Brian Daboll has gone 16-21-1 through two-plus seasons as the 22nd head coach in New York Giants history, but after starting 9-7-1 and leading the team to the playoffs in 2022, the Giants have gone 7-14 since.
As an offensive-minded coach who has worked for both Nick Saban and Bill Belichick, Daboll has been well respected, getting the Giants job after serving as Josh Allen’s ace offensive coordinator with the Bills. However, after initially getting improved results with Daniel Jones in New York, there was lost luster in 2023 when the Giants regressed back to 6-11.
Daboll was feeling the heat in Year 2, to the point that he took over the offensive play-calling from coordinator Mike Kafka for 2024. With GM Joe Schoen, who also came from the Bills, the Giants have worked to give Jones more needed support, now topped by rookie first-round wide receiver Malik Nabers.
The Giants haven’t looked like a better overall team starting this season 1-3 with Jones back healthy and trying to get on track. Here’s breaking down whether the Giants are headed to move on from Daboll either during or after this season.
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How much is Brian Daboll on the coaching hot seat?
Daboll is feeling a ton of heat in the NFL’s most pressure-packed market. As typical with coaches who find immediate turnaround success, it can often be more of a blessing than a curse to get a team to overachieve early.
Expectations have been high since the Giants advanced to the 2022-’23 divisional playoffs after a wild-card win over the Vikings. Daboll, unfairly or not, has been attached to Jones, who went from a pricey contract extension to turnover-based regression.
Should Jones struggle more in his comeback season to the point he’s benched and the Giants need to start over and look for a franchise QB early in the 2025 draft, they can make a clean break and attach that QB to a coach other than Daboll.
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How much it would cost the Giants to fire Brian Daboll?
The Giants gave Daboll a five-year deal when he was hired in 2022. That was the same length of the contracts for predecessors Pat Shurmur and Joe Judge.
Since two-time Super Bowl winner Tom Coughlin resigned after the 2015 season, the Giants have had five coaches in less than a decade. Ben McAdoo, Shurmur, and Judge all lasted only two seasons.
Daboll has made it to a third season on the strength of leading the Giants to the playoffs as a rookie in ’22 by getting better play out of Jones. For that initial effort, Daboll won Associated Press Coach of the Year at the NFL Honors. The team dropped off last season, however, with Jones slumping before suffering his major knee injury.
Daboll is reportedly estimated to make $ 2-4 million in salary. There would be not much to give up should the Giants buy out the final two years of his contract. Unless Jones can be restored as a reliable starting QB and the Giants can finish above .500 and push for another playoff spot, the Giants will be the latest team looking for a coaching change in the demanding and competitive NFC East.
