It’s no secret that the 2025 NFL season is something of a ‘make or break’ year for New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll. Once a rising star as the offensive coordinator for Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills, the Giants hired Daboll as head coach and saw some success right away. He guided New York to a 9-7 record, a return to the playoffs, and got quarterback Daniel Jones to look the best he ever has.
Since then, it’s been all downhill for Daboll and the Giants, winning just nine total games across two seasons while Daniel Jones is now the likely backup quarterback in Indianapolis. As the NFL is a ‘what have you done for me lately’ league, it should come as no surprise that Daboll and his coaching staff fared poorly in a recent ranking of NFL coaching staffs.
Ben Solak, an analyst for ESPN, ranked each team’s coaching staff heading into the 2025 NFL season and placed the New York Giants in dead last, a drop of 8 spots from last year. Regarding Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, Solak writes, “It’s not much to hang a hat on, but if and when we see Jaxson Dart this season at quarterback, I expect the team to have some smart, easy ways to get him into a rhythm and involved in the running game. I can at least see the visions in New York, even if the plane often struggles to get off the ground.”
Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen earned a slightly rosier assessment, at least. “I have a warmer appreciation for Bowen, who is always willing to get creative with alignment and coverages to solve personnel problems on the back end. The 2024 Giants’ defense was definitely poor, but they have overhauled the secondary and added to the pass rush this offseason, so I’m happy reserving a stronger judgment for Year 2.”
As aforementioned, it should surprise no one that the Giants’ coaching staff is ranked among the league’s worst. What is rather surprising was seeing them rank at dead last, behind even some first-time head coaches with inexperienced staffs, like the Jacksonville Jaguars. To be fair, the Jaguars only ranked one spot higher than New York, but even that feels like a major disservice to Daboll’s potential. At least Daboll has a playoff appearance to his name.
Hopefully, the arm of Russell Wilson, who is the unquestioned starting QB in 2025, will guide New York to a strong 2025 season and we’ll see a more positive evaluation in next year’s rankings.
