Report: Matt Rhule gave Giants a chance to match Panthers’ offer

The New York Giants were scheduled to meet with Baylor head coach Matt Rhule on Tuesday, but that interview failed to materialize as he agreed to become the next head coach of the Carolina Panthers.

However, Rhule didn’t completely spurn the Giants after all.

NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reports that Rhule called the Giants on Monday evening and gave then an opportunity to match the deal being offered by the Panthers.

The Giants declined.

One note on the #Giants: Matt Rhule called them before signing his 6-year deal with the #Panthers and gave them the opportunity to match and lure him to get on the plane. They declined and hired Joe Judge instead.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 7, 2020

Ultimately, the deal offered to Rhule was too rich for the Giants’ blood, which when considering the potential buyout, makes sense. Especially when Rhule had absolute not head coaching experience at the NFL level.

Panthers are giving former Baylor HC Matt Rhule a seven-year – seven year – deal worth $60 million that with incentives could be worth up to $70 million, per league sources.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 7, 2020

Instead of Rhule, the Giants got to work on finalizing a deal for New England Patriots special teams coordinator/wide receivers coach Joe Judge, which is expected to become official on Tuesday.