Greg Schiano must be keeping a closer eye than normal on his home state.
The Giants -- a team whose former head coach he once angered by blitzing a kneeldown -- seem to be the key piece to the puzzle for the next move in Schiano's career should he want to move on after two years as defensive coordinator at Ohio State.
If the Giants hire either Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels or Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia as head coach, Schiano would make sense as the Giants defensive coordinator given he would receive a strong recommendation from coach Bill Belichick.
Unless, of course, Belichick wants to keep Schiano for himself as a replacement for Patricia, who is reported to be at or near the top of the list for vacancies with the Giants and Lions.
2 Giants coaching candidates might owe Steve Spagnuolo a job
And the real sleeper would be if Belichick leaves the Patriots at season's end in a trade with the Giants --last week's hot rumor --and needs a new defensive coordinator. Schiano, a Ramapo High School graduate and revered former Rutgers coach, could ride back into New Jersey.
Multiple sources close to Schiano believe that the 51-year-old coach knows his next logical step is NFL defensive coordinator. And there seems to be reciprocal feelings as FoxSports reporter Bruce Feldman reported "there's a lot of interest around the NFL" in a "well-regarded" Schiano.
Hearing there's a lot of interest around the NFL in #OhioState DC Greg Schiano for some defensive coordinator jobs. He is very well-regarded by a lot of folks up there.
-- Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) January 11, 2018
Schiano had a six-year, $27 million agreement in place last month to become the University of Tennessee's coach but a fan revolt over unproven allegations of what he might have known in the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal at Penn State caused the deal to fall through.
That likely poisoned other schools wary of donors and fan mobs from hiring Schiano for at least the time being, but the NFL is a different world. Especially for an assistant coach.
Schiano was fired after two tumultuous seasons (2012-13) as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach, so NFL head coach is another route that appears cut off to him for now.
So, what would the Giants defense look like with Schiano at the helm?
Schiano employs an aggressive 4-3 defense with NFL concepts that relies on an athletic, physical and rangy secondary and outside linebackers. He said he coached the most talented defensive line of his career --including in the NFL -- with Ohio State in 2017.
He developed NFL defensive backs Duron Harmon, Logan Ryan, Jason McCourty, Devin McCourty Marcus Cooper and others at Rutgers, and 2017 NFL Draft first-round picks Gareon Conley, Marcus Lattimore and Malik Hooker at Ohio State.
That philosophy seems to roughly fit the Giants personnel.
Run-stuffing defensive tackle Damon Harrison has made a solid transition from 3-4 nose tackle with the Jets to 4-3 defensive tackle in two seasons with the Giants.
And the Giants have the lanky cornerbacks to play press coverage, if troubled Ohio State product Eli Apple and potential salary cap casualty Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie remain on the roster with Janoris Jenkins. Landon Collins is the ballhawk safety needed to cover the gaps.
A potential problem? Ohio State's safeties and linebackers struggled to cover opposing tight ends in 2017.
The Giants' multi-year inability to stop the tight end under defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who mixed coverages, became a laughingstock as opponents from stars like Jason Witten to no-names piled up 48 catches for 625 yards and 10 touchdowns in the first nine games of 2017.
But Schiano's lasting impression entering this offseason came in in the Cotton Bowl, when his defense goaded USC quarterback Sam Darnold -- the potential No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft -- into some terrible reads, including a pick-six.
Ryan Dunleavy may be reached at rdunleavy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rydunleavy. Find our Giants coverage on Facebook.