#James Bettcher trying to follow Steve Spagnuolo route back to NFL

James Bettcher is back on the Steve Spagnuolo Plan.

The idea just means something very different now than it did two years ago.

Bettcher, who spent the last two seasons as Giants defensive coordinator, is not a coach, consultant or analyst for any one team but will use the season similar to how Spagnuolo used his gap year in 2018, The Post has learned.

After he was fired by the Giants, Spagnuolo picked the brains of coaching friends in various spots and incorporated new information into his methods so he was rejuvenated when the Kansas City Chiefs needed a defensive coordinator. The blueprint will be more difficult to follow this year with coronavirus guidelines limiting outsiders coming into team facilities.

Spagnuolo was credited by coach Andy Reid and star players for his big role in the Chiefs’ Super Bowl-winning run and should be near the top of the list of second-chance head coach candidates in 2021 so long as the winning continues.

Bettcher, now 42, was one of the rising young assistants in the league when he picked the Giants over the Titans in January 2018. He was fresh off leading the Arizona Cardinals defense to three straight top-10 finishes but was not retained by new head coach Steve Wilks after Bruce Arians temporarily retired.

Sports Illustrated compared Bettcher to the Los Angeles Rams’ young phenom Sean McVay, and it seemed like the Giants were his stepping stone to head coach, just as they once were for Spagnuolo. Two years and a Super Bowl win in his first stint as Giants defensive coordinator landed Spagnuolo in charge of the Rams in 2009.

But the Giants defense relied on too much slow-to-develop youth and not enough talent during the Bettcher era, finishing the last two seasons ranked No. 24 and No. 25 in yards allowed and No. 23 and No. 30 in points allowed. Bettcher should be a more attractive coordinator candidate in 2021, when his résumé can be judged on the whole rather than the latest.

Here is a look at where other departing members of the 2019 Giants’ coaching staff resurfaced:

Head coach Pat Shurmur: Offensive coordinator for Denver Broncos, after five teams inquired about hiring him for his fourth career OC job.

Offensive coordinator Mike Shula: Quarterbacks coach for Broncos. He and Shurmur had never worked together before the Giants, but they hit it off and Shurmur brought him along.

Tight ends coach Lunda Wells: Tight ends coach for Cowboys. He had been the longest-tenured Giants assistant coach, starting in 2012.

Running backs coach Craig Johnson: Offensive analyst at the University of Maryland, where he coached from 1997-99.

Offensive line coach Hal Hunter: Not coaching in 2020.

Offensive assistant Ryan Roeder: Offensive analyst at Penn State University, after a seven-year stint mostly working with Giants quarterbacks.

Defensive backs coach Everett Withers: Offensive analyst at the University of Texas, where he is one of three former Ohio State defensive coordinators, along with head coach Tom Herman and DC Chris Ash.

Assistant defensive backs coach Henry Baker: Defensive backs coach at Maryland, the school where he played and began his coaching career as a recruiting intern.

Outside linebackers coach Mike Dawson: Outside linebackers coach at the University of Nebraska, returning to the program where he was defensive line coach in 2018.

Inside linebackers coach Bill McGovern: Defensive analyst at Nebraska, following Dawson’s lead.

Defensive line coach Gary Emanuel: Not coaching in 2020, according to sources.

The Giants retained their special teams coaching staff — coordinated by Thomas McGaughey, with assistants Tom Quinn and Anthony Blevins — as well as wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert, assistant offensive line coach Ben Wilkerson and defensive assistant Bobby Blick.