Giants Head Coach Search Update: Virtual Interview with In-Demand Coordinator

Plus, who's on deck for the Giants this week -- and who isn't as of yet?

The Giants have requested permission to speak with Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The New York Giants have requested permission to interview Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula.

The Dolphins, Titans and Giants have put in requests to interview Rams DC Chris Shula for their HC opening (the Ravens also called on Shula), while the Browns requested an interview with Rams PGC Nathan Scheelhaase, per source.

Rams assistants can interview for jobs this week.

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 11, 2026

Shula first entered coaching in 2010 as an assistant linebackers coach for Ball State. 

He landed in the NFL with the Chargers in 2015 as a defensive quality control coach, spending two seasons there before moving to the Rams in 2017, where he held a variety of defensive roles under head coach Sean McVay.

Those roles included assistant linebackers coach, outside linebackers coach, linebackers coach, passing game coordinator, defensive backs coach, pass rush coordinator, and, in his current role, defensive coordinator, a position he was promoted to in 2024.

Shula was also requested by the Dolphins, Titans, and Ravens. He can interview for jobs this week, but his will be virtual. The Rams topped the Carolina Panthers 34-31 on Saturday.

The grandson of legendary Dolphins head coach Don Shula would be the 11th head coaching candidate linked to the Giants in their wide net for a new head coach to replace Brian Daboll.

Shula, who has no prior head-coaching experience at any level, coordinated the league’s 17th-best defense during the 2025 regular season, as the Rams held opponents to 327.5 yards per game. 

The Rams also ranked 12th in run defense and 19th in pass defense. They finished ninth in the league in interception rate (2.72%) and 10th in sacks per pass attempt (7.98%).

In their Wild Card win over the Panthers, the Rams defense allowed 330 yards (83 rushing, 250 passing), the best mark thus far among the four Wild Card teams that played on Saturday. 

The 39-year-old Shula’s defense ranked fourth in the league in quarterback pressure percentage (41.6%) according to Pro Football Focus.  

Mike McCarthy Update

Mike McCarthy will interview with the Giants early this coming week. | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The Giants will interview former Packers and Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy starting Monday night, then continuing into Tuesday, according to an NFL Network report. McCarthy, who won a Super Bowl with the Packers in 2010, has also drawn interest from the Titans for their head coaching job. 

McCarthy’s biggest draw is his ability to develop quarterbacks, which makes him an intriguing option for the Giants, who want someone with proven experience working with Jaxson Dart. 

McCarthy, who has long run a West Coast offensive system, has been credited with fine-tuning Aaron Rodgers’s throwing mechanics when the two were in Green Bay, while also tailoring a system to emphasize Rodgers’s strengths.  

No Word (Yet) on John Harbaugh Interview

John Harbaugh's interview schedule should be known in the next day or so. | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

As of this reporting, there is no word yet on the John Harbaugh front regarding a scheduled interview. 

Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported that “no formal meetings have been scheduled yet” for Harbaugh, who plans to spend Sunday deciding how he wants to proceed. 

Russini added that Harbaugh’s timeline includes informing those teams with whom he is interested in interviewing of his plans on Monday morning.  

One of those teams should be the Giants, whose general manager Joe Schoen has, according to Ian O’Connor of The Athletic, been “relentless” in laying the groundwork to land Harbaugh.

There have been other reports claiming that interested teams may have to visit Harbaugh at his Baltimore-area home rather than have him travel around the country.

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