As they said farewell to Tom Coughlin, the Giants were already thinking about his replacement. There is no time to waste when it comes to filling their head coaching vacancy.
Six NFL teams are looking for new coaching staffs, and the completion figures to be fierce. Co-owner John Mara said Coughlin’s coordinators, Ben McAdoo and Steve Spagnuolo, will be granted interviews, and the Giants have reached out to the Bears about their offensive coordinator, Adam Gase, who is a hot candidate in this round of the coaching carousel.
Doug Marrone, the former Bills head coach and, like Coughlin a Syracuse grad, is also on the Giants’ radar and will get an interview, an NFL source told The Post. Marrone is a native of The Bronx. Sean McDermott, the Panthers defensive coordinator, is also scheduled for an interview.
Mara said Tuesday the search will be “extensive.’’
As in the past, Mara and his general manager, Jerry Reese, will put together a list of candidates and conduct the initial interviews. The finalists will get to meet with co-owner Steve Tisch. Ownership makes the final call on the hire.
Of the two current coordinators, McAdoo appears to be the stronger consideration, based on the success of the offense and Eli Manning’s affinity for him.
“I think our offense certainly improved,’’ Mara said. “I think he’s proven himself to be a very good teacher, has a very good handle on our offense. I think he communicates very well. I think he shows some leadership skills. I think he has some good qualities.’’
Manning has said it would “not be ideal’’ to have to learn an entirely new offensive system.
“It’s certainly a factor,’’ Mara said. “At the end of the day, you have to get the right man for the job. That can’t be the overriding determination.’’
Spagnuolo’s defense finished 32nd in the league and he was a failed head coach previously with the Rams. But he is well-regarded by the Giants.
“I think he did the best he could with what he had,’’ Mara said. “I want to hear from him what he felt about how we performed there, what improvements he would make going forward. He’ll have that opportunity to explain that.’’
One intriguing possibility is Sean Payton, who for the time being remains the head coach of the Saints. To acquire him, the Giants would have to engineer a trade, most likely costing them a second-round pick. Payton was the offensive coordinator for the Giants under Jim Fassel.
“I wouldn’t completely rule that out,’’ Mara said of the possibility of trading a draft pick for a coach.
Mara said he would definitely consider a college coach, putting Stanford’s David Shaw in play. Previous ties to the Giants are not required.
This if the first time Reese will be involved in a coaching search.
“Of course, we have a list,’’ Reese said. “I have too much respect for coach Coughlin to be talking about what we have on a list.
“We want to get the right guy. It has to be the right person who can communicate with the players, can teach, has something to prove, all those kinds of things, a guy that wants to win Super Bowls. Coach Coughlin, he’s going to be a tough act to follow. First of all, if a guy has thin skin, he shouldn’t come here. That’s the first thing I’ll tell him. If you have thin skin, this is not the job for you. Don’t come here.’’