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Report: Jack Del Rio is the front-runner for Giants DC job

By John Buhler

CARSON, CA - DECEMBER 31: Head Coach Jack Del Rio of the Oakland Raiders looks on during the first quarter of the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at StubHub Center on December 31, 2017 in Carson, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
CARSON, CA - DECEMBER 31: Head Coach Jack Del Rio of the Oakland Raiders looks on during the first quarter of the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at StubHub Center on December 31, 2017 in Carson, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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Former Oakland Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio is reportedly in line to be the next defensive coordinator for the New York Giants under Pat Shurmur.

While it didn’t end well for him with the Oakland Raiders, former head coach Jack Del Rio won’t be out of football in 2018. Even though his former team went 6-10 in his final year with the Raiders, it seems that Del Rio is in line to be the next defensive coordinator for the New York Giants.

ESPN’s Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter reported on Sunday morning that Del Rio is the front-runner to link up with the presumed next head coach of the Giants in Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur in 2018.

Since Shurmur’s Vikings are playing in the 2017 NFC Championship this evening, his hiring cannot be made official until Minnesota is eliminated from the NFL playoffs. If Del Rio joins the Giants, that would mean former defensive coordinator and interim head coach Steve Spagnuolo would be looking for a job elsewhere.

This would be Del Rio’s third gig as an NFL coordinator. He was the Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator in 2002. After one year in Charlotte, he would become the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2003 to 2011. Once he got fired by the Jaguars after the 2011 NFL season, Del Rio would reinvent himself as the defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos from 2012 to 2014.

Overall, Del Rio has shown that he is a great defensive mind, but may not be more than a middle of the pack NFL head coach. Given that this will be Shurmur’s second go-around as head coach, he will want to have a defensive guy on his staff with ample head coaching experience. Shurmur was the Cleveland Browns head coach from 2012 to 2013.

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While he and Del Rio have never worked together, together, they might be able to turn around a lost culture with the Giants. New York was horrendous in 2017, as former head coach Ben McAdoo was fired after losing the Raiders in Oakland mid-season.

The Giants will have the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Ideally, Shurmur will want to draft the Giants’ next franchise quarterback to appropriately replace Eli Manning under center. Del Rio will inherit a good bit of talent on the New York defense. He will get to work with players like safety Landon Collins, nose tackle Damon Harrison and defensive end Olivier Vernon in New York.

Next: Raiders: 5 in-house questions to ask before free agency

Getting fired by the Raiders was tough, but this what happens when your team drops its final four games to fall to 6-10 on the season. New York may not go worst to first in the NFC East, but this is a good entry point for Shurmur. If Del Rio does for the Giants defense what he did in Denver, New York could get back to being playoff viable as early as 2018.

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