Giants, in a decade-long spiral, somehow need to make a good hire after Brian Daboll debacle
The New York Giants are a proud franchise. But the trophies are pretty dusty.
Feb. 5, 2012, was a long time ago, especially in NFL years. That was when the Giants beat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI, and also the last time they were even close to the top of the football world.
Whenever a team fires a coach, as the Giants did Monday with Brian Daboll, it's a time for a harsh big-picture look at a franchise.
Since that Super Bowl win, the Giants have two playoff appearances and one win. They're 81-140-1 in that time. Since parting with coach Tom Coughlin in 2015, they've hired Ben McAdoo, Pat Shurmur, Joe Judge and Daboll to be their head coaches. It's hard to determine which was the worst hire, because all of them were awful in their own ways.
Because the Giants have four Super Bowl trophies and a long history, they and their fans think they're higher up on the NFL hierarchy than they actually are. In reality, it's a franchise that is on its way to double digit losses for the 10th time in its last 12 seasons.
The Giants have turned into a poverty franchise, just one with some glory in its past. They do have some hope with some young talent, particularly rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart. But it's hard to trust the franchise to make a good hire to help groom that talent.
Brian Daboll wasn't the Giants' answerA 20-40-1 record is why Daboll was fired. But hideous moment in Week 6 against the Eagles is why it was clearly the right call.
Dart, a prized rookie who has not learned yet to protect himself when he runs with the ball, was being checked for a concussion. Daboll entered the medical tent, which was the first mistake. Then he was seen on the sideline screaming at a team doctor - part of the staff in charge of protecting Dart and other players - to figure out when Dart could get back on the field. For a league that has had many issues with concussions, it was an awful look. For the Giants, who should be prioritizing Dart and his health, it was the sign that Daboll's self-preservation was way more important than what was best for his rookie quarterback. Daboll was fined $100,000 and the team was fined $200,000 for his shenanigans. It was a terrible moment, and it shouldn't have been too surprising when Daboll didn't exactly protect his rookie after that.
Dart continued to run without much regard for his safety, and the coach on the hot seat kept calling designed runs for him. Dart left Sunday's game against the Bears with a concussion suffered on ... a designed run. Daboll was fired the next day. Finally, the team looked like it was stepping in and making sure its rookie quarterback was not being asked to save his coach's job regardless of his safety. Although all the losses, including many fourth quarter collapses, were probably the bigger reason.
Doing what is best for Dart has to be the attitude the team keeps when it starts the hiring process. It has something in Dart, and other young players like Abdul Carter, Malik Nabers and Cam Skattebo. Their young core could get them out of a hole that they've been digging for more than a decade.
But, can the team whose last four hires are McAdoo, Shurmur, Judge and Daboll really get that right?
The Giants' season is done. They're 2-8. Nabers and Skattebo are out for the season with injuries. The only priority the rest of the season is survival, as a team, but most notably for Dart.
For all of the losing the Giants have done lately, they'll have a chance to land a good candidate. The young core is promising. Dart looks like he could be a star if he continues to develop. The Giants have a history and the real estate to quickly be one of the NFL's marquee team again with a little bit of success. There's plenty to sell.
The Giants have some time before the hiring process truly starts, and ownership should take some time to look at their role in all the losing. They've done a miserable job of hiring in the top spots. A team isn't nearly 60 games under .500 over a 14-season stretch without there being some major failures at the top. The last time they did a good job hiring a head coach was Coughlin, and that was back in 2004.
For the sake of a young core of stars, hopefully the Giants will do better this time. There's an opportunity for a new coach to win pretty quickly. Maybe, with a little extra time to consider what's next, the franchise can finally get something right.