The Carolina Panthers are reportedly coming to terms with New York Giants head-coaching candidate Matt Rhule.
The New York Giants are reportedly losing one of their head-coaching candidates before even interviewing him.
Big Blue was set to meet with Baylor head coach Matt Rhule on Tuesday. Nonetheless, Rhule met with the Carolina Panthers on Monday, a team he’ll potentially be with for the long term.
Pete Thamel of Yahoo! Sports was the first to report the news.
Sources: Baylor coach Matt Rhule finalizing a deal to become next coach of the Carolina Panthers.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 7, 2020
There’s no sugarcoating it: this is chaos for the Giants and their fans. Many had Rhule as their favorite to be the next head coach. His offensive style and ability to turn a program around was intriguing for an organization with a young quarterback and 12 wins in the past three years.
While at Baylor, Rhule finished 1-11 in his inaugural season (2017) but ended up 11-3 this past year. The Bears were Big 12 Championship runner-ups and lost in the Sugar Bowl to the University of Georgia.
Rhule will now take over a Panthers team looking to return to the playoffs for the first time since the 2017 season.
So with Rhule off the board, what do the Giants do now?
Well, they still have to interview New England Patriots head coach Josh McDaniels. That meeting is set to take place on Wednesday. With Rhule’s decision along with Mike McCarthy heading to Dallas, this leaves the Giants with McDaniels, Joe Judge, Kris Richard, Don Martindale, and Eric Bieniemy. Don’t rule out the possibility of hiring Jason Garrett either.
It’s unclear when the Giants will make their ultimate decision.