Unless there is a dramatic turnaround, the New York Giants will have another losing record at the end of the 2024-25 season. It’s a sad situation for one of the premier franchises in the NFL. Since 2014, the Giants have only two winning seasons, one playoff win, and six head coaches. By many measures, the organization is lost. Increasingly, fans and analysts are choosing scapegoats for the G-men’s failure. After the 28-3 defeat by the Philadelphia Eagles this week, Giants fans want Saquon Barkley back. Daniel Jones continues to struggle, and the team is again dealing with injuries. While the personnel is partly to blame, NY Giants ownership should be on the hot seat for this decade of mediocrity.
Before the kickoff of next season, NY Giants ownership will be on the hot seat. John Mara and company have tough decisions to make, beginning with the fate of their head coach.
Giants Ownership Must Decide the Fate of Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen
As the Giants celebrate their 100th year, Big Blue has wanted to project an image of organizational stability and excellence. It’s known as the “Giants Way.” It’s one of the reasons why John Mara may hesitate to fire another General Manager and Head Coach. Since their last Superbowl win under Tom Coughlin in the 2011 season, the Giants have fired two GMs, Jerry Reese and Dave Gettleman. Plus, Mara has decided to fire four head coaches: Ben McAdoo, Steve Spagnola, Pat Shurmur, and Joe Judge.
The team’s play this season so far may force John Mara to make wholesale changes again. All that turnover creates the perception that the Giants are a dysfunctional organization. And that’s not good for business.
In many ways, the Giants’ sense of tradition works against them. They are less likely to interview candidates without some sort of Giants connection. Their last two head coaches have connections to Bill Belichick, who became a Giants legend under Bill Parcells.
If you look at what coaches are currently succeeding in the NFL, the McVay and Shanahan coaching trees are performing much better than the Belichick tree. But the Giants have shown an unwillingness to bring in candidates detached from Big Blue history. To re-establish a winning culture, NY Giants ownership way must adapt its methods and bring in fresh coaching blood.
The Next Giants’ Signal Caller Is…
When the Giants signed Daniel Jones to a new contract in 2023, they were heavily criticized. But to their credit, only 50% of the Jones contract was fully guaranteed in the first two years. Meaning that the Giants can cut Jones in the off-season and not be on the hook for the remaining $79 million of the contract. As much as Jones has been a good soldier, it’s time to move on.
Jones has struggled again this season. He’s completed less than 63 percent of his passes with only six touchdowns. While he’s developed a good rapport with Malik Nabers, he’s been wildly inaccurate. Subsequently, the Giants receivers are near the top of the league in drops. Many of those passes have been off the mark by Jones. Plus, he has shown an inability to complete deep passes this season. Jones’ accuracy has been one of the main reasons the Giants offense appears out of sync week after week.
Giants’ ownership will be tasked with finding their next franchise quarterback again. Big Blue already tried to select one of the top quarterbacks in the 2024 NFL draft and failed. The Giants, Tennessee Titans, Carolina Panthers, New England Patriots, and Las Vegas Raiders could all be competing for the rights to draft Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward.
Or depending on who is the Giants’ next head coach, they could prefer a veteran signal-caller like Matthew Stafford.
Belichick is not the Answer
As mentioned, John Mara may be tempted to dig into the Giants’ history to bring back Bill Belichick. But Belichick’s return would be a bad idea. In the off-season, Belichick was considered for head coach vacancies but ultimately not hired. Why? Belichick wants complete control over personnel in addition to head coaching duties.
That’s the sticking point. Belichick the coach has been successful. Even if you deduct points for Spygate and Deflategate. But what can’t be argued is Belichick’s best days as a talent evaluator are way behind him. His last great draft picks were during the Patriots’ run in the 2010s.
The Giants’ solution is not to give total control of the organization to Bill Belichick. They must get creative. NY Giants ownership must take a hard look at the organization’s strengths and choose new leaders that will guide the team to sustained success again.
Main Image: Vincent Carchietta – USA Today Sports
