New Giants head coach Brian Daboll said Monday he’d love to have Patrick Graham back as his defensive coordinator in 2022, but it appears as if Graham is also in the Final Four for the Vikings’ head coach job.
According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, San Francisco DC DeMeco Ryans has pulled out of the running for the Minnesota job, preferring to stay with the Niners to “continue developing.” That move, plus hires elsewhere, seem to leave Graham, the Rams’ two coordinators – OC Kevin O’Connell and DC Raheem Morris – and now Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh as the final candidates for Mike Zimmer’s old gig.
Per Pelissero, the Vikings are bringing Harbaugh in for an interview on Wednesday, with his Tweet noting that “the sides spoke Saturday to gauge Harbaugh’s interest in the head coaching job.”
Harbaugh was the head coach in San Francisco from 2011-14 and was very successful, going 44-19-1 with two NFC West Titles, one Super Bowl appearance (a loss to his brother John’s Ravens), and three NFC Championship Game appearances.
He has been the head coach at Michigan since leaving San Fran, posting a 61-24 record with two Big Ten East titles, one overall Big Ten Championship, and bowl appearances in all six full NCAA seasons. He is 119-51 overall in 14 seasons as a head coach at Michigan, Stanford, and San Diego.
That situation could move quickly, as Graham has interviewed for Pittsburgh’s defensive coordinator spot and is wanted back in New York, and with the Rams in Super Bowl XLVI, both O’Connell and Morris – the latter of whom was 17-31 in three seasons as Tampa Bay head coach and 4-7 as Atlanta’s interim coach in 2020 – are still actively coaching, and thus may not be able to be fully vetted and hired until after February 13.
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