Giants may have to wait to interview Eagles’ Jim Schwartz
Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz speaks with members of the media in Philadelphia on Dec. 12, 2017. Credit: AP / Matt Rourke
If the Giants still want to interview Jim Schwartz, it appears they’ll have to wait.
They requested and received permission to speak with the Eagles’ defensive coordinator regarding their head-coaching vacancy but were unable to schedule that meeting, according to a source. That leaves the Giants with no scheduled interviews on Sunday, although it still is possible that something can be hastily set up with Schwartz. Philadelphia is an hour-and-a-half away from Giants headquarters.
Because Schwartz’s Eagles are playing in next weekend’s divisional round of the playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the NFC, the window for interviewing him will close on Sunday evening at the conclusion of the final wild-card game. The next availability for any team to interview Schwartz will come either after the Eagles have been eliminated from the postseason or during the bye week before the Super Bowl.
The Giants are expected to meet with Panthers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks and former Broncos associate head coach Eric Studesville early this week. There are no other known candidates at this time.
The Giants wrapped up their interviews with coaches who are on teams with playoff byes when they met with Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur in Bloomington, Minnesota, on Saturday. Shurmur, 52, a former head coach with the Browns, was interviewed by Giants co-owner John Mara, general manager Dave Gettleman and assistant general manager Kevin Abrams.
If the Giants are intent on drafting a quarterback in April, Shurmur’s experience with Sam Bradford as the top choice in 2010 could be a plus in his candidacy. With Shurmur as the offensive coordinator of the Rams that season, Bradford set NFL rookie records for completions (354) and attempts (590), and his 3,512 passing yards were the second most by a rookie in league history. Bradford, now with Shurmur in Minnesota, was named NFL offensive rookie of the year in 2010.
Shurmur was the third candidate to meet with the Giants from a team with a playoff bye; the Giants interviewed Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia on Friday. They also interviewed Steve Spagnuolo on Wednesday. Spagnuolo was the Giants’ defensive coordinator for the past three seasons and served as interim head coach for the final four games of the 2017 season.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
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