Louis Riddick wanted to hire this coach if he became Giants GM

There was quite a bit of news on the coaching front this week — not just in the NFL but in college football as well, with legendary coach, Alabama’s Nick Saban, announcing his retirement.

Prior to the Giants hiring Dave Gettleman as their general manager in December 2017, Louis Riddick was being considered for the position. The Giants, of course, went with Gettleman, which did not work out well for them.

As it turns out, Riddick had big plans for his head coach had he landed the Giants’ GM job. In fact, it appears Riddick reached out to Nick Saban proactively while still being in the running for the position.

Louis Riddick said on ESPN today that when he interviewed for the New York Giants’ General Manager job, he called Nick Saban to gauge his potential interest in becoming the team’s head coach 👀

Obviously didn’t work out, but an interesting “What if?” #NYGiants pic.twitter.com/MbkwqwP6Qz

— Anthony Rivardo (@Anthony_Rivardo) January 11, 2024

This wasn’t the first time Saban’s name was connected to the Giants.

According to Bruce Arians back in 2018, Saban coveted the Giants head coaching job and there were also rumors that Saban nearly replaced Tom Coughlin when his tenure with the Giants ended.

It’s certainly an interesting ‘what if’ scenario, especially considering the way that the Gettleman era is remembered among fans.

It’s interesting to think about how Riddick would have fared as the Giants GM, especially if he was able to lure Saban away from Alabama.