Enough Was Enough

Let's be honest: we all knew the season was over after the collapse in Denver three weeks ago. You didn't think the Giants were beating the Philadelphia Eagles or San Francisco 49ers, did you? Neither did I. It wasn't a question of whether a change had to be made, but when.

Well the "when" came yesterday after the Giants blew a ten-point, fourth-quarter lead and lost to the Chicago Bears Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field. That's four times this season New York has lost a game in which they held a double-digit lead; this latest one was the final straw, so the organization "relieved" head coach Brian Daboll of his duties.

I have no problem with the decision. Daboll was 20-40-1 as head coach, but only 11-33 since 2023. He had to go. My only question is why wasn't defensive coordinator Shane Bowen also shown the door? It was his play-calling that directly led to two of those four losses. Indeed, you could easily make the case that had this team defended better, they'd be 5-5, instead of 2-8. And with the worst of the schedule behind them, it's conceivable that the Giants could've been in the playoff hunt going into December. Instead, the only hunt they'll be in is for the number one pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. They currently have the third pick.

That might be the reason why Joe Schoen was retained. In the end, John Mara and Steve Tisch must've felt that, talent wise, the team was headed in the right direction. That isn't to say Schoen hasn't made some mistakes. The decision to give Daniel Jones such a large contract, in hindsight, turned out not to be such a good idea; the whole Saquon Barkley fiasco could've been handled better; and some his draft picks - Evan Neal, Jalin Hyatt and Deonte Banks - haven't exactly panned out.

That being said, the Giants have their franchise quarterback in place; they have an elite receiver and two outstanding running backs; their front seven - at least on paper - is certainly more capable than what they've shown. With some improvements to the secondary, a place-kicker who can stay healthy and the right coaching staff in place, this team should be vastly improved in the standings next season. 

Regarding the latter, who do the Giants hire? If I had my druthers, I'd go with someone along the lines of a Dan Campbell or Mike Vrabel; a no-nonsense coach who holds his players accountable and isn't risk averse. I'm not piling on here, but when Daboll elected to take the field goal rather than go for it on fourth and goal from the one-yard line, I knew the Giants were going to lose. The message that sends to your players is that you don't believe in them. And any coach who doesn't believe in his players has no business being their coach. I guarantee you that Campbell and Vrabel would never do that to their players.

If the Giants are looking for a name, Mike Tomlin makes perfect sense. He's well respected by his players and he has the distinction of being the only active head coach in the NFL to not have a losing season in his 18 years with the Steelers. But would Pittsburgh be willing to let him out of his contract which runs through 2027? Given that the Mara and Rooney families are practically joined at the hip, I'm sure a phone call from John to Art Jr. might get it done. 

If neither option is available, then I would go with someone who can run an offense, like Kliff Kingsbury, former head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, and now offensive coordinator of the Washington Commanders. If he's not available, perhaps Joe Brady of the Bills might suffice. But would Mara and Schoen really want to hire another offensive coordinator with no head-coaching experience? I doubt it. 

One reason the Giants may have fired Daboll now instead of waiting until the end of the season is to give Mike Kafka a look see. The offensive coordinator has been instrumental in Jaxson Dart's development. If he does a good job as interim head coach over the next seven games, they may elect to give him the job permanently.

Whichever route they choose, the Giants will need a defensive coordinator who can actually coach a defense. Ironically, they had one in Wink Martindale, but when Daboll fired two of his assistants, he resigned in protest. That led to the hiring of Bowen, who was the polar opposite of Martindale. 

One man I hope they don't hire is Bill Belichick. There's no doubt about his Hall of Fame bonafides, but with everything that's unfolded at North Carolina, it's obvious that the former New England Patriots head coach is just cashing in on his name. Why on Earth would the Giants want to bring that circus to MetLife?

A lot of possibilities out there for Big Blue, to be sure. Mara and Schoen need to get this one right. The fanbase has suffered long enough.

Giants Have A lot of Holes To Fill

A year ago, the New York Giants were off to Minnesota to play the Vikings in the Wild Card round. They went on to win that game - their first postseason victory since 2011. And even though they were blown out by the Philadelphia Eagles in the Divisional round the following week, the feeling around 1 MetLife Stadium Drive was that the future was bright.

Well, we all know what happened. The 2023 season got off on the wrong foot and very quickly got away from the Giants. Injuries, poor execution on the field and questionable coaching decisions, all contributed to a 6-11 record that, once again, left Giants fans justifiably frustrated and wondering whether the current regime was up to the task of turning this thing around.

With this franchise now on its fourth head coach since Tom Coughlin was relieved of his duties following the 2015 season, it was highly unlikely that John Mara was going to fire Brian Daboll, especially given he won Coach of the Year in 2022. But, clearly, some changes had to be made. And made they were.

Gone are special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey, offensive line coach Bobby Johnson, outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins and defensive assistant Kevin Wilkins. Based on the press conference Daboll and GM Joe Schoen held on Monday, the plan was to keep defensive coordinator Wink Martindale and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka on, but Martindale apparently didn't take too kindly to his assistants being fired, so he resigned in a huff.

My take on Martindale's departure is mixed. While he had his good points, it's worth noting that his former team, the Baltimore Ravens, haven't exactly suffered since he left. This year, the Ravens allowed the fewest points in the NFL; the year before they allowed the fourth fewest. Buddy Ryan, he wasn't. The Giants should have little problem replacing him.

It's on the other side of the ball where things become more dicey. Pick a position: quarterback, offensive line, wide receiver, tight end, running back, all have profound questions that will demand answers in order to avoid another calamitous performance in 2024.

Thanks to their season finale win over the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife, the Giants will pick sixth in next year's draft. Regardless of whether the Chicago Bears decide to trade or keep their number one pick, a top quarterback prospect will fall into Schoen's lap. Washington's Michael Penix, Jr distinguished himself in the national title game against Michigan. While no Caleb Williams, he'd be an interesting choice for a franchise that still hasn't fully lived down taking Daniel Jones with the sixth pick in 2019.

If Schoen believes that Jones has what it takes to lead this team, or, more to the point, if Mara "convinces" him he has what it takes, he may opt to go for a wide receiver or an offensive lineman.  God knows the Giants can use help at both. And if they decide not to franchise tag Saquon Barkley, they will need help at that position, as well.

Bottom line: Plenty of holes to fill, plenty of decisions to make. I don't relish the spot Schoen and Daboll find themselves in. But that's what you get when you underperform expectations the way the Giants did in 2023. Mara knows it takes time to rebuild; his father went through a similar rebuild in the 1980s. But he is also acutely aware that the fan base is restless and running out of patience.

Which makes this the most consequential offseason possibly in franchise history.

What a Difference a Year Makes

The most abused word in the English language is the word if. This is especially true when it comes to sports teams. After watching the New York Giants lose to the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium Sunday, the word if was thrown around so much, had it been a small animal, the ASPCA would've been called in.

If either Tyrod Taylor or Tommy Devito didn't have a collective minus 9 yards passing on the day; if Graham Gano had converted on just one of his two missed field goals; if Brian Daboll had gone for it on 4th and 1 from the Jets 17 with 28 seconds left in regulation up 10-7; if Kayvon Thibodeaux had not stopped the clock with 17 seconds left by jumping offsides; if Wink Martindale had elected to drop eight defenders into coverage instead of trying to rush Zach Wilson, then maybe, just maybe, the Giants might've snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, instead of the other way around. 

But, alas, they couldn't. Against a Jets team that went 2 for 15 on third down, the Jints found a way to one up them, going 2 for 19. And one of those first downs came courtesy of a roughing penalty. Indeed, it was only because of penalties like that, the running of Saquon Barkley and the defensive play of Thibodeaux, who had three sacks on the day - 8.5 on the season - that the Giants managed to get the ball across the 50 yard line at all. Barkley rushed for 128 yards, including a 34-yard run on the opening drive of the second half; and Thibodeaux stripped the ball from Wilson on the Jets opening drive of the game, giving the Giants the ball at the Jets 26 yard line.

And yet all they could muster was a lousy 10 points. That they were seconds away from pulling off an improbable win just goes to show you how snake bit this team truly is. They are nothing if consistent. 

For the third week in a row, Martindale's defense put the Giants in a position to win. They held the Buffalo Bills to 14 points; the Washington Commanders to 7; and the Jets to 13. Last season, they would've gone 3-0; this season, they went 1-2.

After the game, Daboll took responsibility for his decision to go for the field goal rather than the first down. Fans may question the call, but it was the correct one. Considering how bad the Giants were on 3rd down, converting a 4th and 1 would hardly have been a slam dunk. Besides, if your field goal kicker can't make a 35 yard field goal then what's he doing on the team? The fact is had Gano simply done his job, the Jets would've needed to go the length of the field to score the winning touchdown with less than 20 seconds left in regulation.

What a difference a year makes. The 2022 Giants were a resilient football team that found ways to win the close games. The 2023 Giants are the polar opposite; they invent new ways to lose the close games. It's hard to fathom just how fundamentally flawed they are, especially on offense. It doesn't matter who's quarterbacking them, with the exception of that second half against the Cardinals, they have been one of the worst red-zone teams in the NFL. Ironically, the only team worse than Big Blue in the red zone is the Jets, the team that beat them on Sunday.

Oh, death, where is thy sting?

So now that what little hope the Giants had of salvaging this train wreck of a season is gone, the only question that remains is how big of a selloff will they have? The first domino to fall is Leonard Williams. The underperforming defensive end was dealt to the Seattle Seahawks for a 2024 second rounder and a 2025 fifth rounder. Joe Schoen was able to get the return he got because the Giants picked up the bulk of Williams remaining contract. I would not be at all surprised if Adoree Jackson is the next one out the door. It was his pass interference penalty in OT that set up the Jets winning field goal. Both players are in the final year of their respective contracts and neither is expected to return next season. As for Barkley, I seriously doubt he gets traded. John Mara loves him, and let's be honest: without him, this team would probably be 0-8.

If there is a silver lining here, it's that the Giants, as of now, have the 4th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Not quite how the fanbase envisioned things going when the season started. But then I'm sure the passengers on the Titanic didn't envision a collision with an iceberg ruining their voyage across the Atlantic either.

Shit happens, you know.