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New York Giants News & Rumors

Notre Dame HC Marcus Freeman To Emerge As Giants Candidate?

November 15th, 2025 at 9:58pm CST by Connor Byrne

Having fired Brian Daboll on Monday, the 2-8 Giants are in the early stages of finding their next head coach. Mike Kafka will finish the season on an interim basis after a promotion from offensive coordinator. However, barring shockingly strong results from Kafka, it seems probable that Daboll’s successor will come from outside the organization.

General manager Joe Schoen, who hired Daboll in 2022, is leading the search for his replacement. Schoen and Giants ownership haven’t had “serious meetings” about the traits they want in their new head coach, per Dianna Russini of The Athletic. For his part, Schoen isn’t guaranteed to remain with the organization for the long haul. He’s only under contract through 2026. The Giants will review Schoen’s work at the end of this season, but the belief around the NFL is that he’ll remain in place, Russini reports.

As for who Schoen will hire, there’s no doubt that plenty of potential candidates will come up in connection to New York’s opening in the coming weeks. The Giants “already have a shortlist of candidates,” Russini writes. It doesn’t include North Carolina’s Bill Belichick, according to Russini. Belichick issued a statement Friday saying he’s not interested in the Giants’ job or any other NFL opportunity that may come along. The Giants didn’t contact Belichick before he shot down a possible return to the pros, and it seems doubtful they were ever going to pursue him.

While Belichick isn’t in the mix, one early name to keep an eye on is Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman. The soon-to-be 40-year-old could become the latest successful college coach to try his hand in the NFL.

If Freeman is interested in the job, there’s “some buzz” that the Giants may talk to him, per Dan Graziano of ESPN. Meanwhile, Dan Duggan of The Athletic regards Freeman as an early front-runner for the position, placing him behind Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo and the out-of-work Mike McCarthy.

Freeman has gone 40-12 with the Fighting Irish since the former linebacker took over for the departed Brian Kelly in December 2021. He guided Notre Dame to the national championship game last season, but the team suffered a 34-23 defeat to Ohio State. Just days before Freeman & Co. lost to the Buckeyes in January, the Bears reportedly sought an interview with him. That didn’t come to fruition, though, and the Bears ended up hiring Ben Johnson.

Anarumo, a well-respected coordinator, has been a popular figure in the rumor mill since the Giants moved on from Daboll. The Staten Island native is a former Giants assistant who was a candidate for the HC job before Daboll landed it. Anarumo’s son currently works for the Giants as a pro scout.

McCarthy, 62, brings vast experience as a head coach. His teams have gone an impressive 174-112-2 in the regular season. He led the Packers from 2006-18, winning one Super Bowl with Aaron Rodgers during that 13-year period, and the Cowboys from 2020-24.

In limbo with the Cowboys last winter before Jerry Jones replaced him with Brian Schottenheimer, McCarthy interviewed with Chicago and New Orleans. After he began losing ground with the Saints, who chose Kellen Moore, McCarthy withdrew as a candidate. He hasn’t found another job since then, though perhaps the Giants will look in his direction.

The Johnson pick has worked out so far for the Bears, who are 6-3 and already guaranteed a better record than last year’s 5-12 mark. If they make the right hire, the Giants may have a chance to enjoy a similar turnaround in 2026.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/15/25

November 15th, 2025 at 8:31pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are today’s minor NFL moves and standard gameday practice squad elevations for tomorrow’s slate of games:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

With the 49ers set to see their starting quarterback return, Martinez’s presence on the 53-man roster is no longer necessary. He’ll likely find his way back to the team’s practice squad.

The Panthers’ two elevations, Barnes and Mukuamu, are direct reflections of injury absences for tomorrow’s game. With Trevin Wallace and Lathan Ransom ruled out for Sunday, Carolina made the decision to call up another player at each position.

Mevis will once again be called upon for kicking duties in Los Angeles. In his NFL debut last week, he was untested in terms of field goal attempts, but he converted all six extra point attempts in a blowout win in San Francisco.

Kamara in Tampa Bay is being called up for the third time this season. If the Buccaneers intend to play him in another game this year, they’ll need to sign him to the 53-man roster, much as the Ravens did after Bryan exhausted all three of his standard gameday practice squad elevations.

UNC HC Bill Belichick Denies Potential Pursuit Of Giants’ Open Job

November 14th, 2025 at 10:33pm CST by Ely Allen

Earlier this evening, University of North Carolina head coach — and former Patriots longtime head coach — Bill Belichick took to Instagram to put to rest any rumors that he would pursue the newly opened Giants head coaching position. It was not a rumor that had made it to this site, just yet, but nonetheless, the Tar Heels’ skipper endeavored to put the thought to bed.

“I have great respect and genuinely care for the New York Giants organization and both the Mara and Tisch families,” Belichick stated in a joint post from both his personal Instagram account and the official UNC Football account. “The New York Giants played an important role in my life and in my coaching journey. It was a privilege for me to work for the Mara family and be a member of Coach (Bill) Parcells’ staff for over a decade. However, despite circulating rumors, I have not and will not pursue any NFL head coaching vacancies.

“Since arriving in Chapel Hill, my commitment to the UNC Football program has not waivered,” he continued. “We have tremendous support from the university, our alumni, and the entire Carolina community. My focus remains solely on continuing to improve this team, develop players, and build a program that make Tar Heel fans proud.” He concluded, “We’re on to Wake Forest.”

Belichick spent 12 years in New York, joining then-head coach Ray Perkins‘ coaching staff as a special teams coach and defensive assistant. He was promoted to special teams/linebackers coach after a year with the team and was promoted to defensive coordinator shortly after the former DC, Parcells, took over for Perkins as head coach. His six-year run as a coordinator set up his first head coaching opportunity with the Browns.

After being linked to the Bears, Cowboys, Raiders, and Jets open head coaching jobs in the last coaching cycle, Belichick ultimately honored his commitment to the Tar Heels and became a college football coach for the first time. All of this came a year after Belichick was a main focus for the Falcons’ open job in 2024. A drawn-out, public spectacle that resulted in the hiring of Raheem Morris left a bad taste in Belichick’s mouth as he would remain unemployed throughout the 2024 season with an expectation to return to the NFL in 2025.

Instead, he made his way to Chapel Hill, where recruiting and academics became a new part of his coaching responsibilities. The Belichick-era at North Carolina got off to an inauspicious start as he lost his first three games against Power 4 opponents by a combined score of 120-33. The team has shown signs of life since, with closer losses to Cal (21-18) and ranked Virginia (17-16) before earning Belichick his first ACC wins against Syracuse and Stanford.

With three games remaining in the Tar Heels’ season, Belichick has an opportunity to build some momentum and earn bowl eligibility in his first collegiate season. It appears that will be crucial to the 73-year-old’s plans of turning around to football program in Chapel Hill, assuming he stays true to his assertion that he “will not pursue any NFL head coaching vacancies.”

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/13/25

November 13th, 2025 at 6:53pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Here are the latest minor moves from around the NFL…

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Denver Broncos

Jacksonville Jaguars

New England Patriots

New York Giants

Conner, a sixth-round pick from Texas, has yet to debut as a rookie after suffering a knee injury in the preseason. The Cardinals placed Conner on IR with a return designation when they trimmed their roster to 53 players on Aug. 26. Now that Conner’s back at practice, the Cardinals will have 21 days to activate him.

Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson will miss Thursday’s game against the Jets with a toe injury, leading the Pats to elevate Johnson. He’ll work behind TreVeyon Henderson and Terrell Jennings, though the latter is playing through a knee issue. It’s the third and final standard elevation of the year for Johnson, meaning the Patriots will have to sign him to their active roster if they want to promote him again. The 29-year-old has totaled just 15 snaps (nine on special teams, six on offense) this season.

Connor Byrne contributed to this post.

Giants Bring Back WR Isaiah Hodgins

November 13th, 2025 at 10:33am CST by Adam La Rose

Isaiah Hodgins is heading back in New York. The sixth-year receiver has worked out a deal to return to the Giants, as first reported by Dan Duggan of The Athletic.

Hodgins has since confirmed the news (h/t ESPN’s Jordan Raanan), which is now official. He had been on the Steelers’ practice squad, but he will now return to the Giants by joining their active roster. Today’s news comes one day after Lil’Jordan Humphrey departed New York’s taxi squad to return to the Broncos.

The Giants’ receiving corps has been without Malik Nabers since his ACL tear. As expected, the unit has struggled following that injury and Darius Slayton could now miss time with a hamstring ailment. This Hodgins reunion could thus result in immediate playing time.

The former Bills sixth-rounder only made three regular season appearances with Buffalo before finding himself in New York. Hodgins racked up 391 yards during his time with the Giants in 2022 before serving a regular role on offense once again the following year. 2024 was a different story, though, as the 27-year-old bounced on and off the Giants’ active roster while only playing three games.

At the end of the campaign, Hodgins signed a futures pact with the 49ers. That allowed him to spend training camp in San Francisco, although he did not survive final roster cuts. Hodgins joined the Steelers by inking a practice squad deal; after not seeing any game time in Pittsburgh, he will no look to do so in a familiar environment.

The Giants will begin the post-Brian Daboll era on Sunday against the Packers. It will be interesting to see if Hodgins suits up for that contest and in doing so logs a depth role on offense. Even if not, he could chip in over the closing weeks of the campaign and thus look to earn an extended stay in New York.

Giants To Start QB Jameis Winston In Week 11

November 12th, 2025 at 10:40pm CST by Connor Byrne

With Jaxson Dart in concussion protocol, the Giants will turn to their third different starting quarterback of the season in Week 11. Jameis Winston will get the nod on Sunday against the Packers, Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News reports.

After Dart suffered his injury in last week’s loss to the Bears, season-opening starter Russell Wilson replaced him. With the Wilson experiment having gone poorly this year, newly named interim head coach Mike Kafka will try his hand with Winston in his first game replacing the fired Brian Daboll.

Roughly a month before the Giants traded up to draft Dart 25th overall in April, they brought in Wilson and Winston as potential stopgaps in free agency. Wilson inked a one-year, $10.5MM deal, while Winston signed on for two years and $8MM.

Regardless of who grabs the reins as the Giants’ full-time head coach, Wilson is all but assured to leave the team after the season. Considering Winston’s already under contract, he figures to serve as Dart’s backup in 2026. It’s worth noting that a portion of Winston’s salary for next season is already guaranteed.

The Giants used Winston as their emergency third QB until Kafka took over. The battle-tested former No. 1 overall pick is now in line to make the 88th start of his career since he entered the NFL with the Buccaneers in 2015.

Also a former Saint and Brown, Winston most recently saw regular-season action with Cleveland in Week 15 last year. He made seven starts in 12 appearances with the Browns and completed 61.1% of passes for 2,121 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. The Browns went 2-5 in Winston’s starts. He and Kafka will hope for better results on Sunday.

Giants K Graham Gano Returns To IR

November 12th, 2025 at 9:05pm CST by Ely Allen

It was an inauspicious start to the season in New York when kicker Graham Gano was placed on injured reserve after only the third game of the season. After only appearing in 18 of a possible 34 games in the past two seasons, the Giants needed Gano healthy as they entered his sixth year with the team. Gano was able to return a couple weeks ago after missing the minimum four games but has promptly been returned to IR, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

Gano, 38, has been with the Giants since 2020, earning two separate three-year extensions for a combined $30.5MM. It was a knee injury that sidelined Gano for nine games in 2023, while a groin issue held him out of seven contests last year. In addition to the injuries, Gano struggled with his accuracy whenever he was available. Gano missed six of 17 field goal attempts in 2023, with two misses coming from inside the 30-yard line. While he improved a bit in 2024, going nine for 11, one of those misses was also from inside 40 yards.

It was, once again, a groin injury that landed Gano on IR near the start of this year. The injury occurred during pregame warmups, and Gano tried to make a go of it later in the game after punter Jamie Gillan saw his sole extra point attempt blocked, but ultimately, an IR placement was needed. This time, it was reportedly neck soreness — later determined to be a herniated disk (per Ryan Dunleavy of New York Post Sports) — that threatened Gano’s playing time and ultimately led to his second IR stint this season.

After Gano’s first injury, the team signed veteran kicker Younghoe Koo to their practice squad, joining him with existing taxi squad kicker Jude McAtamney. New York opted to go with McAtamney in those four weeks without Gano, but after watching him miss three extra point attempts in two games and only sending him out to attempt field goals shorter than 32 yards, the Giants switched it up with Koo last week. Koo made both of his point after tries and both of his field goal attempts in the Windy City.

Already rostering Koo and McAtamney on the taxi squad and Gano on IR, the team added a bit more insurance yesterday by making Ben Sauls the third kicker on their 17-man practice squad. Sauls has made the rounds since signing as an undrafted free agent with the Steelers after kicking in the same stadium in college at Pitt. After failing to make the initial 53-man roster, Sauls signed with Koo’s former Falcons on a practice squad deal before getting released last Tuesday.

We identified Gano as a potential cap casualty in the offseason, and at this point, shuffling three kicking replacements on their practice squad, the Giants likely regret not acting on that possible cost-cutting move. Utilizing the potential out built into his contract, which expires in 2027, New York could have reclaimed $3.17MM of cap savings by cutting Gano early in the offseason with only $2.5MM of dead money to burn. If they had made him a post-June 1 release, they may have gotten $4.42MM in cap savings with only $1.25MM of dead money.

Instead, his contract remains on the ledger, and the Giants are paying three practice squad contracts as they search for an effective, consistent injury replacement for the third season in a row. The current situation has set Gano up to be a cut candidate once again in the near future.

Broncos To Bring Back Lil’Jordan Humphrey

November 12th, 2025 at 1:31pm CST by Sam Robinson

A day after adding tackle Geron Christian off the Cowboys’ practice squad, the Broncos are raiding another NFC East team’s P-squad to add more offensive help.

The team is bringing back Lil’Jordan Humphrey, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, adding him off the Giants’ taxi squad. Humphrey, who played for Sean Payton in New Orleans and Denver, is likely to play against the Chiefs on Sunday.

Joining the Giants this offseason (before yoyoing on and off their roster), Humphrey has played in three games. Although he has only seen action in a fraction of New York’s contests, the journeyman wideout started two of those and logged an 81% snap share in the game he has played. The Broncos used Humphrey regularly last season and are making an update to their receiving depth chart ahead of a crucial contest.

The Giants had used the maximum of three gameday elevations on Humphrey this season. With the team needing to give him a spot on its 53-man roster in order to give him a game uniform again this season, Mike Kafka‘s operation will instead see him depart. Humphrey joins a Broncos team loosely linked to wide receiver trades before this year’s deadline, but like the Bills and Steelers, the AFC contender stood pat.

Payton used Humphrey on 50% of the Broncos’ offensive plays last season, giving him the most run of anyone besides Courtland Sutton and Devaughn Vele at the position in 2024. Second-year cog Troy Franklin has seized Denver’s No. 2 wideout role this year, and the team has increasingly used Pat Bryant more as the season has progressed. Bryant’s blocking has appealed to Denver’s coaching staff, but Humphrey was viewed as a plus blocker previously. The Broncos have also missed Marvin Mims for the past two games due to a concussion. With Trent Sherfield rounding out the group, Humphrey will give Denver six WRs on its 53-man roster.

Humphrey, 28, played for Payton from 2019-21 with the Saints. After spending the 2022 season in New England, the big-bodied backup followed Payton to Denver in 2023. Humphrey made 15 starts from 2023-24 and posted a career-high 293 receiving yards last season, doing so after catching three touchdown passes in 2023. He caught four passes for 55 yards with the Giants, who are letting him go despite losing Malik Nabers for the season and having seen Darius Slayton miss time this year.

Giants Name Tim Kelly Interim Offensive Coordinator; Mike Kafka Remains Play-Caller

November 12th, 2025 at 11:49am CST by Connor Byrne

After a promotion from offensive coordinator to interim head coach earlier this week, Mike Kafka will continue to call the plays for the Giants. Kafka named an interim offensive coordinator on Wednesday, though, announcing that tight ends coach Tim Kelly will take the reins (via Dan Duggan of The Athletic).

Kafka confirmed that he and Kelly will work with a new starting quarterback this week in Jameis Winston. With Jaxson Dart battling a concussion, Winston will face the Packers on Sunday.

Dart is “right on track and right on pace” in his recovery, Kafka said (via Paul Schwartz of the New York Post). The Giants haven’t ruled Dart out yet, but they’re understandably taking a cautious approach with the prized first-round rookie.

Kelly, who joined the Giants’ staff ahead of the 2024 campaign, is becoming an O-coordinator for the third time. The 39-year-old previously served in that role with the Texans from 2019-21 and the Titans in 2023.

Kelly was at the helm in Houston during quarterback Deshaun Watson‘s final two years of action with the club. Watson went to the Pro Bowl in both 2019 and 2020 under Kelly, who was in charge of offense that was a middle-of-the-pack unit in those seasons. The Texans were a playoff team in 2019, but they fired head coach Bill O’Brien after an 0-4 start the next year. Romeo Crennel finished the campaign as Houston’s interim HC.

After going 4-8 under Crennel, the Texans hired David Culley in 2021. He retained Kelly, but the OC no longer had Watson at his disposal. Watson spent the entire season inactive after sexual harassment allegations came to light. The Texans primarily turned to Davis Mills under center in Watson’s place. Houston’s offense was among the worst in the league that year, and the team moved on from Culley and his coaching staff after the season.

Kelly quickly landed on his feet on Mike Vrabel‘s staff in Tennessee, working as the Titans’ passing game coordinator in 2022 before taking over the offense the next season. With a fading Ryan Tannehill and struggling rookie Will Levis as their QBs, the Titans finished a woeful 27th in points and 28th in yardage during a 6-11 showing in 2023. They didn’t retain Vrabel or his staff beyond then.

The Giants will look outside for a full-time replacement for Brian Daboll, whom they fired Monday, though Kafka will receive consideration for the job. He and Kelly will try to make their cases for promotions over the next several weeks.

Brian Daboll Fallout: Giants, Kafka, Schoen

November 11th, 2025 at 10:25pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Giants fired head coach Brian Daboll on Monday after his team blew a double-digit fourth-quarter lead in Sunday’s loss to the Bears.

The move has major ramifications for the short- and long-term future of the franchise. The biggest immediate impact is the installment of offensive coordinator Mike Kafka as the interim head coach. He will retain play-calling duties, per ESPN’s Jordan Raanan, who noted that the Giants offense has been notably better with Kafka calling plays than with Daboll.

Kafka will likely be evaluated as a candidate for the permanent head coaching gig over the rest of the season. Rookie Jaxson Dart has looked like a potential franchise quarterback thus far, so Kafka’s ability to develop the first-round pick will be a crucial part of his audition.

Daboll was rumored to be on the hot seat for a while, so the Giants’ decision was not a complete surprise. Players were aware of the team’s frustration and knew it was possible, if not likely, that Daboll would be removed as a result of his squad’s latest collapse.

The close ties between Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen – who spent three years together in Buffalo before joining the Giants in the same offseason – have already stirred speculation that Schoen could also be on the way out. The Giants are retaining him for now, indicating that he and Daboll are not necessarily a package deal.

A separate decision on Schoen will likely come at the end of the season, according to The Athletic’s Ian O’Connor, partially because he will play a major role in organizing the search process for the Giants’ next head coach. He was heavily involved in the hiring process that brought Daboll to New York in 2022, along with the team’s principal owners John Mara and Steve Tisch, as well as senior personnel consultant (and John Mara’s brother), Chris Mara. John Mara is currently undergoing treatment for cancer; while he stated an intention to continue in his duties, moving on from Schoen would have doubled the team’s search for new leadership while eliminating a key part of that effort.

Schoen may also stick around because the Giants have already invested in his vision for their internal operations. He restructured their approach to the draft and incorporated data analytics into scouting, roster management, and week-to-week game-planning. Ownership was encouraged by this progress, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, so they may not want to move on from Schoen after already implementing many of his ideas.

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