NFL analyst critical of Brian Daboll dismissal: “This is a mistake by the New York Giants”

The New York Giants’ decision to fire head coach Brian Daboll may have felt like a long time coming, but one NFL analyst believes the franchise made a huge error of judgment, all because of rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart.

Daboll lost his job on Monday, just 24 hours after the Giants threw away a significant fourth-quarter lead for the fourth time this season in a defeat to the Chicago Bears. In fact, New York became only the second team since the NFL merger to lose after holding a double-digit lead with less than four minutes remaining.

New York hampered by Dart and Skattebo injuries

Their collapse came after Dart suffered a concussion in the third quarter, joining fellow first-year player Cam Skattebo on the injury list. ESPN pundit Dan Orlovsky believes the absence of those two players had a major impact on the result, and that the team’s ability to build up a big lead should be seen as a positive.

“It was clear that the quarterback and head coach had something going together,” said the former Detroit Lions quarterback. “The fourth-quarter leads are obviously something you’re killing yourself over. But this team lost their best player, then they lost probably their second or third best, certainly in terms of offensive weapon in Skattebo.”

Giants defense shares the blame

For Orlovsky, the Giants’ defense must also take responsibility for crumbling late in several games.

“The fact they had built these leads should warrant something,” Orlovsky continued. “The reality is that this defense, that’s got a gajillion dollars of early draft picks, had 10-point fourth-quarter leads four different times this year, and they couldn’t find ways to secure the lead either.

“So as much as we want to say Daboll didn’t get it done, a lot of the high-prize defensive talent didn’t get it done as well. I think Brian Daboll and Jaxson Dart should have stayed together for at least another year.”

Brian Daboll’s grim Giants record

The Giants were 2-8 after 10 games for the third straight season under Daboll, whose overall record with the franchise made for grim reading. Hired in January 2022, the 50-year-old finished with a 20-40-1 record, which got progressively worse: 11-33 since the start of 2023 and 5-22 since the beginning of 2024.

Kafka steps in as interim head coach

Daboll’s immediate replacement will be Mike Kafka, who has been serving as the Giants’ assistant head coach and offensive coordinator. Kafka will now become interim head coach. Despite several names being linked to the Giants, multiple reports suggest Kafka will fill that role for the final seven games of the regular season, with no permanent appointment currently planned.

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