The New York Giants decided on Monday to part ways with head coach Brian Daboll after a 20-40-1 record in his coaching tenure.
Despite the team’s longtime struggles since making the playoffs in their first year at the helm, Joe Schoen, hired with Daboll, is staying on as general manager.
In a statement today put out by the team, the Giants revealed that offensive coordinator Mike Kafka will serve as the head coach in the interim.
Schoen’s job appears safe for the time being, with Giants ownership even allowing the fourth-year general manager to lead the next head coaching search, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
With Daboll’s departure, it will mark the third time in Big Blue’s history that the team decided to fire the head coach and keep the general manager, dating back to 2015.
The previous two attempts came with colossal failures.
History Repeats Itself
In 2015, the New York Giants parted ways with two-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Tom Coughlin, but kept Jerry Reese on as general manager.
He chose Ben McAdoo as the franchise’s next head coach.
McAdoo had success in his first season at the helm, going 11-5 and cracking the postseason.
Then the infamous boat photo happened.
New York was bounced the following week by Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers, and things spiraled for McAdoo’s Giants.
2017 saw Coughlin’s former offensive coordinator start the season 2-10 before getting fired in early December. It cost Reese his job as well.
The franchise’s next steward was Dave Gettleman, the man who had built the Carolina Panthers into contenders with Cam Newton at quarterback.
Gettleman chose Pat Shurmur as his head coach, and he was unable to build a winning program in New York.
Shurmur went 9-23 over two seasons with the Giants.
Once again, Giants ownership allowed a general manager to pick his second head coach, culminating in New York hiring Joe Judge in 2020.
Judge failed to stick around in New York as well, boasting a 10-23 record in two seasons, leading to his firing and the not-so-subtle retirement of Gettleman in 2022.
Enter Schoen and Daboll, plucked from the Buffalo Bills, hoped to be the figures to turn the organization around.
Here we are, three and a half years later.
Should Schoen Get the Benefit of the Doubt?
While Daboll has lost his job, Schoen remains in the general manager’s chair, primed to pick his next head coach.
But doesn’t this feel a bit like déjà vu to New York Giants fans?
According to SNY’s Connor Hughes, ownership still believes in Schoen, allowing him to lead the search for the franchise’s next head honcho.
But does he deserve a second chance?
His history as the Giants’ general manager isn’t a pretty one, highlighted by the team’s decision to extend Daniel Jones and franchise tag Saquon Barkley following their lone playoff appearance and victory in 2022.
Schoen allowed Barkley to walk in free agency, instead of trading him when he had the chance to recoup some value.
He hasn’t fared all that much better in the draft.
While the 2024 and 2025 classes feature some mainstays on the Giants’ roster, those 2022 and 2023 classes stick out like a sore thumb.
New York selected 18 players between the ’22 and ’23 drafts, eight of whom are no longer on an NFL roster in 2025.
That’s not even including a player like Evan Neal, who was the Giants’ seventh overall pick in 2022, and has yet to play a snap this season on a middling offensive line.
The decision has reportedly already been made to hang onto Schoen and allow him to continue to make football decisions for the Giants.
But the Maras and Tisches should look back at the recent history of their team and wonder:
If it hasn’t worked the last two times, why is it going to work now?
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This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
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