New York Giants Rumors: 3 Head Coaching Candidates Who Should Replace Tom Coughlin In 2016 [VIDEO]

The Giants dropped another heartbreaker on Sunday to the Panthers, falling 38-35 after engineering a comeback from a 35-7 deficit in the second half. The loss dropped the Giants to 6-8, all but ending their hopes of a playoff berth, and extending their postseason drought to four years. Sunday's loss also made dubious history; the Giants became the first team in history to lose five games in which the final score came with 10 seconds or less in regulation or in overtime.

If this is finally the year that Coughlin’s long – and successful—run with the Giants reaches it’s end, here are three potential replacements that would excite the Big Blue fan base.

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Bob Sutton, Chiefs Defensive Coordinator

The Chiefs haven’t lost a game since Oct. 18, and it has more than a little bit to do with Sutton’s suffocating defense. Kansas City is ranked third in the NFL in points allowed, and have ranked inside the Top 5 in all three seasons Sutton has been their coordinator.

He may not have the name-value of a Bill Cowher, but the Giants’ defense is clearly in need of some help. Sutton’s teams are able to get after the passer, and toughen up in the red zone, which this group is currently incapable of. Even minor defensive improvements may be enough to get the Giants a division title, since their offense is one of the most explosive in the league.

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Brian Kelly, Notre Dame Head Coach

The college ranks can never be dismissed, but the big names in college, Nick Saban (Alabama), Jim Harbaugh (Michigan) and Urban Meyer (Ohio State), are all pretty entrenched in awesome positions. Brian Kelly, however, is a wild card. He has spent six seasons at Notre Dame, posting a 77-55 record with a 3-2 record in bowl games.

Kelly consistently coaches the Fighting Irish to one of the stingiest defenses in the nation, and has posted just one sub-.500 campaign in his entire coaching career, which includes lengthy stays at Central Michigan and Cincinnati. He’s not an NFL retread, and at 54 he’s relatively young compared to Coughlin, or Saban, who is 64.

Ben McAdoo, Giants Offensive Coordinator

Maybe the Giants think their roster is just too broken on defense to fix with one hire, so they’ll promote McAdoo, who has Eli Manning at the apex of his production, to cement their transition into an offense-first team. Manning’s big year has come absent a running game, a competent offensive line, and any weapons aside from Odell Beckham.