The Giants firing Brian Daboll seemed inevitable, and in an already lost season, what does this mean for the future of the franchise?
The New York Giants relieved head coach Brian Daboll of his duties earlier on Monday, which was first reported by NFL Insider Ian Rapoport.
Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka takes on as the interim coach. For the past few offseasons, Kafka has interviewed for plenty of head coaching positions, including being a finalist for the Seattle Seahawks head coaching job after they let go of longtime coach Pete Carroll.
It came on the heels of a report from ESPN’s Jordan Ranaan just two hours before Daboll was fired, that all seemed fine at Giants headquarters.
Turns out, that was just a smokescreen.
It shouldn’t be a surprise that Daboll was let go, though it is surprising how long it took. After a despondent season in 2024, Giants fans were clamoring for change.
Then after seeing how former Giant Daniel Jones fared this season with the Indianapolis Colts, it almost felt like the nail in the coffin.
After a tremendous first season with the Giants, it’s been downhill for Daboll. He won the NFL Coach of the Year in 2022 and helped the Giants make the playoffs with tremendously low expectations, and since then, he posted a dreadful 11-33 record.
But what does this mean for the Giants moving forward?
Well, it means General Manager Joe Schoen stays on board, and he gets to pick the next head coach.
Schoen may have a longer leash because of his ability to draft well. Over his four year tenure, he’s managed to draft quality players like Malik Nabers, Jaxson Dart, and Kayvon Thibodeaux, while also picking up late round gems in Cam Skattebo, Marcus Mbow, Micah McFadden, Tyrone Tracy and Theo Johnson.
So, it’s a solid resume, and it’s still too early to determine where Abdul Carter is. He was, at one point, considered one of the better players in the 2025 class, so it’s hard to blame Schoen for picking him.
However, there have been some major blunders as well. Evan Neal, Deonte Banks, Jalin Hyatt, Tyler Nubin and John Michael Schmitz have all been disappointments.
Not to mention, letting Saquon Barkley walk and then watching him win a Super Bowl with your arch-nemesis in the Philadelphia Eagles is a devastating blow; as well as letting defensive backs Julian Love and Xavier McKinney walk.
The season immediately after leaving New York, both Love and McKinney went on to become Pro Bowlers, with McKinney also getting voted as an All-Pro.
For all the successes Schoen has had, it’s been accompanied with plenty of mishaps. Mishaps that a rebuilding team just can’t seem to afford.
This may be Schoen’s last chance to prove to the Mara family that he deserves to be the man running the show in East Rutherford.
The last few head coaches have ranged from Daboll, Joe Judge, Pat Shurmur, Steve Spagnuolo and Ben McAdoo, combining for a wretched 53-104-1 record since 2016.
While only Schoen brought in Daboll, there’s an overwhelming amount of pressure for the next coach to bring Big Blue back to where it was when Tom Coughlin was running the show.