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New York Giants Rumors: Sean Payton In Team’s Sights After Tom Coughlin’s Likely Exit

By Nathan Francis
Published on: 01:46 PST, Jan 2, 2016

The New York Giants are rumored to be interested in Sean Payton to fill their likely head coaching vacancy, with Tom Coughlin expected to turn in his resignation when the season ends.

Sources close to the team claim that Coughlin is ready to leave and that John Mara and co-owner Steve Tisch are preparing to find a new coach for the first time in 11 years.

While the team has given no official indication which direction they will go — or speaking on record about rumors of Coughlin leaving — sources close to the team believe the New York Giants will aim big.

Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News believes that the Giants are going to aim big, with Sean Payton a potential target.

“But then what? Who’s next? And how, exactly, is Mara supposed to replace a two-time Super Bowl-winning coach, a possible Hall of Famer and the man who was virtually hand-picked by his late father to be the Giants’ coach?

“Here’s how: He’s got to think big, and he’s got to think bold. He’s got to make a run at the likes of Sean Payton or Nick Saban.

“He’s got to shoot for the stars.”

If the New York Giants rumors are true, they may have some big competition to land Sean Payton. The New Orleans Saints coach is a hot target for coaching vacancies, even though he is still under contract in New Orleans. His name has surfaced in relation to a likely coaching job in San Diego, where Mike McCoy is likely to be canned after the season ends.

Payton has also been connected to the Dallas Cowboys, who could be firing coach Jason Garrett.

If the New York Giants have ideas of landing Sean Payton, the price could be very high. The Giants would need to pull off a trade, and while there isn’t much precedent, the last coach trade back in 2002 was quite costly. The Oakland Raiders sent Jon Gruden to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that year in exchange for two first-round picks and two second-round picks

Of course, this is all predicated on Tom Coughlin resigning from the New York Giants, which he has not spoken about officially.

Instead, Fox Sports’ Mike Garafolo appeared on The Herd with Colin Cowherd on Friday and speculated that Coughlin was ready to leave the Giants (via Fox Sports).

“This is a different Tom Coughlin, and I think he’s ready to move away. A lot of people are talking as if it’s an inevitability that on Monday he is going to resign. I am hearing that from a lot of people.”

While Coughlin hasn’t given an official indication that he’s leaving, he has hinted about it. Kevin Armstrong of the New York Daily News published a telling comment from practice this week, with Coughlin purposely not addressing his future.

“Do I want to come back? I don’t know if that’s a great question right now. What I want to do is win a game on Sunday. That’s the bottom line for this group right now. I always have the competitive spirit.”

If the New York Giants rumors regarding Sean Payton are true, it would represent to some a long-needed move. Though the Giants have won two Super Bowls under Coughlin, they have encountered little success outside those two seasons and have only made the playoffs once in the last seven seasons.

[Picture by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images]

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