The Tennessee Titans' decision to hire Brian Daboll as their new OC has been met with rave reviews this offseason, but New York Giants fans are well aware of how this story plays out. His hotheadedness will always be his downfall, even if he is objectively a good play-caller for Cam Ward.
But basically the only thing the Titans have done this offseason is sign ex-Giants, so while their spending spree should provide some short-term optimism, it doesn't do much to alter their long-term outlook. And this is a sentiment ESPN's Ben Solak agreed with while ranking every free agent class in the NFL.
""I won't knock the Titans too much for doing what struggling teams have to do in free agency -- overpay veterans to ensure the roster is functional and the locker room has leaders.""Ben Solak
Solak placed the Titans are 28th in his power rankings, which is objectively hilarious. Unfortunately, he didn't have the G-Men faring much better at 26th, but this is a situation the Giants easily could've found themselves if they hired virtually anyone besides John Harbaugh to be their new head coach.
Brian Daboll is starting to prove Joe Schoen wasn't the only problem with the Giants' old regime
It's even funnier when you consider why Solak had them so low. Typically, when a team spends as much money as the Titans did on the opening day of free agency, it's perceived as a good move, especially for a rebuilding team that you could argue had the NFL's least talented roster in 2025.
While Solak praised the value of the John Franklin-Myers deal, that's where his praise ended. They overpaid for Cor'Dale Flott, Wan'Dale Robinson, and Alontae Taylor so much so that it was counterproductive to the rationale of a spending spree for a rebuilding team. And like Dabes, Robert Saleh needed his guys too, so both of them are too stubborn to add talent from winning teams.
It's kind of rich for Giants fans to throw stones at a glass house and criticize Dabes for bringing so many former Giants with him to Tennessee when Harbaugh did the same thing, but the Ravens also had much more talent on their roster than Big Blue did, and they're much more built to compete in 2026.
Wan'Dale is a good receiver, but he landed money that Schoen and Harbs were never giving him from the only man who was offering him that. This looks like the Titans are trying to emulate the Patriots' old approach and have a New England-like leap in 2026, but their roster is nowhere near as talented.
The Titans' hairless leadership could have used Tennessee's cap space to chase higher-upside players, but from my perspective, all they really did was raise their floor in the most expensive possible way. It was funny seeing Solak drag Dabes and the Titans for this very flawed strategy.
For a new regime, this isn't the right way to make an impression, so when things go wrong, Giants fans better get their popcorn ready in order to show them how it's done.