The Giants were not left at the altar by Matt Rhule, only because they never got to walk Rhule down the aisle.

In a stunning development, the Giants never even got the chance to get Rhule — their top choice for their new head coach — into their building Tuesday for a scheduled interview, an interview that very likely was going to lead to a job offer. Rhule never even got on the plane to New Jersey. He met with the Panthers Monday night in Waco, Texas, and Tuesday morning had agreed to become their new head coach, a huge coup for new Carolina owner David Tepper and a massive blow to the Giants.

According to ESPN, Rhule is getting a seven-year deal worth $60 million, with incentives potentially taking it up to $70 million.

From the start of this process, the Giants targeted Rhule, 44, as their top candidate and believed the Baylor coach was in line with their vision for Pat Shurmur’s replacement. Rhule’s only NFL experience was with the Giants, as an assistant offensive line coach in 2012, and that figured to be an advantage. As it turned out, Rhule never even spoke with the Giants.

A source during this process said Tepper would “make a strong play” for Rhule, but the Giants never envisioned not getting a chance to sit down and speak with Rhule. The fatal flaw in the Giants’ plan was having the Panthers interview Rhule one day before their scheduled interview, as Tepper clearly made an offer Rhule could not refuse.

This is an embarrassing situation for the Giants, who had Rhule and former Packers coach Mike McCarthy at the top of their wish list, very much in that order. When McCarthy was hired by the Cowboys, the Giants did not flinch, as they knew — or thought they knew — Rhule was making his way to New Jersey.

Where do the Giants go next? They have their sixth interview set for Wednesday, when they will meet with Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels — who also has interest from the Browns. From the start, it did not seem as if McDaniels and the Giants was a good fit. With Rhule out of the picture, perhaps things change with that thinking.

Jason Garrett looms as a possibility. The recently deposed Cowboys coach is well-regarded by the Giants — he was their backup quarterback for three years (2000-2003) — but was definitely a fallback option if something went wrong with Rhule. Well, something has gone wrong with Rhule. Garrett, with limited success in the playoffs and underwhelming work this past season with all the talent on the Dallas roster, will be a hard sell to Giants fans.

Two assistants included in the interview process — Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and Ravens defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale — figure to also be revisited.

The Giants never getting Rhule in the building is an awful look for the franchise. Rhule, a head coach at Baylor and previously at Temple, may have wanted more control over personnel and might have received assurances from the Panthers that he would get it in Carolina. Perhaps the Panthers came up with a financial package that was too attractive to pass up. No matter how they did it, the Panthers got their man, and the Giants never even got the chance to get their guy.

Then there is the hooded elephant in the room: Bill Belichick. No one really knows what his contractual situation is in New England, and after the Patriots’ ouster from the playoffs in the wild-card round, there is more uncertainty around the Patriots than ever before. At the very least, the Giants need to investigate whether Belichick can or would leave the Patriots to return to the franchise where he got his NFL coaching start.