The New York Giants (2-8 straight up, 5-5 against the spread) fired head coach Brian Daboll early Monday afternoon.
The move came less than 24 hours after the Giants became only the second team since the NFL merger (joining the 2004 Seattle Seahawks) to lose two games in a season after leading by double digits with less than four minutes remaining.
Mike Kafka, the team’s offensive coordinator, has been named the new interim head coach.
The G-Men had a 20-10 lead until Chicago quarterback Caleb Williams found Rome Odunze for a two-yard touchdown pass with 3:56 left to pull the Bears to within three. With three timeouts remaining, Chicago kicked it deep for a touchback.
New York took over at its own 35 and QB Russell Wilson was sacked for a two-yard loss on first down. After a five-yard run by RB Devin Singletary set up a third-and-seven situation, Chicago safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson sacked Wilson for an 11-yard loss.
Chicago was given outstanding field position at its own 47 when New York’s Jamie Gillan had an abysmal 26-yard punt. After D’Andre Swift ran for seven yards, Williams hit rookie WR Luther Burden for a 27-yard gain into the red zone.
Two plays later, Williams scored the go-ahead TD on a 17-yard run with 1:47 left. The Bears got a fourth-down stop on New York’s next drive to capture a 24-20 come-from-behind win.
The loss sealed the 50-year-old Daboll’s fate. Daboll’s tenure ends in his fourth season on the job with a 20-40-1 overall record in the regular season. He went 1-1 in a pair of postseason contests.
Daboll’s run in New York got off to a blazing start. He was named the 2022 NFL Coach of the Year by the Associated Press after leading the Giants to a 9-7-1 regular-season record and a 31-24 win at Minnesota in the playoffs.
However, the Giants limped to a 6-11 record in 2023. In 2024, they were an atrocious 3-14 and released QB Daniel Jones in mid-November.
The only bright spot coming out of the 2024 campaign was the emergence of rookie WR Malik Nabers, who had 109 receptions for 1,204 yards and seven TDs.
In the offseason, New York gave Wilson a one-year contract worth $20 million. The Giants also traded back into the first round and picked QB Jaxson Dart with the #23 overall selection. They also took DE Abdul Carter with the #3 pick in the first round and got a steal with RB Cam Skattebo in Round 4.
In Week 2, Dallas got a 64-yard field goal from kicker Brandon Aubrey on the final play of regulation to force overtime. The Cowboys beat the Giants 40-37 thanks to Aubrey’s 46-yarder on the final play of OT.
After a 22-9 home loss to Kansas City in Week 3, the winless Giants named Dart as their new starting QB. The Ole Miss product promptly led the G-Men to a 21-18 win over the Chargers as six-point home underdogs. Dart ran for 54 yards and one TD and threw for 111 yards and one TD without an interception.
Skattebo ran for 79 yards on 25 carries, but Nabers went down with a season-ending injury.
After falling 1-4 with a 26-14 loss at New Orleans, Daboll’s bunch bounced back on Thursday Night Football by thumping Philadelphia 34-17 as a 7.5-point home underdog. Skattebo ran for 98 yards and three TDs on 19 attempts, while Dart had 58 rushing yards and one TD on 13 carries. Dart completed 17-of-25 passes for 195 yards and one TD without a pick.
Next, the Giants went into Denver as 8.5-point road underdogs and took a 19-0 lead into the fourth quarter. They extended the lead to 26-8 on Dart’s 41-yard TD pass to Theo Johnson with 10:14 remaining.
But the Broncos ripped off 22 unanswered points to go ahead 30-26 with 1:51 left on Bo Nix’s 18-yard TD run. The Giants responded, though, and went back in front 32-30 on Dart’s one-yard TD run with 37 ticks remaining.
The extra point failed, giving the Broncos a chance to win with a field goal, and that’s exactly what they got from Will Lutz from 39 yards out as time expired.
In Week 8, Skattebo dislocated his ankle in a 38-20 loss at Philadelphia. The loss at Chicago extended New York’s losing streak to four games.
Dart left Sunday’s game at Soldier Field with a concussion, leaving his status for this week’s home game vs. Green Bay in question. If Dart can’t go, Kafka will have to decide between Wilson and veteran QB Jameis Winston as the team’s starter.
As of Monday afternoon, most books had the Packers installed as 8.5-point road favorites with a total of 44.5. The Giants were +350 on the money line.