Henry Mildener asks: Do you think it may be a good idea to let Daboll go at season’s end and hire Kafka. This would retain some continuity for Dart. And let Kafta hire his own staff.
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Steve G. asks: There has been a lot of talk about firing Brian Daboll. Yet, the selection of Jaxson Dart and his development have been remarkable, particularly given the slew of injuries around him. Regarding the huge upgrade in QB performance, how would you apportion the credit that goes to Daboll vs. Kafka vs. Shea Tierney?
If Daboll were to be fired, I get the sense that Kafka would not be an upgrade or adequate reset. Kafka may be more in demand because of Dart’s development. Frankly, given the NFL minority hiring incentives, I would much prefer the compensatory third round picks over two years if some other team hires Kafka as head coach. Perhaps Tierney would be elevated to OC. Your thoughts?
Ed says: Guys, I think Mike Kafka should be on the list of candidates who get an interview. Continuity for Jaxson Dart being one of the big reasons. Do I think Kafka can be a good NFL head coach? I have no idea. I have questions about his ability to lead a team and franchise, and assemble a quality staff.
As for credit when it comes to Dart, they all have a piece of it. How much credit each one gets is impossible to say. Honestly, Dart gets some of the credit himself. These coaches are also not the only people on the planet who could coach him.
Scott Keller asks: With the secondary being banged up and playing poorly, could the Giants bring back Tre Hawkins? I remember him showing some promise. Might be better than Korie Black at this point.
Ed says: Scott, if the Giants believed Tre Hawkins was better than Korie Black they wouldn’t have drafted Black and cut Hawkins in the first place. It tells you something about what the league thinks of Hawkins that no one has picked him up, not even to add to a practice squad, since the Giants cut him.
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Ron Corcillo asks: I hate to ask this question, but I feel that it needs to be asked. We are heading into a critical off-season for Giants ownership. They will likely be hiring a new head coach and possibly a new GM as well. Normally, John Mara would take charge of this search, but clearly his highest priority needs to be his health. So my question is: is there a succession plan for John Mara? Given that Steve Tisch isn’t really considered a “football guy,” is there another member of the Mara family who would step up and take charge? I imagine they might trust Joe Schoen to lead a head coach search if he’s retained, but if both positions need to be filled, is it possible the Giants might hire an outside consultant to lead the search (Tom Coughlin, for instance)?
Ed says: Ron, my understanding is that NFL teams have to have a succession plan on file with the league office each year in the event something unforeseen happens. So, yes, there is a plan. Do we know “exactly” what that is? No.
An educated guess would be that Tim McDonnell, Mara’s nephew and grandson of the late Wellington Mara, would take over football decision-making on the Mara side of the family. The logistics of how that would work are unknown, since McDonnell has been part of the front office for the last 12 years. He currently serves as director of player personnel?
Would McDonnell leave the front office? It would be weird for him if he didn’t, unless he actually took over as general manager. I don’t know.
John Mara’s health does complicate any search for a new coach, or a new GM if that is needed. The Giants did use a consulting firm to vet candidates when they hired Joe Judge. They did lean on Ernie Accorsi when they hired Dave Gettleman as GM.
I doubt they would turn to Coughlin to lead a search, though they might ask his opinion. Knowing Coughlin, he is probably up to speed on the coaches and coaching staffs around the league, but I can’t be sure of that.
In the end, I think any final decision will always rest with Mara and Steve Tisch.
Michael Spina asks: You are at the Giants pressers regularly and I’m sure you have to ask some tough questions…some of which may be uncomfortable for you. With the Giants struggling so profoundly on a national stage, I’m assuming this has to be a tough spot for the coaches when it comes time for Q&A, but the questions have to be asked. What is it like for you, knowing that you need to keep it professional and non-confrontational, yet also knowing that what you will ultimately write later will be, unfortunately, negative about those coaches?
Is there an elephant in the room and/or tension of any kind when you’re in this situation? Do you find you have to ramp up to certain questions? With Daboll and Bowen, is there ever a sense that it could become combative? (I’m thinking of Joe Judge’s defensive rant about golf clubs.)
Can you please take us behind the curtain a bit and tell us what it feels like for you and your colleagues in this situation?
Ed says: Michael, this is an interesting question. The job of the head coach and GM is to protect the organization at all costs, and to guard information as much as they can. The job of the media is to try to pry loose as much of that information as we can so that we can pass it along to you or use it to inform the opinions/analysis we give to you.
Those goals make the relationship adversarial. That doesn’t mean that it has to be combative or ugly, and it isn’t if everyone does their job professionally and tries to remember that the other side is just trying to do their job the best way they know how. A coach and GM aren’t always going to like the questions they are asked, but we have to ask them. Media members aren’t always going to like or agree with the answers we get, but at some point you have to understand the answer is not going to change so pressing an issue becomes counter-productive to the working relationship you need to keep. And, no, it isn’t always comfortable asking a question you know a person won’t like and probably won’t answer. Still, that is part of the job.
It’s a funny week for this question to come up. I am not usually the one in these media scrums who really presses Daboll or Schoen, though I will if I have to. I am also not usually as directly critical as some others can be.
I was the one this week, though, who directly asked Daboll why he continued to think Shane Bowen was the right defensive coordinator for the Giants and why he still believed Bowen could get things right. I didn’t enjoy doing it, and Daboll didn’t give me a straight answer, but it had to be asked.
I am also fully aware that my accountability post earlier this week probably didn’t go over well at 1925 Giants Drive. And, yes, I know that Giants staffers look through everything that is written or said out there and know who is being naughty and who is being nice. I felt it had to be written, though, because it is what I see and what I believe.
Whether I am doling out praise or criticism, whether it is an opinion or narrative you share or disagree with, I don’t care. I can’t care. I just try to do what I do as respectfully and professionally as possible. And I stand behind any opinion I put out there as what I truly think or believe.
Jesse Brooks asks: Seeing the Giants play the 49ers this past week got me thinking about Daboll’s replacement if he’s replaced. Every one is saying we need an offensive head coach for our new found quarterback but I think the personality of the next head coach matching up with Darts personality is more important than offense or defense. A good defensive head coach and a great X’s and O’s offensive coordinator shouldn’t be over looked!
I think Saleh’s personality/fire would match perfectly with Darts and a OC like Mike McDaniels would make a great combo for the NY Giants new regime. Saleh has head coach experience, gives us the team aggression and well run defense we are looking for and Mike McDaniels would give us the offensive ingenuity we have been longing for! By the way, Saleh and Mike are good friends and have worked together before.
What are your thoughts?
Ed says: Jesse, Saleh was New York Jets coach for 3+ seasons. He finished 20-36 (.357) and never had a winning season.
I don’t cover the Jets, so I don’t really understand what happened there. I checked around and have been told that Saleh is a great guy and an outstanding defensive coordinator who was in over his head trying to be the CEO of an entire football team.
I’ve heard questions about his game management, about his stoic, unemotional sideline demeanor with the Jets. A demeanor that stands apart from how he is as 49ers defensive coordinator. Saleh was part of the Jets regime that basically turned over control of the team to Aaron Rodgers.
All of that said, no one should be shocked if Saleh gets an interview. That would fulfill the Rooney Rule. He has New York experience. There is something intriguing about pairing him with Mike McDaniel — he never had a good offensive coordinator with the Jets.
If you get an interview, anything can happen. Just ask Joe Judge.
Scott Silodor asks: With the season spiraling out of control, it seems a foregone conclusion that Daboll will be gone, sooner or later. Baggage aside, if I had my druthers I would want to see Jon Gruden hired as the next head coach. He has won Super Bowls with two different teams. He has publicly gushed about the Giants and their storied history. He had great chemistry with Jaxson Dart during his QB Class episode, and continues to sing Dart’s praises. I think he would jump at the chance to coach again, and would welcome the Giants job. The man knows how to direct a winning team.
The question is, has he served his time, or is he still on the “no fly” list? And second, should they based in the nature of his past infractions?
Ed says: Scott, I couldn’t tell you if Jon Gruden is on the “no fly” list for every team. I would be shocked if he isn’t on the “no fly” list for a team owned by John Mara. I just don’t see the Giants intentionally bringing the “baggage” Gruden carries, and the scrutiny that would come with it, to their organization.
I understand that you are far from the only who thinks Gruden could be the white knight who saves the Giants. To be perfectly honest, I don’t get it.
Jon Gruden coached a team to a Super Bowl title 23 years ago. Let me repeat that — 23 years ago. He has coached 11 seasons since that time and has won ZERO playoff games. His record over those 11 seasons is 67-82, a .421 winning percentage. When Gruden came back to coaching after a decade away, he coached the Raiders for four years. The best he ever did was 8-8.
I guess I don’t see this fantastic coach who is some type of quarterback whisperer that other people see. I see a TV personality who was good at coaching a long time ago, who is now making a living off something he did more than two decades ago, and who carries way too much baggage to take a risk on.
Jacob Willett asks: My feeling is that Daboll is a goner. The results speak for themselves and I, like most, do not feel like he would be able to fill out his staff with competent DC and assistant coaches. If the Giants decide to keep Schoen I also do not think that he will make the coaching search easier. Some candidates might feel like he’s a potential lame duck GM and that’s on top of the negative reviews he received on Hard Knocks.
What are your thoughts on the Giants firing both and promoting Brandon Brown to GM? He comes from a different scouting tree so he might get saved from the potential Schoen purge. Maybe that’s ownerships compromise without completely clearing house. It was also, in theory, enables them to focus on the top coaching candidate vs having to wait to hire a GM first.
Ed says: Jacob, Brandon Brown has interviewed for several GM jobs the past couple of offseasons. It seems like he almost got the Los Angeles Chargers job when Jim Harbaugh was hired as head coach. If the Giants move on from Joe Schoen, it would seem natural — and seamless in terms of how the front office would operate — to turn to Brown.
I have reservations, though, mostly because of what we can’t know. Brown was hired in February of 2022. That means he had input into the terrible 2022 draft class, and every subsequent personnel decision that has been made since.
What decisions has Brown agreed with? What has he not agreed with? How would things have been different over the past few years if Brown had been making the decisions?
That is something only the people in the building know. It has to be a factor in whether or not the Giants would consider him as a successor if they decide they need a new GM.
Robert Goodman asks: What did you think of what the Jets did? Do you think the Giants should have done something similar and traded Dex or Andrew or KT? Is the difference that the Giants may have their QB while the Jets don’t?
Ed says: Robert, I thought what the Jets did was awesome. It was the right thing to do for the situation they are in. They are 1-7 with a first-year head coach, first-year GM and no real quarterback. They now have five first-round picks over the next two seasons. The time was perfect to do what they did.
I do believe the Giants are in a different situation. The time do undergo that kind of tear down would have been the 2022 trade deadline. The Giants, though, were in the middle of a surprising playoff run so that was not going to happen.
The Giants are in a different spot. They have their quarterback of the future and don’t need to collect assets to put themselves in position to get one. They need to surround Dart with the best talent possible. It would be nice to get a couple more early draft picks to help do that, but they need to stop hemorrhaging talent. Dexter Lawrence, down year or not, is one of the best defensive linemen in football. He should have a lot of good years left. Trade Andrew Thomas? Great left tackles don’t grow on trees. Kayvon Thibodeaux? Do you really want to watch him go make Pro Bowls for another team?
The Giants need to build on what they have, not tear it down.
Can Tisch, Koch overrule John Mara?
Simon Hines asks: You’ve written before about the Giants ownership model leading to inaction. When there’s no consensus, it can lead to sticking with the status quo. With the recent ownership change, how involved will the new owners be in the decision making? Can Tisch and the new owners over-rule Mara and force coaching changes? Will it change the dynamic of the decision making process?
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Steve Conant asks: Ed, now that the Giants have sold 10% of the team to Julia Koch, could Steve Tisch team up with her to gain 55% operational control of the franchise from John Mara? Not that I’m hoping for that to happen or that they would do that, but I’m just wondering.
Ed says: Guys, no the Tisch and Koch families cannot team up to overrule Mara. Julia Koch and her family purchased a 10% share in the team that carries with it no decision-making authority. The Koch family is a financial partner, but does not have a seat at the table when it comes to football or other franchise decisions. The Koch family owns what is called a “non-controlling interest” in the team. All decisions are still made by John Mara and Tisch.
Bill Schollenberger asks: As a long time Giants fan here in Albany, I was looking for something that would give me a little hope that they were trying to improve the team. Clearly there are needs at wide receiver and defense. They did nothing. I get that there are salary cap constraints, and that they didn’t want to give up a high draft pick.
- The Cowboys got linebacker Logan Wilson for a seventh-round pick. Why couldn’t the Giants pick him up with a (higher) seventh-round pick to shore up their depleted linebacker corps?
- Isaiah Hodgins did a good job a couple of years ago. He got open and caught the ball. Now he sits on somebody else’s practice squad. Why can’t the Giants grab him? They’ve got several receivers they don’t even throw the ball to.
It looks like another lost year. Why should I bother to even watch the games?
Ed says: Bill, was a middle-of-the-road inside linebacker going to make much difference all by himself for a 2-7 team? No, he wasn’t.
As for Isaiah Hodgins, I have never been able to find out why he fell out of favor in New York. Yes, there have been a couple of occasions where I thought the Giants might bring him back. Remember, though, players on practice squads can’t be “claimed” and forced to go to a new team. Maybe Hodgins, after being pushed to the background by New York, has let it be known he doesn’t want to come back to the Giants. I don’t know.
What I do know is that Hodgins has not been activated for a single game by either of the teams who have had him on their practice squads, the San Francisco 49ers and Pittsburgh Steelers, since leaving the Giants. No one seems to think that highly of him.
As for why you should continue to watch, how about to see the development of the exciting young franchise quarterback the Giants have? Or, to see if the Giants can engineer a second-half turnaround and win some of those close games they lost earlier in the year?
Doug Mollin asks: The LA Angels in MLB hired a new manager on a one year deal so he aligns with the one year left for the GM. Not sure I’ve seen that before, but got me thinking — would you be in favor of extending Schoen 2 years (giving him 3 in total) and hiring a new HC on a three-year deal.
Both on the same timeline and no one is a lame duck in 2026.
Ed says: Doug, the theory sounds great. I am always in favor of the general manager and head coach being on the same timeline.
The problem is my understanding is that standard contracts for head coaches are for five years. Maybe a year longer or shorter, but five years is the norm. No top head-coaching candidate out there is going to take a three-year deal. Well, maybe Bill Belichick would take that deal but I don’t know that any other candidate would.
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