A new name has been added to the list of potential head-coaching candidates for the New York Giants. ESPN’s Jordan Ranaan said on the ‘Giants Nation Show’ with Bobby Skinner that Houston Texans defensive coordinator Matt Burke is expected to be “in the mix” when interviews begin after the season.
“The one that I don’t think we give full credit to who I kind of expect to be in this mix — Matt Burke, who’s the defensive coordinator of the Texans,” Ranaan said. “There’s been some buzz about that where I think that might be something where I think he could be in this mix.”
The 11-5 Texans, who could still win a third straight AFC South title, have the NFL’s No. 1 defense in points, yards, and first downs allowed.
The 49-year-old Burke has been the Texans’ defensive coordinator since DeMeco Ryans became Houston’s head coach in 2023.
Ryans, defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers for two seasons before becoming Texans’ head coach, called the Houston defense his first two seasons, finally turning that duty over to Burke in Week 4 of this season.
That leads to the obvious question of how much credit Burke should get for building the Houston defense, vs. how much should go to Ryans for building the scheme and general manager Nick Caserio for adding the personnel.
Burke has been in coaching since 1998, and has been an NFL assistant since 2004. Burke was defensive coordinator of the Miami Dolphins in 2017 and 2018. Giants GM Joe Schoen was Miami’s Director of Player Perssonnel when Burke was the team’s linebackers coach in 2016.
Coincidentally, Giants interim defensive coordinator Charlie Bullen worked alongside Burke with the Dolphins and Arizona Cardinals.
NFL teams cannot conduct in-person interviews with candidates employed by other teams until after the divisional round of the playoffs.
