The New York Giants mercifully gave up on the Brian Daboll era after numerous late game collapses resulted in his firing long before the 2025 season was completed. It wasn't a surprise that Daboll would end up on an NFL coaching staff in the offseason. After receiving interest, Daboll chose to follow fellow ex-New York head coach Robert Saleh to join the Tennessee Titans. While that was all well and good, it's the fact that Daboll brought along a bunch of former Giants players during his, well, disastrous coaching stint in New York.
It went as well as any Giants fan expected.
On Sunday, the Titans began their season against the New York Jets. Brand new uniforms. Brand new era in Tennessee. Then the game started, and the Titans made the Jets look like one of the more dominant teams in the NFL. The Titans lost 23-10 to start the season 0-1.
Titans offense couldn't get anything going with Brian Daboll coaching
The goal this offseason for the Titans was simple, and that was to put quarterback Cam Ward in a situation where he could succeed in his second season. Daboll didn't do much of a good job when it came to the playcalling.
The Jets' secondary got hit particularly hard during the game, with safety Minkah Fitzpatrick suffering a groin injury in the first half that forced him to miss the remainder of the game. Also, cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr. left but then returned to the game due to a calf injury. Yet, the passing offense couldn't get anything going, completing 19-of-32 pass attempts for a meager 127 yards.
Tennesse's rushing offense, meanwhile, gained 68 yards on 14 carries, with Tony Pollard picking up 35 of those yards on five carries.
Giants fans know all too well just how poorly Daboll-coached offenses begin the season. To start the 2023 season, one year after leading the Giants to a playoff win over the Minnesota Vikings, Daboll watched his team get blown out by the Dallas Cowboys 40-0. In 2024, the Giants lost 28-6 to the Vikings in a game so bad, former quarterback Daniel Jones got booed by fans as he left the stadium. Then, in 2025, the Giants lost 21-6 to the Washington Commanders after starting Russell Wilson over Jaxson Dart and Jameis Winston at quarterback.
At least he improved? Either way, the theme of "our offense didn't show up in Week 1" continued for Daboll.
Brian Daboll wasn't the only former Giants to debut for Titans in Week 1
Daboll wasn't the only ex-Giant to make their debut in Tennessee on Sunday.
Wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson was signed by the Titans to give Ward some help in the passing game, and was paid big money to do so. The Titans made a ton of sense for Robinson, as he'd reunite with his former head caoch, who helped him have his most productive season (92 receptions for 1,014 yards). Ward targeted Robinson six times in the game, and he caught five of them. However, it only amounted to 38 yards total.
Tight end Daniel Bellinger was also brought to Tennessee to reunite with Daboll. Bellinger was targed once in the game, picking up seven yards. Bellinger is the backup tight end behind Gunnar Helm, who gained 28 yards on four receptions.
Then, there was cornerback Cordale Flott, who looked to be returning to the Giants before the Titans made him an offer he couldn't refuse. He was a bright spot on a bad Giants secondary last season. Well, in his Tennessee debut, Flott and the entire Tennesee pass defense struggled. They allowed an average of 11.3 receiving yards per catch, which isn't ideal if you are allowing over a first down a pass. In fairness, the entire defense looked lost on Sunday, regardless.
Tennessee's starting center was former Giants Austin Schlottmann, and didn't do much, along with his fellow offensive linemen, to protect Ward. The Titans' offensive line allowed three sacks and five quarterback hits in the game.
All in all, the Titans bringing in so many former Giants, and Jets as well, hasn't proven to be the wisest of moves one game into the season. Giants and Jets fans could have told you bringing in all of these faces from the brutal eras of football wouldn't lead to immediate success.
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