The New York Giants have received a warning about potentially hiring Notre Dame Fighting Irish coach Marcus Freeman.
The New York Giants are on the hunt for a new head coach, and a new betting favorite has emerged for the position: Notre Dame Fighting Irish coach Marcus Freeman.
Of course, the whole "betting favorite" thing doesn't actually mean a whole lot. It wasn't long ago that Mike McCarthy was deemed the frontrunner. Now, it's Freeman.
Whatever the case may be, Freeman has been floated as a potential candidate for the Giants, but Joe DeLeone of A to Z Sports isn't sure it would be the right fit for either side.
"Freeman has the potential to become a high-level NFL coach after gaining more experience as a college head coach. However, the disarray of the Giants organization isn’t a situation a coach who’s never coached in the NFL should want to take on," DeLeone wrote. "Ultimately, the Giants need someone who is a tone-setter and has NFL coaching experience. They need someone who has been around rebuilds of losing cultures, who knows what it takes to fix them."
Freeman has certainly been a tremendous coach on the collegiate level. He has gone 43-12 at Notre Dame and led the Fighting Irish to the National Championship Game last season.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish coach Marcus Freeman. Credit: MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images.Many also feel that Notre Dame was snubbed of a College Football Playoff appearance this year.
But perhaps DeLeone has a point: is Freeman actually the right fit in New York?
We all know that college coaches finding success in the NFL is rare. It has happened before with names like Bill Walsh, Vince Lombardi, Jimmy Johnson, Pete Carroll and Jim Harbaugh, but far more often than not, it doesn't work.
And really, Freeman's experience even as an NCAA head coach is relatively limited.
The Giants probably should be searching for a more proven answer, or at least a coordinator who has had success in the NFL for quite some time.
New York actually has enough pieces in place to start making a playoff push soon, especially if the Giants make the right moves this offseason.
And that starts with hiring the right head coach.
I love Freeman, but DeLeone is right: he probably isn't the best fit for Big Blue. It's simply not the right time for either party.
We'll see where New York decides to go.