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Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn withdrew his name from the Giants’ coaching search after an in-person interview.
The Broncos and Bears hired other head coaches after interviewing Quinn, a Morristown, N.J. native who still was very interested in returning home but could read the tea leaves that the Giants’ search was between Brian Daboll and Brian Flores, an industry source told The Post.
“It was disappointing because he was a serious candidate,” Giants owner John Mara said, “but, at the end of the day, I’m very happy with Brian Daboll.”
The Giants did not reach out to Sean Payton after he stepped down last week as Saints head coach because “he’s under contract with another team,” Mara said. Payton, who was a Giants assistant coach from 1999-2002, reportedly has three years remaining on his contract and would have to be acquired via trade.
The comfort level between general manager Joe Schoen and Daboll — who worked together for four years with the Bills — “tipped the scales,” Mara said.
Mara favored Flores until near the end of search when he agreed with Schoen’s choice, multiple sources told The Post. But Schoen admitted he nearly went in the direction of Flores, Quinn or Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier rather than the first-timer Daboll.
“Somebody with previous head-coaching experience, that was very attractive to me initially as a first-time GM,” Schoen said. “They know where the pitfalls are, they’ve already made mistakes, so you avoid some of that.”
Giants assistant general manager Kevin Abrams did not receive an interview to be GM — as he did when the job was open in 2007 and 2017 — but his place within the organization is secure.
“He’s been a tremendous resource for me,” Schoen said. “I will continue to lean on him.”
Abrams’ background is in managing the salary cap. He relented some of those responsibilities to director of football operations Ed Triggs in recent years in order to become a more diverse executive, but Abrams’ cap expertise is vital considering Schoen’s scouting background.
Schoen said that if he decides to hire his own right-hand adviser, Abrams has offered to surrender his assistant GM title.
“We haven’t crossed that bridge,” Schoen said. “The biggest thing for me is while we’re trying to find assistant coaches, or I’m trying to find my scouting staff, to know that the operations part is taken care of and I can give Kevin something and he can run with it because he’s done it. He’s got contacts in the league, he’s got agent relationships, so I’ve been very impressed with Kevin thus far.”
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