Both the New York Giants and Tennessee Titans have brought in new head coaches this offseason, and now they're looking to fill their coordinator vacancies. On the defensive side of the ball, the answer could be James Bettcher.
The former Cardinals defensive coordinator interviewed for a promotion to head coach in Arizona, but with the hiring of Steve Wilks, he's looking elsewhere to continue with his current position.
Per the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Bettcher is scheduled to meet with both the Giants and Titans in Mobile on Tuesday. Rapoport adds that he's a top candidate for the defensive coordinator job for both franchises.
After the Minnesota Vikings were eliminated on Sunday, the Giants officially announced the hiring of Minnesota offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur as their new head coach. In addition to Bettcher, Shurmur is reportedly interested in hiring former Oakland Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio as DC. As of now, Del Rio is considered the favorite for the job.
On the other side, the Titans brought in one of the brightest young defensive minds in the NFL in Mike Vrabel. The former Houston Texans defensive coordinator will likely still handle a lot of the duties on that side of the ball, so whoever he hires for the position must be comfortable with a more collaborative relationship. In Arizona, Bettcher took on much of the responsibility under the offensive-minded Bruce Arians.
After serving as an assistant coach at the collegiate level from 2004-11, Bettcher became the outside linebackers coach for the Indianapolis Colts. He then followed Arians to Arizona, becoming their outside linebackers coach before receiving a promotion to defensive coordinator in 2015.