Posted January 13, 2018 at 08:45 AM | Updated January 13, 2018 at 08:53 AM
By Dan Duggan | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
The Giants' coaching search should be in standby this weekend, as their top three candidates are coaching in playoff games. Patriots coordinators Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia host the Titans on Saturday night, while Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur hosts the Saints on Sunday afternoon in Divisional round matchups.
Here's everything you need to know for Saturday:
Panthers Falcons Football
David Goldman | AP Photo
You don't need Patricia's degree in aeronautical engineering to do the math on the Giants' coaching search: The team is reportedly down to three finalists and there are three other teams with head coaching vacancies. That means it's possible that the Giants could be left without a chair when the music stops. So they need a backup plan.
On cue, Newsday reported on Friday that the Giants have an unidentified "sleeper" candidate. There are plenty of potential candidates for the doomsday scenario outlined above. It also would be a shrewd PR move for the Giants to leak out the existence of a sleeper candidate because if they struck out with the three reported favorites, everyone would view their hire as a backup plan. But now the Giants can claim whoever they hire was the sleeper candidate all along.
Matt Patricia
Charles Krupa | AP Photo
Patricia has been reported as the favorite for the Giants job by the New York Daily News and ESPN's Giants blog, but the Patriots defensive coordinator is still considered the favorite for the Lions by Detroit outlets.
The tell that the Lions still believe they have a shot at Patricia is that they haven't moved onto their other top candidate, Texans defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel. Vrabel, who is also a finalist for the Colts' opening, is eligible to be hired now. If the Lions get word that Patricia is headed to the Giants, they'll pull the trigger on hiring Vrabel. Until that happens, they clearly believe they're still in the running for Patricia.