When the New York Giants announced the decision to keep Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen on Monday morning, it was snowing in New Jersey. For those of us sick of hearing what a few performative, attention-starved Giants fans think via airplane banner messaging, the fact that the FAA would not have cleared a flight in this weather is a relief to us all.
It’s obvious that keeping the pair after one of the worst seasons in franchise history and the team’s first winless record within the division was unpopular. One didn’t have to tune into local sports radio and listen to people who have enjoyed two Super Bowls since 2007 moan like they were afflicted with a stomach ulcer to find that out. Of course, these are the same people who wanted Tom Coughlin fired in ’05, helped push him out after ’15 and complained when all of Coughlin’s successors didn’t live up to his standards. These are the same people who desperately wanted to move on from Eli Manning and then acted as if Ben McAdoo was some kind of poltergeist when he wanted to get a look at Geno Smith or—gasp—throw some weight into scouting Patrick Mahomes.
When everything settles, the fact that the Giants made the right decision will begin to show itself—or, at the very least, the fact that there isn’t a better play-caller than Daboll who would come and work for the Giants right now. Offensively, Daboll has been saddled with a make-it-work situation throughout the three years of his tenure. We’ve been over all this ad nauseam, but it bears repeating: It was because of Daboll’s coaching that an organization already infatuated with the idea of making Daniel Jones a long-term starter ran to the negotiating table and signed him to a long-term deal.
The few weapons that Daboll has come away with during that time have thrived with a combination of Drew Lock, Tommy DeVito and Tim Boyle under center post–Daniel Jones. Malik Nabers will go down as the second-most productive rookie pass catcher in NFL history. Tyrone Tracy Jr., a rookie running back this year with limited experience at the position, also surpassed 1,000 scrimmage yards. Had the Giants been in possession of a more dependable kicker and a quarterback even slightly closer to replacement level, the team could have logged wins this year over the Washington Commanders (twice), the Dallas Cowboys, Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints. This, with a team that went through 10 different offensive line combinations—a league high, tied with the New England Patriots.
While this may sound like excuse making—indeed, if we’re making the case for keeping Daboll because of Nabers’s success, I’m sure some of you would suggest that means keeping Antonio Pierce because of Brock Bowers’s success—this was a coach of the year from two seasons ago. Nothing changed about Daboll during that time save for the fact that his offensive line caved in on itself.
Aaron Rodgers’s 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions would have had this Giants team contending for a fringe playoff spot. The same could be said for a slightly healthier Kirk Cousins, Geno Smith or maybe even Russell Wilson. Giants owner John Mara was correct in his assessment Monday when he said that by solving this problem, many of the team’s other issues will begin to disappear (DeVito is the only quarterback during Daboll’s 2024 season to have posted a completion percentage over expectation that was above 0.0%).
What had changed, and what has been rightfully corrected, is ownership’s ability to take a breather and work with the coaching staff instead of firing them so quickly that no one could develop a handle on the market or solve a roster situation that has been disadvantageous, mismanaged, half-microwaved and unreplenished since the end of the Jerry Reese era and throughout Dave Gettleman’s tenure there.
McAdoo got a year and a half. Joe Judge and Pat Shurmur got two years apiece.
The restlessness makes sense. As we saw in New England this week, an owner coming off a decade or more with one highly successful coach often struggles through a period of discomfort when selecting that person’s replacement. The initial lack of terra firma one has without a Super Bowl–winning head coach can be jarring.
Daboll, without question, has been the team’s best coach since the end of the Coughlin regime, which is why he merits the same kind of initial patience before another dismissal that takes place before the end of a contract. Firing him now would cause the whole spin cycle to kick up again, forcing the Giants into a repetitive search for something that both aligns with their past but is relevant for the future. Now he can also finally operate for a year without any ties to the decisions that were made for him, or outside of his control. Think about that for one minute: What other successful offensive-minded head coach has gone through the first three years of his contract with a quarterback he did not pick or draft? That quarterback didn’t crack the top 45 in terms of EPA per play during all his starts prior to Daboll’s arrival among qualifying passers.
Don’t listen to the airplane people, I beg of you. This decision will not sidetrack the franchise for a decade. It won’t cave in the stadium. It won’t make gaining ground on the Commanders or Philadelphia Eagles any more difficult than it already is. And it might actually pay off, just like the last time ownership refused to listen to a group of hollering, cosplay owners.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Giants Made the Right Move Staying Patient With Brian Daboll.