Temperature Check: How Warm is Giants Head Coach Brian Daboll's Seat?

Giants head coach Brian Daboll's seat is probably not as hot as some would have you think.

Nov 3, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll reacts to an offensive pass interference call negating a Giants touchdown during the second half against the Washington Commanders at MetLife Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

With each weekly loss, please from the New York Giants fan base for team ownership to make a change and clean house have intensified. 

However, co-owner John Mara, who is probably as frustrated as anyone over how the team’s 20224 season has gone, told reporters last month that he’s going to do his best to remain patient with the tandem of head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen.

But should the seat underneath Daboll actually be a lot warmer than what it appears to be? Nora Princiotti of The Ringer, who recently authored an article assessing the temperature underneath the seats of those NFL head coaches whose seasons aren’t going according to plan, put Daboll in the “Standing Quietly in the Corner Hoping No One Notices Them” category, a group of head coaches on whom their respective team ownerships could go either way.

"Daboll kept his job despite a disappointing 2023 season and a conflict with former defensive coordinator Wink Martindale,” Princiotti wrote. “In some ways, he’s doing a decent job attempting to put together an offense in which Daniel Jones does not ever need to throw the ball

"But the Giants look like a contender for the first pick in next year’s draft, and I’m not sure there’s enough evidence that Daboll (and perhaps general manager Joe Shoen) will be around to make that pick."

Again, while Mara has given a vote of confidence to Daboll and Schoen, he has also done so in the past with other head coaches that followed Tom Coughlin, including Ben McAdoo and Joe Judge only to fire them when things fell apart at the seams, largely of their own doing.

And while the losses have been disappointing, in five of those seven games lost have been by eight points or less while only two–Week 1 against the Vikings and Week 7 against the Eagles–were legitimate blowout losses.

Daboll supporters have noted the inconsistent play of the quarterback as being a chief problem holding back the offense. 

Meanwhile critics of the third-year head coach have pointed to questionable personnel decisions such as the failed plan at swing tackle, not ensuring the presence of a healthy backup kicker in Week 2, and the annoying little pre-snap penalties this team has had as reasons to question Daboll’s worthiness of continuing in his present role.

So again, unless Daboll has a major meltdown as Judge did or loses the locker room like McAdoo did, he likely has nothing to worry about this coming offseason and will probably get the chance, along with Schoen, to pick the quarterback they want to help turn the franchise around.

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