MUNICH — New York Giants co-owner John Mara gave coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen a vote of confidence on Oct. 24. That was three losses ago during a season that hit rock bottom with a 20-17 overtime loss to the lowly Panthers on Sunday in front of an international audience.
That public vow from Mara that, “We are not making any changes this season,” may be the only thing preventing the seats of Daboll and Schoen from reaching a five-alarm blaze. There’s very recent precedence for a loss to the Panthers serving as the final straw for a coach — the Saints fired Dennis Allen last week a day after a 23-22 loss to Carolina.
Like Daboll, Allen was hired in 2022. Allen had an 18-25 record in two-plus seasons in New Orleans. Daboll’s record dropped to 17-26-1 with Sunday’s ugly loss.
Mara left himself some wiggle room with his support of the regime that got off to such a promising start in its first season.
“I do not anticipate making any changes in the offseason either,” Mara said.
Mara likely also did not anticipate losing the Giants’ first game in Germany to the dysfunctional Panthers, who are on their third full-time head coach in the past three seasons.
Mara and co-owner Steve Tisch had a lengthy flight across the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday to contemplate the future of the franchise. The question they must wrestle is why they should entrust Daboll and Schoen to steer out of the hole they’ve driven the organization into.
Mara loathes that he’s been stuck in a cycle of replacing coaches and general managers regularly. But the case for retaining Daboll and Schoen must be stronger than just not wanting to fire another regime abruptly.
It’s difficult to identify what this regime does well. Since catching lightning in a bottle with a 7-2 start to their first season, the Giants have gone 10-24-1. That’s the tied for the third-most losses in the league over that stretch.
Daboll was hired for his offensive prowess, and he took play-calling duties from offensive coordinator Mike Kafka after the Giants averaged 15.6 points per game to finish 30th in scoring in last season. The Giants are again averaging 15.6 points this season, inching ahead of the Dolphins, who play Monday night, to move out of last in the league.
And unlike last season, there’s no excuse about quarterback injuries. Daniel Jones, the quarterback this regime gave a four-year, $160 million extension after the 2022 season, has been at the helm for every gruesome loss this season.
Sunday’s offensive output was particularly pathetic. The Panthers entered allowing 32.6 points per game. That was the worst in the league by a large margin — the difference between Carolina’s scoring average and the 31st defense was the same as the difference between No. 31 and the eighteenth scoring defense.
The Giants were shut out in a first half that featured a missed 43-yard field goal by Graham Gano and an interception in the red zone when a rolling Jones threw a pass that deflected off the helmet of outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney and into the arms of safety Xavier Woods.
Clowney 🤝 Woods
📺: NFL Network pic.twitter.com/kxQnQo0uh8— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) November 10, 2024
The Panthers’ futility allowed the Giants to hang around long enough to mount a drive for a tying field goal in the final seconds of regulation. But then rookie running back Tyrone Tracy Jr., who had been sensational, was stripped on the first play of overtime. The Panthers recovered on the Giants’ 23-yard line and kicked the game-winning field goal four plays later.
“I believe we have the right people,” Daboll said. “Again, results aren’t there yet.”
Sunday’s performance should seal Jones’ fate as the starter. And benching him wouldn’t even be about the $23 million injury guarantee in his contract. The Giants are 3-13 in games started by Jones over the past two seasons. Backups Tyrod Taylor and Tommy DeVito combined to go 5-6 last season.
No. 2 quarterback Drew Lock may not be any better than Jones. But it’s at least worth confirming that since Jones has no future with the franchise.
Jones’ shortcomings were on full display on a flea flicker Daboll called on third-and-1 from the Giants’ 49-yard line midway through the second quarter. At first glance, it may have seemed like a curious play call. But with the Giants’ struggles to create explosive plays, Daboll rolled the dice at an unpredictable time.
An experienced quarterback should know that he must throw the ball away if the defense isn’t fooled by the trick play. That way the Giants could still go for it on fourth-and-1.
Only, the Panthers were fooled. Wide receivers Malik Nabers and Wan’Dale Robinson were wide open running across the field. They were the only two receivers running routes, so this wasn’t a situation where Jones failed to get off his first read and go through his progressions. Robinson had to be the first read, and yet Jones didn’t pull the trigger as the receiver ran alone 20 yards downfield. Instead, Jones took a sack and the Giants were forced to punt.
The @Panthers defense breaks up the trick play 😤
📺: #NYGvsCAR on NFL Network
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/h2H2ZSBD4W— NFL (@NFL) November 10, 2024
Daboll was careful not to throw Jones under the bus for the miscue two weeks after pointing out the quarterback’s failed pre-snap shift resulted in a crucial strip sack in a loss to the Steelers.
“I wish I had it back,” Daboll said. “Bad coaching.”
It’s convenient to pin all of the Giants’ woes on Jones. But he’s not responsible for a run defense that once again got shredded, allowing a career-high 153 yards on 28 carries to Carolina’s Chuba Hubbard. The Giants are allowing 5.3 yards per carry, which is the most in the league.
Chuba on the move
📺: NFL Network pic.twitter.com/Bp86Q2ffbd— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) November 10, 2024
Jones’ time with the Giants is nearing the end. The question is if the coach and GM who committed to him two years ago deserves the chance to draft a replacement. The Giants could be in position to finally take a quarterback after Sunday’s loss has them positioned near the top of the draft.
But Daboll has to navigate seven more weeks of what figure to be choppier waters to even get to that point. The Giants have lost five straight games and are 2-8 for the second consecutive season. He preaches the same message about focusing on improvement and staying the course after each loss.
It’s hard to make a case that message is being received.
“I think it is. Just has to be comprehended a little better,” defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence said. “I think it’s getting through. It’s just critical moments, and we’ve got to understand what those critical moments are to be able to win and come out on top.”
Lawrence acknowledged that it’s troubling if the coach’s message needs to be comprehended better at this stage of the season.
“It’s annoying, for sure,” Lawrence said. “But I’m not in other people’s heads or brains. Maybe it’s got to be communicated differently or got to hear it from somebody else.”
It’s vitally important for Daboll to avoid losing the locker room. That’s the quickest way to sealing his fate even if ownership is willing to tolerate the continued losing.
There have been cracks in that foundation, namely the ongoing struggle to get second-year cornerback Deonte Banks to play like a first-round pick. Banks, who was benched in-game two weeks ago, was replaced by veteran corner Adoree’ Jackson on the Panthers’ final possession of the first half before returning to play the entire second half.
It raised eyebrows in the locker room when the Giants waived versatile cornerback and core special teamer Nick McCloud last week because he refused to take a rare in-season pay cut. McCloud was highly regarded by teammates and is particularly close with top pass rusher Brian Burns. Cutting McCloud to save $1 million was a strange message to send by leadership that needs players to be all-in down the stretch of this lost season.
Blaming nebulous culprits like attention to detail is easier to stomach than accepting that a lack of talent remains a major issue in the third year of Schoen’s rebuild.
Here’s the Giants’ reality: Nothing about their program is signaling things are headed in the right direction. They are regressing in the third year of this regime.
Mara promised Daboll and Schoen will finish the season. So after the bye, they’ll get seven weeks to show why they deserve to lead the franchise into the future. Their case needs to be more compelling than the Giants fired the last guys quick, too.
(Photo: Luke Hales / Getty Images)
