Giants Owner Reveals Why He Passed On Matt Rhule
Giants Owner Reveals Why He Passed On Matt Rhule
Giants Owner Reveals Why He Passed On Matt Rhule
A Giants owner revealed why he passed on Matt Rhule this week.
Shortly after Baylor’s bowl game, Rhule became the most highly sought-after free agent coach on the market. He was immediately linked to the Giants, Carolina Panthers and Cleveland Browns.
Due to how in demand he was, Rhule ultimately refused to even interview with Cleveland. His choice came down to either New York or Carolina.
When it was all said and done, Rhule ended up going with the Panthers after being offered a seven-year, $60 million deal. With incentives, that total can balloon up to $70 million.
Multiple reports from people with knowledge of the situation have suggested that after receiving Carolina’s offer, Rhule took it to the Giants and gave them an opportunity to match.
They refused to. Instead, the team went out and hired New England Patriots special teams coach Joe Judge to fill the vacancy left behind by Pat Shurmur.
This week, team co-owner John Mara was asked why the organization opted to pass on Rhule.
The answer? Money.
Why didn’t John Mara consider matching the seven-year, $62 million deal the Carolina Panthers gave Matt Rhule? “For a new head coach in the NFL, I just didn’t think that was a reasonable way to go.” By then, he also said he was “excited” about Joe Judge, making that call easier.
— Ralph Vacchiano (@RVacchianoSNY) January 9, 2020
“For a new head coach in the NFL, I just didn’t think that was a reasonable way to go,” he said.
Later on, Mara also indicated that Judge had won him over during the interview process, and so that made turning down Rhule all the easier.
It will be interesting to see how this situation turns out. Because of the nature of how the last week went, Rhule and Judge will be compared to one another for the foreseeable future.
There is a very good chance that one of these franchises will emerge feeling very smart, and the other very stupid. Which will be which? That’s the $60 million question.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.