Casey Sybrandy asks: Because of his work with Dart and the improved offensive performance this season vs. the two prior seasons, I’ve felt that Kafka deserves an interview for the head coach position. Recent games make me wonder if he’s truly qualified and even before then I’d expect him to be grilled the hardest of all candidates due to how poorly the team has been the past few years. If you were doing the interview, what would Kafka have to show you to make you believe he could be the guy for the job? Personally, I feel he needs to have a plan that shows he plans on doing things his way and not just a continuation of what Daboll did. Also, I would expect that they have to get a strong feeling from the players that they actually would want him back.
Ed says: Casey, Mike Kafka’s interview for the Giants’ head-coaching job has been his work since taking over for Brian Daboll. Kafka has done some good things in dealing with Abdul Carter and making moves to adjust the coaching staff. The results, though, aren’t good enough.
The Giants are 0-5 with Kafka and some of his in-game decisions have been questionable. I like Kafka and I hope he gets a head-coaching job one day, even if he has to take a college job, but he isn’t getting the Giants job.
Adam Singer asks: A name I haven’t seen come up in the Giants’ coaching search is Curt Cignetti. What he has done at Indiana is so impressive. I know it is college and not the NFL, but he seems to be a heck of a coach who has his players prepared and puts them in the right position to succeed. He also turned a program around very quickly. That seems like the type of coach the Giants should be looking for. Have you heard his name come up as a potential candidate, and what would you think about him as a candidate (if he was interested in it, which I don’t know that he would be)?
Ed says: Adam, Cignetti is 64 years old and has never coached in the NFL, not even as a position coach. I understand the attraction because of what he has done at Indiana, but what makes anyone think he could make a successful transition to the NFL? He doesn’t have coaching connections, experience, or the runway for a years-long learning curve. He also signed an eight-year extension with Indiana this fall.
Jaymanjay asks: Should the Giants be at least debating the issue of taking a QB in the draft if they have the first pick? Are there no good reasons to explore it?
Listen, I like Dart, but this is the reason the Giants shouldn’t have allowed Brian to choose a QB in the last draft. A draft, by the way, everyone graded as a weak QB draft position. The question is, if Mendoza was in last year’s draft, they probably would have taken Mendoza with their first pick, meaning by not taking Dart with their first pick, the organization was admitting that they only liked Dart didn’t love him. Mendoza has a much higher draft grade than Dart. Is it worth passing on Mendoza, who may have a much higher QB ceiling, simply because of a bird in the hand and Brian Daboll drafted Dart? Dart has been solid and flashy at times, but he has gotten hurt numerous times already and has been okay.
Paul Dutko asks: The thought of the Giants considering drafting Fernando Mendoza and trading Jaxson Dart might seem crazy to most fans but we need to remember this cautionary tale: Daniel Jones “flashed” enough talent and upside his rookie season that the Giants passed on the opportunity to draft Justin Herbert. Granted Andrew Thomas turned out to be a great player but given the opportunity to do it all over, I don’t think anyone would deny that taking Herbert even though we had Jones was the right move. If Mendoza is considered a better overall prospect, don’t you think the Giants need to seriously consider drafting him?
Ed says: Jay, I am just going to cut and paste the answer I gave to a “trade Dart, draft Mendoza” mailbag question two weeks ago.
No, no, no, no, no.
… is that answer clear enough? Jaxson Dart had one concussion when he took an awkward hit trying to make a play against the Bears. He took a massive hit Monday night against the Patriots. He says he still wants to continue to play aggressively.
Yes, I think he needs to temper some of that. But, I think people need to stop jumping off the cliff and freaking out. The kid wants to win games. He wants to be part of the solution for a franchise he knows has been struggling. He is willing, and able, to take it on himself to try and make plays to help that happen.
The idea of using a top 5 pick on a quarterback is, in my view, absurd. What do you with Dart? Trade him? If not, you have two top 5 quarterbacks on the roster, and one is not going to play. You instantly have a quarterback controversy and a mess.
You build around Dart. You improve the team. You add more game-changing players on BOTH sides of the ball so that Dart doesn’t feel like he has to try to do so much on his own. You upgrade the coaching staff.
You don’t cut the knees out from under the kid before he has a full chance to show you if he can be what it looks like he can be.
I think that makes my position crystal clear. Trading Dart and drafting another quarterback is a dumb idea.
One thing I want to add. Who is saying Mendoza is a better prospect? I have seen some analysts say Dart would be the top quarterback, and thus the No. 1 overall pick, if he were in the 2026 draft class. Why blow a golden opportunity add multiple Day 1 and Day 2 draft assets?
Joseph Niczky asks: As you know, a debate has broken out among fans and the media of if the Giants should draft Fernando Mendoza (or another QB) if he’s available and trade Dart. You and Chris have both already opined that Dart is the better QB than Mendoza. I want to try to reframe the debate. Right now, I think it’s premature to say who will have the better career and no one knows for sure. Dart has had a promising rookie season but plenty of promising rookie QBs never reach the next level. Instead, I think the question is who should decide who next season’s QB should be and when. Option 1 is that the Giants decide now that Dart must be the QB next season and impose that decision on the new coach (and possibly new GM). Option 2 is that the Giants give the GM and coach the freedom to scout and interview QB prospects and then decide which direction to go — maybe they decide sticking with Dart is the better option, maybe they don’t want “Daboll’s guy” and think Mendoza is better. Put that way, I think Option 2 is the better process. My question for you is do you think the Giants will scout QBs if they finish with the first pick or do you think the decision has already been made that they are sticking with Dart no matter what?
Ed says: Joseph, I took this one separately from the other Dart-Mendoza questions. Of course the Giants are scouting the quarterbacks. They will have in-depth reports on every draft-eligible player. It would be negligent if they did not study the quarterbacks, even if just to know what their options might look like if they have the first or second pick and would like to find a trade partner.
I understand your process theory, but I think the Giants are going to opt for people at head coach or GM who are excited about working with the young quarterback they already have. Dart’s presence is one of the selling points that should attract people to the Giants head coach or GM jobs. I am flabbergasted by the number of people ready to throw Dart aside because he had the audacity to get a concussion and then play one bad game.
Ray Kochert asks: Do you have any idea which way the Giants management is leaning regarding a new coach? Or too soon to tell?
Ed says: Ray, it’s too soon to know. I will buy on the idea that there is interest in Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman. There have been some reports that the Giants have a list of preferred candidates. I have my guesses who might be on that list, but I think we have to wait until the season is over and see who is actually available.
Frank Viselli asks: Ed: The Giants secondary has been awful for a couple of years now. The only one who has been fairly consistent is Cor’Dale Flott.With his excellent speed and decent size, could you see the Giants converting Hyatt into a cornerback? It doesn’t appear that he will ever be a decent receiver. What do they have to lose?
Ed says: Frank, while they are at it why not convert Deonte Banks to wide receiver? He is clearly not a good cornerback.
I am, of course, being sarcastic. Why do people think that players at the NFL level can simply switch positions and be good at a new one they have never played? Especially if that requires switching sides of the ball. Not everybody is Deion Sanders or Travis Hunter.
If Jalin Hyatt can’t properly run pass routes, what makes anyone think he can switch sides of the ball and cover players who can? What makes anyone think he can tackle? Or, that he can take on blocks and support the run? If the Giants thought he could do those things they might have at least used him on special teams coverage units the past couple of years. They have not.
Derick Gross asks: There’s a lot of talk about the Giants trading their first-round pick for draft assets. Would you swap first rounders with the Ravens for John Harbaugh? Do you think that’s enough to get the job done? If there’s a sliver of daylight between Harbaugh and the Ravens, I say shove draft picks in there until you pry him loose. Giants need better coaching talent more than they need better players (though they do need both).
Ed says: Derick, teams have trade for coaches eight times since 1970. Seven of those have come since 1997. The last one was in 2023 when the Denver Broncos traded first- and third-round picks to the New Orleans Saints for Sean Payton.
I don’t know what the price would be for Harbaugh, but Baltimore isn’t doing it for a simple pick swap. As for shoving draft picks at the Ravens until they say yes, you can’t do that. You have to actually be able to make your own roster better, and if you bankrupt your ability to draft players for a couple of years how would you do that?
I am not a big fan of this idea.
Pat Lam asks: What do you think the identity of the New York Football Giants should be next year? With Coach Daboll it was a fast paced down the field passing offense and no real defensive identity. I’m hoping they are a smothering defense first with a balanced time-consuming offense (a la ‘80s Coach Parcells pound the football). I think they need to decide what they want to be to help identify the new head coach, and thereby free agents and draft picks. So, what would the Giant’s identity be if you were in charge?
Ed says: Pat, if it were me I would look at history and lean into what the Giants identity has ALWAYS been when the team is championship-caliber. That is a team that controls the line of scrimmage, terrorizes quarterbacks, plays efficient, winning offense and is solid on special teams. That is what I would be hoping to create.
Warren Schuman asks: Generally speaking, I’m in your camp in supporting the idea that the Giants next HC needs would ideally be a leader of men and CEO type. So I totally agree with your article this week in support of John Harbaugh as the next Giants HC if he were to become available. I’d also do backflips if Mike Tomlin became available. But I don’t think either are considered “offensive gurus” or “QB whisperers” like Andy Reid, Sean McVay or Payton to focus on Darts development?
That’s why I think the Pats hit a home run…they got their leader of men in Vrabel AND an offensive wizard in McDaniel. Which leads to my question…
If we were to hire a HC like Harbaugh or Tomlin, I’m curious to know if you are aware of who their specific OC choices may be? And more generally speaking, do you see any current highly respected OCs ready to make a lateral move, or up and coming QB coaches beyond Davis Webb that could be obvious choices to be the Giants next OC?
Ed says: Warren, I do not know who they would bring. It is a legitimate question for both, particularly for Tomlin. If you look at the list of offensive coordinators who have worked for him since 2018 — Randy Fitchner, Matt Canada, Eddie Faulkner, Arthur Smith — it’s not impressive. He would have to do better than that.
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