He arrived in 2012 and right away, two things about Matt Rhule were obvious to the grizzled veterans Rhule was tasked with coaching: He did not know much about the position assigned to him and yet he was overqualified for the job.

So, it might have been an odd fit, Rhule hired by Tom Coughlin as the Giants’ assistant offensive line coach, working with veterans owning one and, in some cases, two Super Bowl rings.

By the end of that season, Rhule was standing up in front of the entire offense every Friday making the goal-line presentation. Rhule was gone after that season, his only foray into the NFL. He made quite an impression in a short time with the Giants.

“We gravitated toward him immediately,’’ former Giants guard Chris Snee told The Post. “He would always ask us questions and we thought a lot of him at the time. For a first-year guy coming in, that speaks volumes of him. Immediately you could see how smart he was. When he applied himself fully into something — he never played offensive line, didn’t know much about it — by the end of the year he was very knowledgeable. You could see the mental makeup of him.

“Players, not just the offensive line, grew to really like him and it doesn’t surprise me he became so successful as a head coach at two different stops.’’

Eight years later, Rhule might return to the NFL and the Giants. He interviews Tuesday for their head-coaching vacancy, one day after meeting with the Panthers about their opening. Rhule, 44, is 47-42 as a head coach at Temple and Baylor and his résumé cannot compare with the accomplishments of Mike McCarthy, who is high on the Giants’ list.

Rhule, though, is a program builder, succeeding in renovation projects in North Philadelphia and Waco, Texas. He is familiar with Giants ownership and general manager Dave Gettleman, who was in his final year in charge of the pro personnel department when Rhule was in the Giants building.

Rhule went 2-10 in his first season at Temple and two years later was 10-4. He went 1-11 in his first year at Baylor and two years later went 11-3. The past three years, the Giants are 3-13, 5-11 and 4-12. They need someone who can turn losing into winning.

“I think he’s a heckuva head coach, his work speaks for itself. But just the way he comes in and changes the culture, changes it the right way,’’ Snee said. “He would be a great hire anywhere, whether it’s New York or Carolina or whoever needs a head coach.’’

It indicates something about Rhule that he spent such a short amount of time with the Giants and yet the veteran offensive linemen he worked with — Snee, David Diehl and Kevin Boothe — now or in the past have only good things about him.

When he left the Giants for Temple, Diehl said he understood why Rhule was destined to become a head coach.

“From the minute that he stepped foot here and became our assistant, you could tell he was a guy that was passionate about football,’’ Diehl said. “He loves the games; he loves being around it. He’s a guy who brings that energy each and every day for us in the offensive line room. He not only looks at us up-front, but he’s able to read things with linebackers and coverages that actually make an influence on what happens with us up-front. Not a lot of guys can do that.’’

Snee currently works in the Jaguars’ scouting department. He spent nine years excelling for the Giants at right guard and still lives in New Jersey. He knows what makes the Giants tick and probably has a good idea what they need to turn around their operation.

He thinks Rhule — born and raised in New York City — is the answer.

“From what I’ve seen, absolutely, he’s got the right makeup, for sure,’’ Snee said. “He’s not going to be rattled. With a younger team I think he would be great, I really do. There’s no BS about him. There’s no fluff. You just see what he’s saying to his Baylor kids, he’s open about it. He’s not like a lot of these guys where they’re not communicating with the team and all of a sudden they’re gone. He’s like, ‘Listen, if I have an NFL job I’m going to take it.’ You have to respect that.

For more on the Giants, listen to the latest episode of the “Blue Rush” podcast:

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