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Giants Head Coach Brian Daboll's Toughest Opponent Lies Beyond Week 18

Brian Daboll must develop a solid game plan to keep his job when he sits down with team ownership in the coming days.

Patricia Traina

New York Giants OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (5) and head coach Brian Daboll.
New York Giants OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (5) and head coach Brian Daboll. / Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK
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The New York Giants’ dismal 2024 season will end within a couple of days.

But with it, will the three-year tenure of head coach Brian Daboll?

That decision, of course, rests with team ownership, who, according to reports, are expected to meet–perhaps multiple times–with Daboll, separate from general manager Joe Schoen, who is another story. The goal is to hear Daboll’s plan to fix a franchise that went from a surprising and encouraging 9-7-1 mark in his first season to 6-11 the second year and 3-13 with one game remaining this year.

The last two seasons are of notable concern. Besides the record going backward despite similar circumstances–injuries to key players on both sides of the ball and inconsistent quarterback play, to name a few–some of Daboll’s decisions of the past year that were supposed to help the team get back on track have backfired.

The biggest one is his taking over the playcalling. Hailed as an offensive guru for his work in Buffalo, Daboll has not come close to replicating that success in his first season as Giants playcaller/head coach, with the offense faring worse in several major statistical categories, most notably scoring.

Another glaring issue for Daboll is the quarterback play. In his first season, Daboll, again hailed as a quarterback whisperer for his work with Josh Allen in Buffalo, managed to get former starter Daniel Jones to look like a competent quarterback for the first time since his rookie season.

But before his season-ending ACL injury in 2023, Jones regressed badly at that. He didn’t look any better in 10 starts this season, even with Daboll calling the plays.

With Jones struggling, he was cast out the door, and the quarterbacking was handled solely by Drew Lock, who had a career game against the Indianapolis Colts last week but who has otherwise been like a box of assorted chocolates with a guide.

There is also the question of why for two straight season openers, the Giants have come out of the preseason looking like they haven’t played a meaningful snap in a month. 

That can probably be attributed to Daboll’s resistance to giving the starters many live snaps in preseason games, especially in the finale, which leads to a situation where they haven’t played in a month.

These are just some of the many things DAboll will no doubt have to address with ownership, who if deciding to retain him could inform him that his grace period bought with his 2022 Coach of the Year honors expired at midnight Dece. 31, 2024 and that some of the ways he’s seemingly stubbornly adhered to need to change.

As for the players, contrary to what some believe, they still play for Daboll and there still seems to be enough support for his return in the locker room.   

“Definitely yeah,” said outside linebacker Kayvin Thibodeaux. “ I mean he's a great coach.”

Thibodaux didn’t elaborate on why he believes Daboll is a “great coach,” but based on what Daboll has done in his three seasons here, he’s been more player-friendly than some of his past predecessors.

Daboll has admitted to soliciting feedback from the team leaders about various topics, such as special practice schedules. He’s also fiercely overprotective of the players even when public criticism is warranted, such as what passing game coordinator/defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson did when he called out cornerback Deonte Banks’s poor effort earlier in the year.

Thibodeaux agreed that Daboll is a “player’s coach.”

“I think he's a player's coach,” he said. “I think he has great philosophies. Sometimes, things just don't shake out for the season. I got total confidence in the organization and total confidence in the coaching. So, I don't know how it'll shake out, but things will happen how they're supposed to.”

For those things to happen, changes need to be made. If Daboll is retained–and that seems to be how things are trending–everything needs to be on the table, including those things that Daboll seems to be adamant about keeping as is.

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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