Brian Daboll needs a break like a fish needs water. The 50-year-old is a card-carrying member of the Toasty Buns Club — and his hot seat’s not cooling off anytime soon. But if The Athletic’s latest article is any indication, there’s little to no confidence that making a change will actually fix anything.
Related: Giants' delusional loyalty to wrong coach is becoming full-blown disaster
Mike Sando dropped a scathing report that basically confirmed Giants fans’ worst fear: nobody respects this organization — and it starts at the top. Around the league, there’s zero confidence Big Blue can make the right hires to build a winning team. One anonymous NFL executive suggested the G-Men shouldn't act too rashly in firing Dabs, putting it bluntly to Sando:
"They [Giants] have shown they do not have a good process hiring head coaches anyway."Anonymous NFL executive
That's about as humiliating and embarrassing as it gets, but it's accurate. I mean, who have the Giants hired since Tom Coughlin that suggests they have any clue what they’re doing? Maybe it’s finally time to clean house on the talent acquisition side in East Rutherford. Something's gotta give.
The Athletic's scathing report paints Giants' hiring process in brutal light
Big Blue's head coaching track record is one of the worst over the past decade. After a relatively impressive 12-year stretch under Tom Coughlin that churned out two Lombardi Trophies, it’s been the same exhausting cycle — hire the wrong guy, fire him a year or two later, rinse, repeat.
Just look at the Giants’ head coaches post-Coughlin. It’s been a relentless carousel of hiring misfires that makes the ruthless comment feel less like a hot take and more like a brutal truth:
Coach | Record | Win percentage | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
Ben McAdoo | 13-15 | .464 | 2016-17 |
Steve Spagnuolo | 1-3 | .250 | 2017-17 |
Pat Shurmer | 9-23 | .281 | 2018-19 |
Joe Judge | 10-23 | .303 | 2019-21 |
Brian Daboll | 20-38-1 | .347 | 2022- |
It hasn't exactly been easy for Dabs. Malik Nabers is out for the season with a torn ACL suffered in Week 4, and rookie running back sensation Cam Skattebo looks likely to join him with a dislocated ankle suffered in their Week 8 loss in Philadelphia.
At 2-6, Daboll is staring down his third straight losing season — and it’s not just the losses, it’s how they’re happening. The past two weeks alone should be enough to leave him at the airport. But with the development of electric rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart front and center, he might be getting more time than he’s earned.
Dart has looked every bit the franchise quarterback the G-Men were hoping to get when they traded back into the first round to get him. His development will supersede any and all employment decisions moving forward. So it really depends on how owner John Mara feels about Daboll being the right guy for the job or not.
Either the Giants start showing progress fast, or the season slips beyond saving, and conversations are forced. With the 5-3 49ers coming to town on Sunday, it's time to wake up.