendan Daly.
