TWO FOR BLUE?
Be perfect duo to lead Giants
and McDaniels as a package deal before — just last January, in fact, when Riddick and McDaniels both interviewed for the San Francisco 49ers GM and coaching vacancies that eventually went to John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan.
“They were trying to look for matches as far as head coaches and general manager,” Riddick said on an ESPN appearance after not getting the job, according to a transcript on ninersnation.com. “It wasn’t a very well kept secret — not that it was a secret, anyway — that Josh McDaniels and myself are very close. We share a lot of the same philosophical ideas.
“Because he was really taught the game at the highest level by Nick Saban and Bill Belichick just like I was,” Riddick continued. “And that was pretty much the deal going in. It was either going to be him and I, or it wasn’t. And Josh for his reasons, his personal reasons, decided that now wasn’t going to be a good time. And when he decided that, I was on board with that obviously. Therefore I wasn’t in the running anymore.”
McDaniels easily could have another reason for not wanting to leave New England this time around: Belichick isn’t going to coach forever, and McDaniels could stay as the heir to the Patriots throne. On the other hand, would he really turn down the Giants job? Plus, as Riddick said, they share several connections.
Riddick, originally of Quakertown, Pa., played defensive back for the Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns and Oakland Raiders after being drafted by the 49ers out of Pitt in the ninth round in 1991. Belichick was Riddick’s head coach in his three seasons with Cleveland (1993-95), and Saban was his defensive coordinator for Riddick’s first two years there.
Riddick then started working for NFL clubs as a pro scout in Washington (2001-04) before being promoted to director of pro personnel for three years. He left for Philly as a scout in 2008 and moved up to assistant director of pro personnel in 2009 and then became director in 2010 through 2013.
McDaniels, of Canton, Ohio, meanwhile, has helped Belichick build the Patriots dynasty. Belichick and Brady haven’t won any of their five Super Bowls without him on staff. McDaniels played quarterback and wide receiver at John Carroll University and then spent a season as a graduate assistant under Saban at Michigan State in the late-90s before joining New England.
McDaniels is now in his 14th season with the Patriots and his ninth as the team’s offensive coordinator, and was promoted to QBs coach to work with Brady in 2004. He was fired before his second season as Denver’s head coach was up, but moved on to St. Louis to become the Rams’ offensive coordinator and then returned to New England resuming his role as offensive coordinator/QB coach. aban, Alabama’s four-time national champion head coach, obviously would be a tantalizing coaching candidate also with a link to Riddick, but presumably Saban would want more control than the typical NFL head coach. And with the Giants undergoing a facelift, it’s understandable why the young Riddick would prefer himself and the young, accomplished McDaniels as a package deal.
The Giants might prefer it, too.
S