On Monday, the New York Giants confirmed they will have a coaching search this offseason, firing head coach Brian Daboll after three and a half seasons. Of course, the Giants will be looking for a head coach who's great for the entire team, but finding someone to pair with Jaxson Dart will certainly be a priority.
The rookie quarterback has already flashed enough promise to have fans excited for the future, so the franchise needs to find a coach to foster Dart’s promise and help him grow into an elite quarterback.
Looking at possible candidates through that lens, and one name will surely jump out: Lane Kiffin. The current Ole Miss head coach developed a great relationship with the 22-year-old while the quarterback was in college. Let the reunion talk begin. While the sports world is hard to predict, some recent comments from Dart’s father make it seem like Kiffin won’t even make himself available to be a candidate for New York’s job opening.
Jaxson Dart’s father reveals Lane Kiffin has no desire to take Giants coaching job
Dart’s father, Brandon, recently appeared on the “Bleav in Ole Miss” podcast, and detailed texting about this reunion rumor with Kiffin himself. According to Brandon Dart, Kiffin sent over a smirk, before messaging, “It’s too cold in New York for me.” That was the collegiate coach’s way of saying he isn’t interested in exploring the opening.
Brandon Dart did emphasize, though, that the Kiffin and Dart family have weekly interactions, and Jaxson Dart holds Lane Kiffin in extremely high regard.
"I think Kiffin is one of his most trusted allies, and I think he uses him for advice in a lot of different ways, so there’s constant communication between them, even today, and there’s a lot of that between our families. I don’t think we could have asked for a more special coach relationship between our family and our son, so we’re very, very grateful for coach Kiff."Brandon Dart (Bleav in Ole Miss podcast)
That's why the idea of them reconnecting at the highest level is appealing to some, or, at the very least, an option worth exploring. It’s unlikely to happen, though. Kiffin, who was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders in the NFL in 2007 and 2008, is expected to remain at the college level.
With a ton of openings across major Power 4 schools, there’s a question about whether he’ll even be at Ole Miss next year.
That’s for Kiffin to figure out, and New York will have to look elsewhere to find the perfect coach for Jaxson Dart and the Giants.