NFL Insider Says Giants HC Brian Daboll Could Be Coaching for His Job

Daboll is looking to have better luck with the Giants last seven games to ensure he returns in 2025.

Michael Lee | 1 Hour Ago

Nov 8, 2024; Munich, Germany; New York Giants coach Brian Daboll during press conference at the FC Bayern training grounds at Sabener Strasse. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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New York Giants

While the New York Giants' decision to bench quarterback Daniel Jones is huge surprise to anyone who has watched the games this season, one NFL insider believes there might be another underlying reason for the team's decision.

FOX Sports insider Jordan Schultz reported that there is a “growing sense” that Giants head coach Brian Daboll, who confirmed the team’s decision to move on from Jones on Monday morning, is coaching for his job over the last seven games.

Sources: While ownership has suggested he’ll return, there is a growing sense that #Giants HC Brian Daboll is coaching for his job over the final seven games.

That’s part of why he chose Tommy DeVito over Drew Lock as the starting QB.

More info: The relationship between Daniel… pic.twitter.com/PDhcuAJOS8
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) November 18, 2024

While any talk of Daboll being in jeopardy of being fired would contradict what Giants co-owner John Mara told reporters in October about Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen’s job statuses if they didn’t get things back on track, it’s worth noting that the Giants problems under the current regime this season have extended far beyond the quarterback play.

The team has struggled with stopping the run on defense, and there have been some questions about Daboll’s coaching of the offense as its playcaller, particularly his leaning on analytics to make decisions.

Other questions have popped up, including not ensuring he had a healthy kicker for Week 2’s game against the Commanders, and there have been some other questions about the team's discipline in terms of pre-snap penalties and big plays allowed.

It hasn’t helped that the Giants have struggled to score in the red zone, where some of Jones’s decisions have left much to be desired. Daboll also hasn’t attempted to hide his growing frustration with his quarterback the past few weeks after failed plays, most recently blowing his stack when Jones took a sack on a 3rd-and-1 flea flicker instead of throwing the ball away.

From a roster management perspective, Schoen has come under fire for not trading players like running back Saquon Barkley, safety Xavier McKinney, receiver Darius Slayton, and outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari for draft capital if he knew that they weren’t in the long-term plans.

Schoen has also been criticized recently for cutting cornerback/special teams player Nick McCloud to free up salary cap space, and the Giants are once again at the bottom of the league in terms of space.

Mara has said in the past that Schoen and Daboll are not necessarily a package deal even though both came in together after spending their last stop with the Bills.

In related news, Schultz also weighed in on the Giants' relationship with Jones, noting how it has been “a bit awkward” ever since it was revealed on Hard Knocks that the Giants not only did heavy research into quarterbacks in the 2024 draft class but also actively explored trading up to get a franchise quarterback, a move that didn’t sit well with Jones, who was coming off a torn ACL.

“I mean, I wasn't fired up about it," Jones said during one of the team’s early OTAs this past spring when he was still recovering from a torn ACL suffered last season.

"But I think it's part of it at this level. What I can do is focus on myself and getting healthy, play the best football I can play, and that I know I'm capable of playing. That's my job and that's what I'm going to do."

That report comes as no surprise, given how uncomfortable Jones has been when te topic has been raised with him. Still, to his credit, he has taken the high road and has focused on trying to string together some winning football. But despite having an improved offensive line and a legitimate No. 1 receiver in Malik Nabers, he has been far too inconsistent, at times bordering on looking lost.