Some may not fully realize it, but the New York Giants could be at a major crossroads right now as they look for their next head coach after firing Brian Daboll days ago.
Despite their dismal 2-8 record, they seem to have some young players to build around and, therefore, some hope for the future. Running back Cam Skattebo, before he suffered a season-ending ankle injury, showed signs that he’s a building block, and wide receiver Malik Nabers, who sustained a season-ending injury of his own earlier this season, is a downright stud.
On defense, Brian Burns is leading the NFL in sacks, and while pass rusher Abdul Carter, the No. 3 pick in April’s draft, is off to a slow start, his talent is undeniable.
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Then there is rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart, who may not have been dazzling but has shown some promise. He stands to gain — or lose — the most from the coaching decision New York is about to make.
Ryan Wilson of CBS Sports pointed out the large number of quarterbacks taken in the first round of the draft in recent years who have seen their head coach get fired either during their rookie season or immediately after. He listed 13 of them, not counting Dart, and pointed out something else that happened with those men.
“If, after firing your coach, you miss out on your Mike Vrabel and once again convince yourself that the latest hot coordinator can magically morph into a CEO, you’re doomed to repeat the same mistakes — stuck in top-10-pick purgatory while your ‘franchise quarterback’ flames out, only to outperform expectations when he lands in a more stable environment elsewhere,” Wilson wrote.
“That’s been the case with Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield and Daniel Jones, reinforcing the notion that it’s nearly impossible to overcome the dysfunction that plagues so many of these organizations.”
Jones is a cautionary tale that the Giants must learn from. Since starting out in 2019, the team cycled through Pat Shurmer, Joe Judge and Daboll at head coach while Jones continued to fail to meet expectations. They released him last season, and he is now the toast of Indiana as he has put up strong numbers while leading the Indianapolis Colts to an 8-2 record, which is tied for the best mark in the NFL.
New York cannot simply hire another new coach who seems to have potential. It needs to bring in someone who has the skills and the vision to build a winning program and convince his players that they’re as great as, or better than, they can become, as Wilson described.
“I think the surest, safest way to both develop a young quarterback and get buy-in from the entire team is to look for a leader first, above all else. Think Vrabel or Dan Campbell or Mike Tomlin or John Harbaugh,” wrote Wilson. “Even more important than Xs and Os is knowing how to motivate a group of grown men, all with mortgages and families and grown-up problems outside of work.
“Outscheming the opponent is great, but guess what? Great leaders hire great people.”
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The good people of the New York City area deserve a Giants team that is consistently competitive. Since winning the Super Bowl championship in the 2011 season, the Giants have made the playoffs twice and finished above .500 three times. They have one of the most frustrated fan bases in all of sports, and they finally have a collection of young players just waiting to be molded into a winning unit.
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