SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 27: Head coach Ron Rivera of the Carolina Panthers looks on from the sidelines against the San Francisco 49ers during an NFL football game at Levi's Stadium on October 27, 2019 in Santa Clara, California.
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New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman speaks on if the organization was interested in Ron Rivera as their new head coach.

The NFL is all about connections, and the New York Giants have one with former Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera. Big Blue’s Dave Gettleman resided as the general manager in Carolina from 2013-17, working with Rivera in each one of those years.

Rivera was fired last month by the Panthers after having been their coach since 2011. This week, he signed a five-year deal to be the new coach of the Washington Redskins. The Giants ended up possessing a head-coaching vacancy, being that they fired Pat Shurmur. Therefore, was New York even interested in interviewing and potentially hiring Rivera to be the next man up?

“I really don’t know,” Gettleman said in an interview with “The Michael Kay Show” on ESPN Radio. “I just know before we could turn around, the deal was done.”

Many fans wished the Giants would’ve fired Shurmur weeks before they did. That way, they could’ve had a head start on searching for a new coach. Gettleman revealed that constructing the timetable for Shurmur’s firing wasn’t his doing.

“That was not my call,” he said. “It came from [ownership].”

The Redskins had about as big of a head start as any. Washington fired Jay Gruden after their Week 5 loss to the New England Patriots.

It’s unclear when the Giants will make a decision on who their next head coach will be. Candidates include Matt Rhule, Eric Bieniemy, Mike McCarthy, Kris Richard, and Josh McDaniels.

Ryan Honey is a staff writer and host of the Wide Right Podcast.