At some point soon, the Giants will hire a new defensive coordinator.
Wouldn’t it be something if the new guy in charge is someone already in the building?
Jerome Henderson, the Giants’ defensive backs coach for the past five seasons, could emerge as the choice.
General manager Joe Schoen, on Tuesday at the Senior Bowl, said he expects head coach Brian Daboll to come to a decision by the end of this week.
A few candidates interviewed by Daboll landed elsewhere, and the Giants want to wrap this up and secure their replacement for Wink Martindale to fill the most important spot on Daboll’s staff.
Henderson, 54, is one of the most popular individuals working in the Giants’ facility, an upbeat assistant who has the full respect of his players and does not wear his ego on his sleeve.
He played eight years in the NFL, entering the league in 1991 with the Patriots as a second-round draft pick from Clemson.
He finished his playing career with the Jets in 1998.
He coached defensive backs for the Jets, Browns, Cowboys and Falcons before he was hired for that role by Joe Judge in 2020, a strong addition for then-defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.
When Daboll arrived in 2022, he and Martindale decided to retain Henderson.
Not long after they started working together, Martindale called Henderson the best defensive backs coach in the league.
Martindale was popular with his players and several of them spoke highly of him after the Giants finished 6-11, making it clear they wanted Martindale to return to run the defense.
Promoting Henderson, who has never been a defensive play-caller, would be a well-received move in the locker room.
Dennard Wilson, the former Ravens defensive backs coach, twice interviewed with Daboll but Wednesday night was hired by new Titans head coach Brian Callahan.
Wilson had attracted interest from the Packers and Rams in addition to the Giants, so it was never a situation where the Giants were the front-runner to land him.
Daboll did not have a past link with Wilson.
Titans general manager Ran Carthon worked with Wilson for five years with the Rams (2012-16), so there is a connection there.
Other candidates for the Giants include Chiefs linebackers coach Brendan Daly, though he would not be able to be hired until after Super Bowl LVIII and the Giants want to get this wrapped up this week.
Daboll interviewed and has a connection with Bills linebackers coach Bobby Babich, but he was promoted by the Bills to their defensive coordinator role.
Two former NFL defensive coordinators, Shane Bowen (Titans) and Derrick Ansley (Chargers), also met with Daboll, as did Dolphins linebackers coach Anthony Campanile.
Bowen had plenty of success in his three years in Tennessee but lost his job when Mike Vrabel was fired by the Titans.
The highly regarded Vrabel did not land a head-coaching job this cycle.
The Giants were interested in exploring the availability of Ejiro Evero, but new Panthers head coach Dave Canales said Thursday that he expects Evero will remain in Carolina as the defensive coordinator.
As for Martindale, the openings are rapidly closing up.
He forfeited his $3 million salary for 2024 when he stormed out of the Giants’ facility after hearing that Daboll was firing two of Martindale’s trusted assistants, Drew Wilkins and his younger brother, Kevin.
Martindale interviewed for the Jaguars’ defensive coordinator opening that went to Ryan Nielsen.
Martindale, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, also met with Packers head coach Matt LaFleur about running the defense in Green Bay, but that job was filled by Jeff Hafley, the former Boston College head coach.
The Cowboys need a new defensive coordinator now that Dan Quinn was hired as the Commanders’ head coach.
There are in-house candidates for head coach Mike McCarthy to choose from, notably secondary coach and passing game coordinator Joe Whitt Jr., defensive backs coach Al Harris and defensive line coach Aden Durde.