New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh wound up hiring former Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson to the same position on his staff. Harbaugh admitted, however, that a much more prominent name was strongly considered for the position.
Harbaugh said he had extensive talks with Rex Ryan about potentially taking the Giants defensive coordinator job. He ultimately opted for Wilson thanks in part to a strong recommendation from Jesse Minter, who is succeeding Harbaugh in Baltimore.
“I talked to Rex about that job at length,” Harbaugh told Ian O’Connor of The Athletic. “Rex is a guy I love and have a lot of respect for.”
Harbaugh openly talked about Ryan as a possibility for the job before, and apparently he was not just saying it to be nice. It would have been Ryan’s first coaching position since he was fired as head coach by the Buffalo Bills in 2016.
Wilson is not as established as Ryan in terms of name recognition, but the 43-year-old is younger and has proven his ability to coach in the modern NFL. That may have played into Harbaugh’s thinking too.
Ryan has publicly mused about returning to coaching during his on-air roles at ESPN. That will probably continue, though it remains to be seen if he will ever get another opportunity to coach in the NFL.
