Brian Daboll

Giants HC Brian Daboll, GM Joe Schoen Not On Hot Seat?

September 17th, 2024 at 11:59am CST by Adam La Rose

Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen entered the 2024 campaign with questions about their job security. The Giants have started the year 0-2, though, leading to a new round of speculation regarding changes on the sidelines and in the front office.

Owner John Mara made it clear in advance of the season that a playoff berth was not mandatory for the campaign to be considered a success. He did say, however, that a “big step forward” was expected compared to last year’s 6-11 showing. Things have not gone according to plan so far, with a lopsided loss to the Vikings being followed by a Commanders defeat during which the Giants scored the game’s only three touchdowns.

Despite the winless start to the year, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer writes a shakeup at this point should not be expected. He predicts the Giants’ situation would need to worsen for consideration to be given by ownership to an in-season firing. A turnaround will still be needed to quell doubts about changes being made during the 2025 offseason, of course.

“I’ve been part of some 0-2 teams that ended up pretty well,” Daboll said (via Paul Schwartz of the New York Post). “I know [the Giants] have here. So again, what really happened 10 years ago or last year, like I’ve always said, really has no bearing on anything this season.”

Much of the 2024 campaign will revolve around the play of quarterback Daniel Jones. The organization remains committed to the former first-rounder, whose contract contains a potential out after the season. Jones’ performance was better in Week 2 than in the season opener, but he will remain under heavy scrutiny if the Giants are unable to meet expectations. The same will be true of Daboll and Schoen, whose first year at the helm resulted in a surprise postseason berth (and wild-card victory) before a major step back in 2023.

Plenty of time remains for New York to rebound from the opening two weeks of the campaign, with offensive efficiency and the play of the team’s recent draft classes in particular being watched closely as it pertains to Daboll and Schoen, respectively. Both could very well find themselves increasingly on the hot seat in the near future, but for the time being their jobs appear to be safe.

Brian Daboll Likely To Serve As Giants’ Play-Caller During Regular Season

August 23rd, 2024 at 10:17pm CST by Adam La Rose

Mike Kafka is still in place as the Giants’ offensive coordinator, but his duties this offseason have not included play-calling responsibilities. That appears set to continue into the regular season.

Head coach Brian Daboll confirmed in the lead-up to New York’s preseason finale against the Jets he will call plays on Saturday. He added (via Dan Salomone of the team’s website) that things are “moving in that direction” with respect to maintaining those duties come Week 1. That update comes as little surprise given the way the spring and summer have trended for the Giants.

Kafka has generally served as play-caller during his two-year New York stint, but signs have been pointing to Daboll taking over in 2024. The latter’s head coaching candidacy was built in large part on his success as a play-calling offensive coordinator with the Bills, so it was a surprise when he deferred to Kafka in 2022. The Giants’ staff is one facing several questions related to job security, however, and Daboll called plays at OTAs and minicamp in addition to his training camp and preseason workload.

The 49-year-old – along with general manager Joe Schoen – has the backing of ownership with respect to relying on quarterback Daniel Jones for at least one more season. Daboll’s position (not to mention that of Schoen and Jones) will become tenuous in the event New York’s offense suffers a repeat of 2023. The Giants looked into trading up for a Day quarterback in this year’s draft, an indication of what is at stake for all parties involved over the coming months.

Kafka drew head coaching interest in the 2023 offseason after his success with Jones and Co. After the past campaign, the 37-year-old was on the radar of the Seahawks and Titans, taking interviews with both teams. The Giants were unable by rule to block him from taking part in that process, but they did prevent him from interviewing for Seattle’s offensive coordinator gig. The former Chiefs staffer enters 2024 with the title of assistant head coach.

In spite of that symbolic promotion, it is all-but assured Daboll will lead the way on offense this season. The Giants’ defense – which will be led by Shane Bowen after Daboll’s well-documented split with Don Martindale – will face high expectations in 2024, but their offensive output will be interesting to watch with the head coach at the helm.

Giants’ Offseason QB Pitch Highlighted Previous Backup Success

July 17th, 2024 at 8:53pm CST by Ely Allen

HBO’s Hard Knocks: Offseason continues to deliver nuggets of information and context that otherwise would not have been made available to the public. In the series’ most recent episode, we became privy to some details on the development of the Giants’ backup quarterback situation this offseason.

One area that the series shed light on was the departure of backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor. The show displayed that both general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll showed confidence that Taylor would re-sign with the team, while beat reporters like Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post and Dan Dugger of The Athletic were both under the impression that Taylor had no interest in staying with New York.

The team had turned to Taylor to start for an injured Daniel Jones in Week 6 of the 2023 season but saw Taylor exit with a rib injury three weeks later. Taylor would eventually return around Week 14, but the Giants made the decision to stick with undrafted rookie quarterback Tommy DeVito, who had gone 3-1 in four starts filling in for Jones and Taylor. Two weeks later, DeVito was benched in a second straight losing effort as Taylor retook the reins for the remainder of the season.

Dunleavy claimed that Taylor was “very disheartened by how last season played out after his injury,” leading to the assumption that the veteran was not interested in returning. Duggan echoed this sentiment, saying that he “got the sense that (Taylor) was ready to move on after how last season unfolded.” Taylor eventually signed with the Jets, opting to serve as the primary backup for another starter who spent most of last season on injured reserve.

Following the loss of Taylor, the team explored a number of options to replace him, clearly seeing a need for quality with Jones’ injury history. The series showed that veteran names like Sam Darnold and Joe Flacco were floated around the building before the team ultimately landed on Drew Lock as their target.

A couple of months ago, we touched on a rumor that Jones’ injury history was part of the pitch that lured Lock to New York, with the team pointing at the success that former backups like Taylor and Mitch Trubisky have had finding contracts following their time with the Giants. That was seemingly confirmed in this week’s episode, showing that, whereas other teams had tried to sell Lock a potentially unrealistic chance to start, New York touted their history of getting backup passers back on their feet.

Regardless of how they got there, both parties appear to be in a good place now. Lock stands a better chance at seeing the field in New York (based on Jones’ injury history), and the Giants now roster one of the league’s most promising young backups as their QB2.

John Mara Voiced Support For Giants Retaining Saquon Barkley, Did Not Force Re-Signing

July 17th, 2024 at 9:06am CST by Sam Robinson

HBO’s Hard Knocks: Offseason debut has included John Mara cameos, with the owner staying involved in the team’s effort (or lack thereof) to retain Saquon Barkley. After GM Joe Schoen ran down the team’s priorities, Mara still makes it somewhat clear he wants his staff to keep the door open for a return.

As the legal tampering period began, the Giants‘ front office — after passing on a second franchise tag and informing Barkley no offer will come before he hits the market — braced for a departure. After Schoen informed Mara of a text he received that the Bears were driving up Barkley’s price, the owner voiced his long-held preference for the seventh-year veteran to be re-signed. Though, Mara ultimately did not stand in Schoen’s way.

“I’ll have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia, I’ll tell you that,” Mara told Schoen. “As I’ve told you, just being around enough players, he’s the most popular player we have, by far.”

The Bears made D’Andre Swift the first commitment of this year’s tampering period, giving the former Eagles and Lions starter a three-year, $24MM deal. That ended up being second among RBs this offseason, with Barkley’s three-year, $37.75MM Eagles deal ($26MM guaranteed at signing) the runaway winner. Swift’s price tag ultimately led to the Eagles pursuing Barkley.

While Barkley’s agent indeed brought the RB’s Philly offer back to the Giants, Schoen did not receive assurances the two-time Pro Bowler would return if the team matched it.

“I told the agent, I said if we match that deal, he’s going to be a Giant,” Schoen said in a conversation with Mara on March 11. “And he’s like, ‘Well…’ You know, he hemmed and hawed, he’s like, ‘I’m not saying that; we’ve got a lot of work to do if that happens.'”

This led to Schoen confirming to Barkley’s agent that the team would not match, keying a separation after six years. Upon receiving the news of the offer Barkley fetched, Schoen told Barkley’s agent the team was out. Barkley’s agent did not initially tell Schoen who made the offer, but the Giants belatedly learned the Eagles did so. Barkley confirmed months ago the Giants did not submit him a proposal to stay, indicating four teams made formal offers. It is fair to assume the Bears, along with the Texans, joined the Eagles in doing so.

Receiving Brian Daboll‘s recommendation, Schoen pivoted to Devin Singletary on a three-year, $16.5MM deal with $9.5MM guaranteed at signing. After Giants pro scouting director Chris Rossetti read the news of the Eagles’ deal with Barkley, Schoen told Mara, “We’re gonna be fine.” As Mara walked out of the meeting with Schoen and Rossetti upon hearing the news of Barkley’s Philly pledge, it appears he agreed.

Mara not strong-arming Schoen to keep Barkley reflects a belief in the third-year GM, and it was not made clear the Penn State alum would have passed on a Philly deal even if New York matched the terms. The Giants did not reach $26MM fully guaranteed at the July 2023 franchise tag deadline, and Schoen’s comments leading up to free agency prepared Mara for Barkley’s exit. Based on Mara’s comments during the early hours of free agency, is safe to assume the owner will be closely monitoring how Barkley fares with the Eagles. This will obviously be a key determinant in Schoen’s long-term Giants future.

Brian Daboll Expected To Take Over Giants’ Play-Calling Duties

June 27th, 2024 at 9:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

Two summers ago, rumors pointing to Brian Daboll — the Bills’ play-caller for four years — considering a CEO role in his first year as Giants HC. That came to fruition, and Daboll kept OC Mike Kafka holding the play sheet for most of the past two seasons.

Rumors of a change have persisted this offseason, however. As we move closer to training camp, it looks all but confirmed the Giants will feature a new play-caller this season. After calling plays at OTAs — for what that’s worth — Daboll continued to do so at minicamp. A Kafka shift to a non-play-calling OC is expected to continue into the regular season, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com notes.

Considering how last season went, Daboll preferring to have full control makes sense. It certainly would not be out of the question for the Giants to consider moving on; they have not employed a coach into a fourth season since Tom Coughlin. Daboll also came under fire for his temper last season, with a highly publicized feud with DC Don Martindale — one producing an explosive final act in the HC’s office — ending his New York stay after two seasons.

Daboll also has a proven track record calling plays, having been at the controls in Buffalo when Josh Allen morphed from raw prospect to superstar. That role landed him the Giants’ HC job in 2022. With last year’s 6-11 showing throwing the Giants off course after Daboll’s Coach of the Year campaign, the third-year leader mentioned he would consider making this change. Daboll also called plays for the Chiefs, Browns and Dolphins during three prior OC stints, though his Bills work stands out.

Daboll’s dustups with Martindale included rumors of the DC and assistant Drew Wilkins going rogue. Additionally, Raanan indicates Daboll confronted Martindale during the Giants’ Week 13 bye. Daboll allegedly yelled, “So, you think I’m a clown?” at Martindale from a doorway while the latter was running a defensive meeting. Daboll’s tirades grew tiresome for the staff, per Raanan, who notes some staffers viewed the fiery HC as having stopped listening to his assistants. Martindale did not contact Daboll or Schoen after cursing out Daboll in his office. Martindale is now the Michigan DC.

Kafka certainly deserved praise for coaxing a quality season from Daniel Jones in 2022, doing so when the Giants featured Saquon Barkley and little else in terms of weaponry. That season ending in the divisional round launched Kafka onto the HC radar. Kafka received more HC interest this year, interviewing with the Seahawks and Titans. After the Seahawks hired Mike Macdonald, the Giants blocked Kafka from interviewing for their OC position. Big Blue then gave Kafka a snazzier title, moving him to assistant head coach.

Daboll’s feud with Martindale aside, an early-offseason report noted most of the HC’s anger was directed at Kafka last season. That set the table for this change, and it is also safe to say Kafka is on shaky ground in New York. With Martindale gone, the Daboll-Kafka relationship will surely be monitored closely as the year progresses.

Giants Rumors: Banks, Daboll, Defensive Staff

June 8th, 2024 at 5:12pm CST by Ely Allen

Former first-round pick Adoree’ Jackson is currently a free agent after playing out his three-year, $39MM contract with the Giants, and at this point, it’s almost guaranteed that he won’t be returning to New York. According to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post, the team’s decision to let Jackson walk without a new contract is a result of their trust in Deonte Banks to step up as a “true No. 1” cornerback.

Jackson had been an extremely successful signing over his first two seasons with the Giants but saw his quality of play decline drastically in 2023. After grading Jackson out as the 15th and 31st best cornerback in the NFL over first two years with the team, Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranked Jackson at 117th out of 127 graded players last year.

Banks, a first-round rookie in 2023, didn’t grade out much better last season, with PFF marking him as the 110th best cornerback in the NFL. Still, Banks was productive as a rookie, nabbing two interceptions and leading the team with 11 passes defensed last year. He’s extremely physically gifted for the position, and many in the building believe he surpassed Jackson on the depth chart last year.

He’ll have his work cut out for him as the team’s top corner in 2024. The Giants open their season against Justin Jefferson and the Vikings. Other receivers he’ll be expected to shadow on the schedule are Terry McLaurin (twice), CeeDee Lamb (twice), A.J. Brown (twice), Amari Cooper, D.K. Metcalf, and Ja’Marr Chase. The Giants have faith that Banks will develop into the CB1 they’ll need in order to succeed in 2024.

Here are a few other rumors coming out of New York:

We’ve heard plenty of rumors already that Giants head coach Brian Daboll will take over play-calling duties for the offense in 2024 over offensive coordinator Mike Kafka. While it’s only organized team activities, Dan Duggan of The Athletic may have confirmed that notion, reporting that Daboll has been calling plays in OTAs. Daboll was spotted in the offensive huddle in between each play wile Kafka was lurking 10 to 15 yards back and to the left of the offense.
Giants defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson just missed out on getting promoted to replace Wink Martindale as the defensive coordinator in 2024, losing out to former Titans defensive coordinator Shane Bowen. Despite the exodus of defensive staff that would usually follow such a move, Daboll made it clear that he wanted almost all of the assistant coaches on the defensive side of the ball to stay, per Paul Schwartz of the New York Post. Bowen was given a chance to make desired changes, but following the lead of Daboll, who personally let go any defensive staffers he didn’t want to hold on to, Bowen opted to retain much of the same staff as the previous campaign.

Brian Daboll Considering Shift To Play-Calling Role

March 27th, 2024 at 12:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

Brian Daboll called plays for four seasons in Buffalo, reestablishing himself as a viable NFL OC after previous play-calling stints did not go especially well. After taking on a CEO-type role in his first two years as Giants HC, Daboll is considering another shift.

Going into a pivotal season, the third-year Giants leader said he is looking into a move to a play-calling role. That would strip OC Mike Kafka of a key responsibility. While the Giants gave Kafka a title bump after blocking him from a Seahawks OC interview, tacking on an assistant HC label to his role as Daboll’s top offensive lieutenant, a demotion appears in play ahead of his third season with the team.

“It’s something I’m looking into,” Daboll said of a play-calling role this week. “I think there’s 20 head coaches at this point in time that call plays in the league [either offensively or defensively]. … There might be a little bit more. I’ve been doing a bunch of research, but no decision has been made. I’m still going through that process, thinking about what we need to do.”

It had been expected Daboll would call plays with the Giants back in 2022, but just before that season, it was revealed Kafka — who had come over after years as the Chiefs’ quarterbacks coach — would be given the play sheet. This arrangement produced a surprise playoff berth in 2022, with Daniel Jones operating efficiently despite targeting a low-level group of pass catchers. Last season, the Giants regressed, showing little signs of their 2022 form even before Jones’ ACL tear. Daboll angrily took over play-calling duties at points, leading to questions about Kafka’s future with the team.

Unlike Don Martindale, who is at Michigan after his Daboll relationship combusted shortly after the season, Kafka managed to remain in place despite run-ins with the head coach last season. The Seahawks and Titans also interviewed him for their HC vacancies, which came a year after the young play-caller received multiple interview slips in 2023. With Daboll’s seat warming up, the Giants may be making a change. It should be considered likely Daboll calls plays in 2024, ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan tweets.

With Jones’ injury as the key variable, the Giants dropped from 15th to 30th in scoring offense from 2022 to ’23. Daboll may still be calling plays for Jones in 2024, though the Giants have a major decision to make in the draft. The team has looked into trading up from No. 6 overall, but while quarterback is a major need, so is wide receiver. This draft’s QB crop would give the Giants a potential WR1 without needing to trade up.

Daboll’s Bills play-calling performance put him on the HC radar; that came after unremarkable stints as OC with the Browns, Dolphins and Chiefs. He also called plays for Alabama’s 2017 national championship-winning team. It would be somewhat odd if Daboll went through his Giants tenure without operating as their regular play-caller at any point. Many NFL HCs are also entrenched as play-callers; Daboll appears more likely than not to join those ranks in 2024.

Giants Owner John Mara OKs First-Round QB

March 25th, 2024 at 10:00pm CST by Ely Allen

The Giants’ quarterback situation in 2024 is, as usual, an interesting one. For the sixth year in a row, it seems like New York will enter the season with a plan to start Daniel Jones at quarterback while also hedging their bets a bit. To wit, team owner John Mara reportedly gave his coaching staff and personnel department the green light to draft a quarterback with their No. 6 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, per Jordan Raanan of ESPN.

With a top-ten selection in a strong quarterback class, the opportunity is certainly there to add one of the draft’s top quarterbacks. Unfortunately, a strong quarterback class doesn’t mean a deep one. Due to NIL opportunities convincing mid- to late-round passers to stay in school, this year’s quarterbacks crop is a bit top-heavy, so if you need to add a young arm to the roster, you may be forced to do so early.

It appears that seems to be the plan in New York. The team has hosted Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy and North Carolina’s Drake Maye, both favorites at one point to go No. 2 overall behind USC quarterback Caleb Williams. Although it would likely take a massive trade to acquire him, the Giants have done their homework on Williams, as well, sending general manager Joe Schoen to his pro day in Los Angeles.

Regardless of the work being put in by the team’s personnel group, the plan is for Jones to be under center in Week 1 of the 2024 season. Mara has been adamant recently in his belief in Jones, citing the quarterback’s 2022 season as an indicator of what the 26-year-old is capable of doing in an interview with Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. This won’t stop the team from adding to the room this offseason as Jones works his way back from a torn ACL.

Still, this past season is also an example of what we’ve seen with Jones in his career. Including the 2022 season, in which he sat out Week 18 before the playoffs, Jones has yet to play in every game of an NFL season. Ignoring the technicality of the 2022 absence, Jones has still missed 23 of a possible 83 regular season games through the first five years of his career. This season also saw the troubling return of Jones’ struggles with turnovers, though the team points to his injuries this season as the cause for that. You can have all the confidence in the world in Jones, but it’s still smart to consider investing in a young arm in case Jones continues to miss games or in case the Jones from 2022 never shows up again.

In addition to voicing his support for Jones, Mara also backed head coach Brian Daboll after a turbulent 2023 season. According to Connor Hughes of SNY, while he sometimes wishes Daboll would “tone it down,” Mara doesn’t believe that the coach acts irrationally and hasn’t asked him to change.

Latest On Giants’ QB Situation

March 23rd, 2024 at 9:57am CST by Ben Levine

After the Giants poked around at the likes of Russell Wilson and landed on Drew Lock, there was some speculation that the organization could be looking to manufacture a QB competition. Seahawks GM John Schneider only fueled that fire earlier this week, telling Seattle Sports 710AM that the Giants lured Lock away from Seattle by selling the QB on the “opportunity to compete to be the starter.”

Lock was quick to dismiss that notion. After inking his one-year deal with the Giants yesterday, the QB told reporters that it’s clearly been conveyed to him that Daniel Jones is the starter.

“Now, I need to come in and push Daniel to be the best that he can be,’’ Lock said (via Paul Schwartz of the New York Post). “I’ve had both sides of this. I’ve been the guy to push a starter, I’ve been the starter that’s being pushed by the backups. It’s about making that room the best it can be. If we can do that, the sky’s the limit for this team.’’

As Jeff Howe of The Athletic writes, it was likely Jones’ career-long injury issues and Brian Daboll‘s quarterback-friendly system that helped lure Lock to New York. Both Tyrod Taylor and Mitch Trubisky parlayed stints as Daboll’s QB2 into larger pay days, and Lock is surely hoping for the same outcome.

Lock could have an opportunity to start in 2024 as Jones continues to rehab a torn ACL that ended his 2023 season, but the new addition will simply be keeping the seat warm. That’s a big reason why the Giants didn’t end up adding Wilson to the mix; as Lowe reports, the Giants didn’t make the veteran QB “any promises about playing time.” The Giants also tried to retain Taylor, as Tony Pauline of Sportskeeda.com writes. Ultimately, Taylor was able to garner a higher offer from the Jets than what Lock settled for with the Giants.

While the Giants continue to give Jones a vote of confidence, that doesn’t mean the team is entirely comfortable with his future outlook. As Ralph Vacchiano of FOX Sports writes, Jones’ injury history has “shaken” the Giants’ faith in the franchise QB. The former first-round pick has only made it through one season unscathed, and that’s led the team to consider taking a quarterback in next month’s draft. Even after handing Jones a four-year, $160MM extension last offseason, the Giants have scouted many of the draft’s top quarterback prospects. If the organization does pull the trigger on a rookie signal-caller, that will only further cloud the team’s QB picture moving forward.

Giants Coaching Notes: RBs Coach, ST Coordinator, Daboll, Kafka

January 16th, 2024 at 6:35pm CST by Ben Levine

The Giants have added two coaches to their staff. The team announced that they’ve hired Joel Thomas as their new running backs coach and Aaron Wellman as their executive director of player performance.

Following a long stint in college coaching, Thomas was named the Saints running backs coach in 2015. Since then, the Saints are tied for second in the NFL with 161 rushing touchdowns, with Alvin Kamara earning five Pro Bowl selections over that span. Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Saints didn’t block the interview despite the lateral move, with the organization “not wanting to hold a coach back.”

Thomas is set to replace Jeff Nixon, who left his role with the Giants after one season to become Syracuse’s offensive coordinator.

Wellman was previously the Giants’ strength and conditioning coach on both Ben McAdoo and Pat Shurmur’s staffs. He’s spent the past four years as Indiana University’s senior assistant athletic director for football performance.

More Giants coaching notes:

Thomas McGaughey was fired after six seasons as the Giants special teams coordinator, and the organization has started to look for his replacement. According to Rapoport, the Giants interviewed Matt Harper last weekend for the coordinator job. Harper has been with the 49ers organization since 2021, serving as the team’s assistant special teams coordinator.
Meanwhile, ESPN’s Jordan Raanan reports that Carlos Polk is also expected to be a candidate for the special teams job. The veteran coach spent the past two seasons as the Bears assistant special teams coach, and he previously held that same role with the Jaguars, Cowboys, Buccaneers, and Chargers.
There’s more fallout from the sudden Giants/Don Martindale divorce, with much of it focused on head coach Brian Daboll and his handling of the coaching staff. According to Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News, the coaching staff’s finger pointing got so bad that GM Joe Schoen ended up tuning in to the coach’s headsets during games. This decision may have stemmed from the opinion of some coaches that Daboll’s sideline behavior was “destructive,” with Leonard noting that the coach’s input “was never proactive, always reactionary.”
While the Daboll/Martindale argument grabbed headlines, Daboll also didn’t have the rosiest relationship with Mike Kafka. The offensive coordinator “received the brunt of Daboll’s fury” and was constantly second-guessed. This latter point was clear in Daboll’s handling of play-calling duties, as Kafka’s in-game responsibilities were constantly changing

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