Nikki Gist reported last week that Giants GM Joe Schoen wanted to fire Brian Daboll in mid-October after the Giants blew a 19-0 fourth-quarter lead against the Denver Broncos, but owner John Mara didn’t comply. But no owner’s reprieve came after a 10-point fourth-quarter lead vanished against the Bears on Sunday.
The loss dropped the Giants to 2-8 on the season and 20-40-1 over his three-plus year tenure as New York’s head coach.
What we witnessed this season, and quite frankly, this decade, qualifies the once-proud Giants as the most embarrassing team in the NFL. There should be accountability from ownership to the general manager, to the head coach, and to the players.
It has happened too often: coaches, general managers, and players coming and going while the Giants continue to stumble. Since winning the Super Bowl, they have only one playoff win against the overrated Minnesota Vikings in a wild-card game to show for it. It’s unacceptable when the standard is to win championships every year.
The Giants talked hope in training camp. They mentioned making the playoffs. It was laughable then, and it’s ridiculous now. This team would have to learn how to win first before they can talk about hope. They haven’t done that in years. Perhaps the fans and beat writers, such as Art “Big Blue” Stapleton, Tom Rock, Paul Dottino, and others, were fooled, but I wasn’t. I knew better from watching this organization for a long time. Writing up about the Big Blue for a decade, I have been writing the same song.
Nothing changed this year. The offense, defense, and coaching left much to be desired once again. The Giants couldn’t generate points, and they gave up plenty of points by not tackling or covering. The coaching never put them in a position to win, whether it was due to conservative playcalling, penalties, or poor preparation.
After games, Daboll often entered the press conference without answers. And after 61 games, it is clear he didn’t.
Daboll should have been fired last season. Bringing him back turned out to be a waste of a season, and drafting Jaxson Dart wasn’t going to solve the deficiencies that plagued this team.
Daboll wasn’t adept at handling all the responsibilities that come with being a head coach, and the Giants front office hoped he’d figure things out. He didn’t.
What the Giants need now is a head coach who knows how to win, especially one who understands what that means in the NY Metro market. The big question is whether anybody of that ilk is available. The knee-jerk reaction will likely lead the braintrust to hire a hotshot coach.
The good thing is that at least fans won’t have to watch an overmatched head coach on the sideline. The bad news is that fans have to rely on executives—a group that hasn’t gotten it right for years—to try to get it right now.
Brian Daboll, 2022-25: 20-40-1
Joe Judge, 2020-21: 10-23
Pat Shurmur, 2018-19: 9-23
Steve Spagnuolo, 2017: 1-3
Ben McAdoo, 2016-17, 13-15
Last winning season, 2012 (Tom Coughlin), 9-7.
