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With the Giants hiring G.M. Dave Gettleman only days before the window opens for interviews of assistant coaches whose teams earned bye weeks, the Giants likely will move quickly to begin talking to candidates whose teams will be playing in the divisional round. The ultimate question of who they’ll hire could be secondary to a more important point — do they already know who they want to hire?

Many believe that the search for a new G.M. began with the end in mind, and that Gettleman was the choice all along. If that’s the case, it’s fair to wonder whether consultant (and former Giants G.M.) Ernie Accorsi knew who he hoped to pair with Gettleman from the get-go.

The name that keeps coming up in this regard is Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. Although Schwatz and Gettleman have never worked together, the Accorsi connection would be the thing that puts them on the same page. Beyond Schwartz and Accorsi having a common tie to Maryland, it’s believed that Accorsi leans heavily on advice from Patriots coach Bill Belichick. It’s also believed that Belichick has advised Accorsi to recommend that Gettleman hire Schwartz.

Some regard Belichick’s recommendation of Schwartz as an effort to keep offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and V.P. of player personnel Nick Caserio in place for another year. The Gettleman hire necessarily keeps Caserio in New England, which in turns makes McDaniels far less likely to leave for the Giants. By selling Schwartz to Accorsi, Belichick set up a one-two combination that didn’t entail McDaniels or Caserio (or both) from leaving for what would have been, for them, a very attractive job.

Of course, no one knows whether Belichick recommended Schwartz in order to ensure that McDaniels and Caserio would stay. But it would be human nature for Belichick to want to keep his football infrastructure in place for as long as he can. Based on the other jobs that come open in the coming days, it’s possible if not likely that McDaniels and Caserio once again remain in New England.

Which brings the topic back to Schwartz. Though the Philadelphia defense surrendering more than 500 yards to a depleted New York offense 12 days ago may not be a good look for Schwartz, the inability to make quarterback Eli Manning look like the Eli of recent months could make Schwartz more inclined to go along with the apparent plan to try to keep Eli around, at least for another year.