Brian Daboll wasn't ready to be a Head Coach this time

 It was time for the New York Giants to move on from Brian Daboll. Too much evidence piled up against the now former head coach to stay any longer. Even though this season for the Giants ended following the improbable loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 7—the 24-20 loss on Sunday to the Chicago Bears in a snowy Chicago had to be the final straw for Brian Daboll.

For the second time this season the Giants lost a game in which they lead by 10 points in the final four minutes of the 4th quarter. That simple cannot happen. Brian Daboll will finish his first head coaching job in the NFL with a mark of 21-41-1. At this point in Brian Daboll’s lifecycle as an NFL Head Coach he did all he could do with the rosters he was given. All told that wasn’t much at all. He simple wasn’t ready for the task of being a head coach in this league.

Only once did Brian Daboll have a receiver total more than 1,000 yards which was last year with Malik Nabers in his rookie season (1,204). Only once did Daboll have a running back rush for over 1,000 yards, Daboll’s first year in 2022 when Saquon Barkley ran for 1,312 yards. Daboll never had a quarterback throw for more than 4,000 yards in a season. This season is the highest points per game the Giants have averaged since Daboll took over (21.7) which ranks 24th in the NFL. Daboll’s defenses finished with ranks of 17th, 26th, 21st, and 27th so far in 2025.  

Daboll leaves behind a team that has some talent but still has a long way to go. The Giants believe to have a franchise quarterback in Jaxson Dart, who again is in concussion protocol [the 4th time he’s been evaluated for a concussion this season]. Dart however was never taught how to temper down some of his aggressiveness for the betterment of himself and the franchise. And Brian Daboll had to know to teach Dart how to protect himself because Daboll’s job this year was solely tied on the development of Dart. The now former coach entangled himself so much in the development of the rookie quarterback he allowed the rest of the team to go by the wayside. The Giants defense ranks 29th in yards per game (383), 27th in points per game, and has blown multiple games that should have been wins but ended in horrifying defeat.

This much seems to be clear, Brian Daboll only truly cared about the side of the ball he knew, offense, and couldn’t do enough to find a defensive coordinator that would be able to play complimentary football. But it goes further than that.

The Giants over the last three seasons have had three kickers kick for them at some point in the season. Multiple games in each of those seasons were lost due to the inability to find someone to field the position. That’s on Brian Daboll. The Giants have gotten worse at being penalized and this season are the third most penalized team in the league (79 penalties drawn)—the league leader in pre-snap penalties (33). That must be pinned to Brian Daboll.

As Brian Daboll cleans out his office in East Rutherford, the organization will look down the hall to General Manager Joe Schoen and put the crosshairs on him. The question now becomes has Schoen done enough to keep his job and hire a second coach? Do you give Schoen the credit for trading back into the first round to get Jaxson Dart? Is the collection of players drafted in the 2025 draft enough to turn around the fortunes of a franchise that is mostly likely headed for a third straight losing season? Does Schoen still get a pass for not resigning Saquon Barkley? The answers to each of questions for me are all no.

If the Giants had enough conviction today to fire Brian Daboll, they should be able to have the same amount of fortitude to do the same to Joe Schoen at seasons end. Not only has this regime run its course but add in Giants salary cap situation it will allow the new tandem to come in and have a fresh canvass to rework things with a quarterback on a rookie contract.

The Giants because of the history of the franchise have been given a ton of grace over the past decade of incompetence—not completely cleaning house after this season is something that will send the fanbase at large over the edge and set the Giants back even further. You could argue not starting fresh this season has already done that. Jon Mara needs to put his pride aside and separate from a failed experiment that was thought to be a breath of fresh air at the time. In 2025 it is amazing at how fast life can move. Three years ago Brian Daboll was the toast of the NFL after winning Coach of the Year. Now, he’s picking up the pieces and looking for an offensive coordinator job. The same should now be true for Joe Schoen. He should go next. It is time for everyone around the Giants to not beat around the bush, accept failure, and moIf they don’t it will put a cap on the success that Jaxson Dart and the New York Football Giants will have on the field for multiple seasons to come.