Preseason Ranking Puts Giants Brian Daboll in Bottom Third of NFL Coaches

It’s been a tale of two seasons for the New York Giants under head coach Brian Daboll’s tenure. The 49-year-old Daboll enjoyed an inaugural season by finishing 9-7-1 and leading his team to its first postseason berth since 2016.

In the following year, he hit the dreaded sophomore jinx when injuries ravaged the roster at key spots such as quarterback, offensive line, and skill players like running back Saquon Barkley and tight end Darren Waller.

With a big Year 3 coming up, ranked Daboll 21st out of the 32 NFL head coaches. The ranking placed Daboll and his 15-18-1 career record in the Class B: Accomplished, with questions” category.

Wrote Benjamin of his ranking for Daboll: “A tough nut to crack after two wildly different seasons to open his Big Blue tenure, Daboll was a rightful Coach of the Year in 2022, rejuvenating Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley en route to a surprise playoff run, only to slip as both a situational play-caller and sideline maestro in 2023. Once again, the onus will be on him maximizing Jones and a still-rebuilding offense in the tough NFC East.”

Given how the Giants failed to build on their 2022 season, Benjamin’s ranking is understandable. Some will argue that the Giants were trying to swim upstream from the start.

However, it’s also fair to question whether the team was truly ready for the 2023 season after what appeared to be a milder version of the spring and summer in which Daboll refrained from working his team in 11-on-11 during the spring and seemed more focused about getting his key guys through the summer.

With a big third year on deck, Daboll shook up his assistant coaching staff, replacing outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins, special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey, and offensive line coach Bobby Johnson, all of whom were charged with overseeing three units that vastly underperformed in 2023.

Daboll is also believed to be leaning toward taking on the play-calling role, having done so during the spring. This move would make sense for several reasons, most notably because it was Daboll’s wizardry with running offenses that contributed to his getting hired for the Giants’ top job in the first place.

Some believe that if the Giants have another down year this season, Daboll could be jettisoned for former New England head coach Bill Belichick, who served as the Giants’ defensive coordinator during the team’s first two Super Bowl championships.

But Daboll, who didn’t get enough credit for holding the team together last season despite the walls crumbling around the team, would probably have to have a major meltdown for co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch to initiate a change.