The New York Giants’ head coaching search has kicked off to an early start following the mid-season firing of Brian Daboll. Now, the team is shaping out what it wants from its next head coach.
Reports indicate the team wants a coach with experience and the leadership qualities to be a CEO who oversees all three phases of the game. However, one younger, less experienced, but highly intriguing candidate has emerged.
Giants could be interested in Rams DC Chris Shula as their next head coach
NFL insider Jay Glazer revealed an intriguing name on the Giants’ list of head coaching candidates on Sunday: Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula.
While the Giants seem to favor coaches with more experience, Shula could still be a top choice, despite not having any prior head coaching experience. Shula has earned his reputation as the Rams’ most valuable assistant coach/coordinator — a Sean McVay Seal of Approval that could land him a head coaching gig sooner than later.
“Of all the coaches that Sean McVay has kind of pushed along to be a new head coach, and the next head coach, he’s done more with Chris Shula than all of them combined,” Glazer said. “These two guys are best friends; they went to college together.”
Shula has been on McVay’s staff in a variety of roles for nine seasons now. He has been an outside linebackers coach, a linebackers coach, a defensive backs coach, a passing game coordinator (on the offensive side of the ball), and a pass rush coordinator in the past.
Although he doesn’t have prior head coaching experience, Shula’s experience coaching on both sides of the ball and filling many different roles could project him into the “CEO-type” category that the Giants want to shop in.
For the past two seasons, Shula has been the Rams’ defensive coordinator, helping lead one of the best units in the NFL. The Rams are allowing just 17.2 points per game this season, the second-fewest in the league.
Shula’s unit has a few hallmark traits: an ability to force turnovers (18 this season ranks second in the NFL) and an ability to get after the quarterback (27.0 sacks this season ranks ninth).
Shula is Sean McVay’s top protege
McVay is among the league’s top head coaches. He is a Super Bowl champion who has transformed the Rams’ culture and turned them into a perennial postseason contender ever since his arrival in 2017.
The “McVay Coaching Tree” has become fruitful, yielding several top head coaches and coordinators elsewhere. Plucking the most valuable piece of fruit off that tree in Shula could be an exciting proposition for the Giants.
Seven of McVay’s assistants have been hired as head coaches in the NFL or NCAA, and one has served as an interim coach for the NFL:
- Matt LaFleur, Green Bay Packers (2019–present)
- Zac Taylor, Cincinnati Bengals (2019–present)
- Jedd Fisch, Arizona (2021–2023), Washington (2024–present)
- Brandon Staley, Los Angeles Chargers (2021–2023)
- Kevin O’Connell, Minnesota Vikings (2022–present)
- Raheem Morris, Atlanta Falcons (2024–present)[a]
- Thomas Brown, Chicago Bears (2024, interim)
- Liam Coen, Jacksonville Jaguars (2025–present)
Although Shula would be a young head coaching hire (39 years old), so was McVay (30 years old at the time of his hiring in 2017).
If McVay has indeed passed everything he knows down to Shula, then that will make Shula among the most valuable coordinators on the head coaching market this offseason.
McVay is a legendary head coach and a genius on the offensive side of the ball. Shula could be the next branch to extend off the McVay Tree, but he has primarily coached the defensive side of the ball.
Shula would be a cutting-edge hire for the Giants. He would totally re-shift the organization’s culture, bringing a younger, more modern approach to the game — something the team should welcome with open arms.
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