The New York Giants are in the early stages of their head coaching search, which is being led by general manager Joe Schoen.
Many names have already been thrown around, with speculation ranging from college coaches to veteran coaches with a wealth of NFL experience. That will likely continue throughout the process, but the process itself is what may be more interesting this time around.
The Giants have gone with the “hot coordinator” in each of their previous four coaching hires, and the results have been remarkably underwhelming. For that reason, coupled with his ongoing battle with cancer, co-owner John Mara will likely delegate more power and influence to those he trusts most.
During a recent episode of Breaking Big Blue, ESPN’s Jordan Raanan revealed some details that many Giants fans will cringe when they hear.
“Tim McDonnell is involved in the process as well,” Raanan said. “Think back to the text messages between Brian (Daboll) and Brian (Flores). Look at who was the guy who was talking to Brian Flores during that. Guess who it was? It was Tim McDonnel. So, he’s also involved in it.
“I think Chris Mara is somebody who is going to play a bigger role this time around, too. I know people will love that.”
McDonnell, the team’s director of player personnel, is Mara’s nephew. Chris, a senior player personnel executive, is John’s brother.
Their collective presence has led to accusations of nepotism — something Mara and fellow co-owner Steve Tisch have denied with resentment.
“The perception [that family members aren’t held to accountability during this stretch] has been created by you and others,” Mara told reporters in 2022. “The reality is that in terms of my brother, my brother spent the bulk of his time doing the evaluation of college players. His grades go into our system, and he participates in the draft.
“All personnel decisions in this building, and this has always been the case, have been made by the general manager and the head coach. When they agree on a decision, they come to me with it. As long as they are both in agreement, I okay it.”
Mara went on to praise both Chris and McDonnell.
“Tim is probably the most respected person we have in this building,” Mara boasted. “Coaches, front office staff, the general manager go to him and ask his advice on players because he’s a good evaluator, he’s worked his way up from the bottom, and he’s earned his stripes.”
At the time, Mara claimed that neither Chris nor McDonnell had any real authority — a notion that was heavily mocked. Now we fast forward to 2025, and insiders believe Chris will have an even “bigger role” in the head coaching search.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Giants insider: Chris Mara will play ‘bigger role’ in coaching search
