The fall of Brian Daboll: Why the Giants fired their coach now – The New York Times

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Since starting his tenure 7-2, Daboll went 13-38-1, the second-worst record in the NFL over that span. Luke Hales / Getty Images
New York Giants co-owner John Mara issued a lighthearted warning after coach Brian Daboll achieved unexpected success in his first season.
“Right now, he’s Bono walking around New York City,” Mara said during the 2023 offseason. “But I’ve told him — I’ve said: ‘In this business, it doesn’t take long to go from Bono to Bozo. So don’t get your head too big right now.’”
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Mara has never been more right. He surely has never wished he were more wrong.
The Giants fired Daboll on Monday after they dropped to 2-8 for the third consecutive season following another fourth-quarter collapse in Chicago on Sunday. That was the Giants’ fourth-straight loss and 11th straight defeat on the road. That comes on the heels of last season’s 3-14 record, which included a franchise-record 10-game losing streak.
Beyond the subpar product on the field, the Giants devolved into the type of dysfunctional mess ownership hasn’t tolerated while firing four coaches in the past nine years. Airplanes flew over MetLife Stadium before two home games late last season, imploring Mara to “fire everyone” and “fix this dumpster fire.” Another plane toting a similar message flew over MetLife before the Giants’ most recent home game, a 34-24 loss to the 49ers in Week 9.
Mara stopped short of firing everyone, as general manager Joe Schoen was spared — at least for now — despite arriving with Daboll from Buffalo in 2022. This is the third time in this decade of ineptitude that Mara and Steve Tisch have presided over that ownership has dismissed a coach and retained a general manager. The GM didn’t last more than two additional years in either of those instances.
The final straw for Daboll may have been the concussion suffered by rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart on Sunday. The precocious quarterback had been the one ray of hope for the franchise in an otherwise dismal season.
But Daboll showed no interest in protecting the one player who could save his job, repeatedly calling designed runs for Dart, whose reckless play style seemed likely to result in injury. Sunday was Dart’s third concussion evaluation in seven starts. He had another concussion test in the preseason and has dealt with ankle and hamstring injuries since becoming the starter.
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Dart’s importance to Daboll was demonstrated in one of the coach’s most embarrassing moments. When Dart was sent for a concussion exam during the Giants’ 34-17 win over the Eagles in Week 6, Daboll frantically entered the sideline medical tent seeking an update on his quarterback. A few moments later, Daboll berated head team physician Dr. Scott Rodeo about the delay in getting an update on Dart, who was ultimately cleared.
Mara released a statement the next day that condemned Daboll’s “inappropriate” actions. A joint investigation by the NFL and NFLPA resulted in a $200,000 fine for the team and a $100,000 fine for Daboll. Considering the black cloud that has hovered over this regime, it was fitting that even the highest point in the past three seasons was marred.
The Giants were in position to build on the momentum of the Eagles’ win by opening a 19-0 lead entering the fourth quarter in Denver the following week. But an epic collapse led to a 33-32 loss that kicked off the four-game losing streak that continued with the Giants blowing a 20-10 lead in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s defeat in Chicago.
Daboll couldn’t survive such turmoil after last season went off the rails with an overtime loss to the Carolina Panthers on an international stage in Week 10 and a 30-7 home drubbing by the Buccaneers were sandwiched around the clumsy benching and eventual release of quarterback Daniel Jones.
Players openly questioned everything about the program, from play calling to effort, after the blowout loss to the Bucs in Week 12 last season. The injury list then ballooned, preventing the Giants from putting a competitive roster on the field down the stretch, as their losing streak reached a record length in the franchise’s 100th season.
This is a stunning fall for Daboll, who won the NFL Coach of the Year award in 2022, when he led the Giants to nine wins and their first playoff victory in over a decade. But it’s also not unprecedented for success to be fleeting for a Giants coach, which surely informed Mara’s warning after Daboll’s impressive debut. Ben McAdoo won 11 games as a rookie coach in 2016 and was fired 12 games into the following season.
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Mara offered a vote of confidence to Daboll and Schoen midway through last season, and he followed through by retaining the embattled duo. Mara, who is battling cancer, hasn’t spoken publicly since a blistering news conference the day after last season ended, when he said a turnaround “better not take too long because I’ve just about run out of patience.”
Mara has made the point that he doesn’t view the GM and coach as a package deal. But it’s hard to fathom how Schoen has survived after the roster he constructed has produced such miserable results.
Daboll followed Schoen from Buffalo, where they built their profile by playing a role in the drafting and developing of quarterback Josh Allen from a raw prospect into a perennial MVP candidate. Drafting Dart was Daboll’s last lifeline, but despite the rookie’s promise, the poor overall product was impossible to overcome.
The Giants have gone 11-33 over the past three seasons as Daboll lost whatever magic touch he possessed when he somehow squeezed a 9-7-1 record out of a flawed roster in his debut. But cracks became evident, even during his first season, as the Giants started 7-2 before limping to the finish line. The Giants are 13-38-1 since the midpoint of Daboll’s first season, which is the second-worst record in the NFL over that span.
Daboll’s shortcomings also extended far beyond the on-field product. He was forced to replace half of his assistants after his second season due to a toxic atmosphere among the coaching staff.
Daboll and Wink Martindale engaged in a protracted feud that ended with the defensive coordinator’s explosive departure after the 2023 season. Five other assistants were fired or left willingly after the season.
With longtime special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey fired, Daboll had to fill two of his three coordinator spots. He tapped unproven Jets assistant special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial for the special teams coordinator role. An extended search for Martindale’s replacement eventually settled on former Titans defensive coordinator Shane Bowen — though only after other top options landed elsewhere. The Giants’ scoring defense ranks 28th in the NFL in two seasons under Bowen.
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Meanwhile, the Giants blocked offensive coordinator Mike Kafka from pursuing a lateral move with the Seahawks despite Daboll yanking play-calling duties away from Kafka multiple times during the 2023 season. In a move seemingly based entirely on optics, Kafka was promoted to assistant head coach despite losing play-calling responsibilities permanently to Daboll during the 2024 offseason.
The idea was that Daboll had put himself in position for the Giants job on the strength of his play calling as Buffalo’s offensive coordinator, so it made sense for him to reclaim that role in a pivotal third season. The Giants finished 31st in the league in scoring in 2024 after ranking 30th in 2023. Daboll then gave play-calling duties back to Kafka this season in a move prompted by Mara after last season. Kafka will now take over as the interim head coach.
Beyond the offensive ineptitude, Daboll’s lax discipline backfired when players like third-year cornerback Deonte Banks repeatedly demonstrated a lack of effort without consequence. There were head-scratching roster management decisions, particularly with kicker Graham Gano, who suffered injuries before or during three losses over the past three seasons.
It all added up to a product that ownership could no longer tolerate. Mike McCarthy headlines the list of proven candidates, while there will be the usual collection of coveted assistants, led by Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. Dart’s college coach, Lane Kiffin, will surely be mentioned as a wild-card candidate.
An ownership group that craves stability will be making its fifth head coaching hire in the decade since jettisoning Tom Coughlin, who won two Super Bowls during his 12-year tenure. The Giants have the second-worst record in the NFL in the 10 seasons since Coughlin’s departure.
Before hiring the next coach, Mara needs to take time to reflect on how his once proud franchise has become such a clown show.
(Photo: Photo by Luke Hales/ Getty Images)
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Dan Duggan is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the New York Giants. He previously covered the Giants for two years for The Star-Ledger. He has also worked for the Boston Herald. Follow Dan on Twitter @DDuggan21

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