Brian Daboll is still the head coach of the New York Giants, but let’s not act like this was some grand vote of confidence. It felt like a rushed decision at the time, and as the insider reports come crawling out from under the cracks, it seems things were much worse than they ever appeared.
According to The Athletic’s Dan Duggan, one of the reasons John Mara decided to run it back with Daboll after a 3-14 disaster is that the job just wasn’t all that attractive to potential replacements. That’s right—the Giants kept Daboll not because they believe he’s still the guy, but because they were afraid nobody better would want the job:
"There have been reports about the Giants putting out feelers in the coaching market. I don’t know the specifics of those conversations, but if there were indications top potential targets wouldn’t be interested in the job, that could have helped spare Daboll."
Let that sink in for a second. The same team that fired three head coaches before they even sniffed a third season just handed Daboll a fourth because the brass didn’t think they could convince a better HC to want to come to New York.
Mara may have spun this as patience and continuity, but the reality is the Giants are stuck. Top coaching candidates, like Mike Vrabel and Ben Johnson, weren’t going to touch this team with a ten-foot pole. Why would they?
The Giants are coming off a season where they cut their $160 million quarterback midseason and ran out a carousel of backups. They have a roster that’s worse than when Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen took over three years ago.
And let’s not forget—Schoen isn’t exactly on solid ground either.
No one wants anything to do with the New York Giants
This isn’t about Daboll’s potential to bounce back or the “Coach of the Year” trophy collecting dust on his mantle. It’s about optics and desperation.
Duggan’s report pulls back the curtain on how the Giants floated the idea of moving on from Daboll, only to find that top candidates weren’t interested in stepping into the mess. Keeping Daboll was less about belief and more about avoiding further embarrassment.
Look at the bigger picture. Mike Vrabel, arguably the most coveted name on the market, went to New England and immediately took control of personnel decisions. Do you think a coach of his caliber was going to sign up for a team where the GM can't make the right roster decisions? The Giants didn’t just lose out on Vrabel—they were never going to be in the conversation.
And it’s not like Daboll has earned a long leash. After a promising first season, his record over the last two years is a brutal 9-25. The team bottomed out in 2024, and while Mara says he’s confident in Daboll and Schoen’s “process,” he also made it clear his patience is already running out.
Keeping Daboll might feel like stability, but it’s really just kicking the can down the road. The Giants are heading into 2025 with the No. 3 pick and a desperate need for a quarterback. They’ll likely draft someone like Shedeur Sanders (if he's available) and hope he can save the franchise—and, by extension, Daboll and Schoen’s jobs.
But let’s be honest. If Daboll and Schoen don’t hit a home run this offseason, they’re gone. Mara may have kept them around because he didn’t think he could attract better talent, but that excuse won’t fly again. The Giants are stuck in a bottomless pit of despair, and keeping Daboll feels less like a bold decision and more like a reminder of how far they’ve fallen.