What a difference a year makes.
When we surveyed New York Giants fans last year around this time, the vast majority wanted coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen to return for another season despite the team’s dismal 3-8 record. One year later, it seems most Giants fans have run out of patience and are fed up with the current regime.
We also found through the survey whom Giants fans blame most for this disastrous 2-10 season, which player has frustrated them the most and the one word fans would use to describe the Daniel Jones era in New York.
But before we get to the results of the survey, we just want to say thank you for taking the time out of your holiday preparations and celebrations to help us out. More than 4,000 of you answered the call, and we sincerely appreciate your participation and support.
Now, onto the results!
Nearly 97% of those who answered this question last season wanted Daboll back for another go-around. Safe to say the 2022 NFL Coach of the Year has lost most of the goodwill he created by taking this team to the playoffs in his first season. This time around, only about 28% of responders want Daboll back for another season. It’s a quite a fall from grace, but after parting with multiple assistant coaches this offseason, taking over as play caller only for the offense to get worse and suffering through yet another downright awful season, who can be surprised with these results?
Things have been so bad lately that there was speculation Daboll was coaching for his job on Thanksgiving against the Dallas Cowboys. He emerged from that game still the team’s head coach, but how long he lasts is anyone’s guess. He could still be fired before or at season’s end. Or he could make 28% of voters happy and come back for another season. How the final five games pan out could have massive implications on the future of this coaching staff, even if most of you are ready for a change.
Just as the tide turned against Daboll, so it has against Schoen. GMs don’t typically face as much ire and scrutiny as coaches during the season because coaches are the public face of the team from September to January. But Schoen has taken a share of that spotlight thanks to “Hard Knocks.” It was a fascinating peek behind the curtain that gave fans access to how the Giants’ 2024 offseason unfolded.
That turned out to be bad news for Schoen, as it left the general manager vulnerable to hindsight. One of the most noteworthy moments of the show came in the context of the Saquon Barkley negotiations. “I’m going to have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia,” co-owner John Mara told Schoen in a conversation at the start of free agency.
You know what happened next.
Then there’s the conversation around the high-end talent Schoen has allowed to leave (Xavier McKinney, Julian Love, Leonard Williams) as well as his draft picks. The 2024 rookie class looks strong, but his previous two classes certainly haven’t lived up to their billing.
As is the case with Daboll, we’ll see what happens after the Giants’ final five games.
A big question hanging over the Giants is whether Daboll and Schoen are seen as a pair, or are they viewed as separate entities? The Athletic’s Dianna Russini recently reported that the duo is viewed as a package deal, meaning that if the Giants decide to fire one, they’re likely to fire both. The same goes for retaining them.
If the event they both return, there isn’t much optimism they will be able to right the ship. About 70% of those surveyed had a low level of confidence (a 1 or a 2) that the duo could turn things around, while another 21.4% were in the middle (3). Just 8.4% had confidence (4 or 5) the pair could lead the Giants where they want to go.
While this is an interesting sample, what matters most is how confident Giants ownership is in their ability to do so.
Fans always want to talk about ownership’s role in the last decade of dysfunction in the Meadowlands. That’s an entirely fair conversation to have, but for those who want change — and that’s a lot of you — it’s just not going to happen. While 72.5% of voters had limited confidence in ownership to steer the franchise in the right direction, the reality is that the team is still half owned by its original founding family, and that’s likely not changing anytime soon.
No one expected the Giants to be Super Bowl contenders this year, but about 19% of those surveyed thought the Giants might at least compete for a playoff spot this season. Sadly for those fans, this season has more closely resembled the 2023 campaign rather than the nine-win 2022 season.
However, while most fans expected this to be a tough season, very few (about 11%) thought it would be this rough. The Giants sit at 2-10 and have some very tough matchups to come with the playoff-caliber Falcons (6-6), Ravens (8-5), Colts (6-7) and Eagles (10-2) still on the docket. The 11% who expected a one-to-four-win year might have nailed it. Congrats?
Maybe it was because of the spotlight put on it by “Hard Knocks,” but Schoen’s front office had the most fingers pointed at it with nearly 46% of voters blaming the group for the Giants’ troubles. Whatever the cause, it’s probably fair. This roster isn’t nearly as good as it should be in Year 3 of a rebuild. Outside of a few players, this team has very few difference-makers and very little depth. It also doesn’t have a long-term quarterback.
Speaking of which, the quarterback and coaches split a near-equal 40% stake of the blame for a brutal season. The offensive line received about 5% of the vote, while ownership also got quite a few write-in votes.
Jones’ time as a Giant is over, but that doesn’t mean his tenure as a Giant and his 2024 season in particular will soon be forgotten. Jones returned from a torn ACL this fall but he never returned to peak 2022 form, which resulted in his four-year, $160 million deal.
There were a few high-points for Jones this year, but not nearly enough, as the Giants finally released him after a 2-8 start that included nearly as many interceptions (seven) as it did passing touchdowns (eight). It’s no surprise he received the vast majority (60.4%) of the vote.
Right tackle Evan Neal garnered more responses here after “winning” this category last year. But he finished third this year behind Jones and second-year cornerback Deonte Banks (21.1%), who’s been in the crosshairs this season for his lack of on-field effort.
We asked you all for one word to summarize the Jones era in New York, and we appreciated everyone’s civility when it came to word choices. The dictionary was consulted for the array of words we received, but the list below features the most common submissions. My personal favorite, however, for its sheer originality and usage here was “pyrite,” AKA fool’s gold. Two people submitted it!
• Disappointing
• Failure
• Frustrating
• Wasted
• Pathetic
• Doomed
• Pointless
• Delusional
• Tragic
• Mediocre
• Disastrous
• Depressing
• Tepid
• Farce
• Gettleman
• Ugh
• Circus
• Futile
• Wonky
• Soulless
It’s another season with the same old story in New York: offensive line woes. It hasn’t been as bad as last year, when the unit allowed a record-breaking 85 sacks, but being better than that is a low bar. While the Giants have cleared it, it hasn’t been that great.
This year, the Giants have allowed 40 sacks (tied for seventh-most in the league) and 187 pressures (fourth most), per TruMedia. The Giants have a 39.5 pressure rate allowed, with the league average sitting at 34%. So, despite the offseason investment in the unit during free agency, nearly half of voters are right to believe it remains a big position of need. Of course, the Giants defense has tallied just one interception this season, so the 25% of those surveyed who pointed to the secondary as the biggest position of need can certainly make a compelling case.
Ah the question and conversation that will dominate the next five months. We’ll get an answer to the draft order conundrum in five short weeks. But what comes next leaves plenty to ponder.
More than 54% of voters believe that if the Giants secure the No. 1 pick — they have a 30% chance, according to Austin Mock’s projection model — it should be spent on a quarterback. Which one? Well, 34.5% want Miami’s Cam Ward, while about 20% picked Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders. The 2025 QB class isn’t supposed to be very strong, so securing top draft positioning is paramount if the Giants want one of the top options. For a more detailed breakdown on the state of the quarterback class, check out this conversation with The Athletic’s draft expert, Dane Brugler.
What happens if the Giants don’t fall in love with one of the two presumed top QB options? A little more than 27% of voters thing that could happen and want the Giants to trade back. The presumed thinking here would be to stockpile assets and use them to build out the roster and/or collect 2026 draft capital. The 2026 class is already full of premature “Arch Manning to New York” takes, as fans eagerly hope for the another member of the Manning family member to land with the Giants. Manning was already a write-in for this question!
But if there’s not a trade or a QB, nearly 10% of responders are looking at Colorado CB/WR Travis Hunter, who is the No. 1 prospect on Brugler’s most recent Big Board. There’s also 4% who want to address the Giants offensive line, which as mentioned above, is viewed as the team’s biggest need beyond quarterback.
We’re a long time away from finding out what the Giants will do in the draft. What we will find out sooner is if Schoen and Daboll will be the people in the Giants’ draft war room making the decision.
(Photo of Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll / Adam Hunger)
