The New York Giants are firing head coach Brian Daboll after a 2-8 start to his fourth season in New York, the team announced on Monday.
Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka will be the interim head coach.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport initially reported the news of Daboll's firing.
Daboll amassed a 20-40-1 record over his three and a half seasons with the Giants, a tenure that began with promise with a postseason berth in 2022. Since going 9-7-1 in Daboll's debut campaign, the Giants won just 11 more games over the next two and a half seasons.
Their close loss on Sunday to the Chicago Bears in which they blew a late 10-point lead represented the Giants' fourth straight defeat, and the final under Daboll's watch.
"We spoke this morning about the direction of our franchise on the field, and we have decided that, at this time, it is in our best interest to make a change at the head coaching position," Giants president John Mara and chairman Steve Tisch said in a joint statement on Monday.
"The past few seasons have been nothing short of disappointing, and we have not met our expectations for this franchise. We understand the frustrations of our fans, and we will work to deliver a significantly improved product.
"We appreciate Coach Daboll for his contributions to our organization. We wish the Daboll family all the best in the future."
The Giants also announced on Monday that general manager Joe Schoen will remain in his position and will lead the search for a new HC.
Why did the Giants make this move now?
A number of factors were involved in Daboll's dismissal. He'd entered the 2025 season on the hot seat after surprisingly staving off termination at the end of the 2024 campaign, a season that saw the Giants cut former first-rounder Daniel Jones before limping to a 3-14 finish.
On the surface, it seemed New York was willing to provide Daboll with multiple options at quarterback and allow him one more go at turning the Giants into a winner. He'd given leadership just enough evidence of a possible turnaround by guiding backup Drew Lock to a career performance in an upset win over the Colts late in the 2024 season, and the resulting intrigue drove Schoen to restock the quarterbacks room with veterans Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston before trading back into the first round to select Ole Miss passer Jaxson Dart in April's draft.
At minimum, Daboll would have options. If it didn't work, it would likely spell the end of his tenure.
Things didn't start well. Wilson quickly proved he was not the best choice under center and Daboll promptly benched the veteran for Dart after three games, a move that could be seen coming since Dart first shined in preseason action.
The change immediately paid off in the form of two wins in Dart's first three starts -- including a massive upset over the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles at the Meadowlands on Thursday Night Football -- but a colossal collapse in Denver kicked off the four-game losing streak that included the loss of sensational rookie running back Cam Skattebo to a season-ending leg injury and eventually sent Daboll packing.
New York's decision to fire Daboll might seem a bit premature when considering all factors. Daboll clearly found the quarterback he needed to push the offense forward, and although they weren't quite as successful once they'd lost Skattebo, the product was still significantly better than the final years with Jones or the trio of games with Wilson.
Ultimately, the issue was the lack of wins. The Giants made a habit of losing in heartbreaking fashion -- four losses this season in which they held a double-digit lead -- and after Dart suffered a concussion in the second half of Sunday's game, New York's offense failed to maintain a large enough lead to outlast Caleb Williams and the Bears.
Simply, no matter how close and competitive a team is, 2-8 is not good enough for a club that was already keeping a coach on a short leash.
Matchup may have also doomed Daboll in his final outing as Giants coach. As his team crumbled in the fourth quarter, first-year coach (and darling of the 2025 hiring carousel) Ben Johnson was directing Williams and the Bears toward a thrilling comeback win. On the same field, Giants leadership saw what they believed they once had -- a bright offensive mind paired with a young quarterback headed toward a prosperous future -- standing on the opposite sideline, rapidly dismantling New York's hopes.
A frustrated, red-faced Daboll was a familiar sight over the last two years, especially at the end of the Giants' latest loss. It appears the Giants finally exhausted their tolerance Sunday, officially closing the book on the Daboll era.
What to expect from Mike Kafka?
Despite making the change atop the Giants' staff, New York would be wise to maintain a sense of continuity for the rest of Dart's first season. He is very obviously the team's future under center, and Kafka's elevation should limit the effects of a coaching change in the remaining eight weeks.
Kafka was already serving as the Giants' play-caller, so Dart will hear the same voice in his helmet once he returns from concussion protocol. Giants fans should also expect to see the same offense for the rest of the season, though Kafka might be wise to adjust how he's deploying Dart, given how much contact Dart has subjected himself to while trying to carry New York's offense to victory.
Kafka's pedigree destined him for this promotion at some point in his career. A former quarterback at Northwestern and backup signal-caller in the NFL for five years, Kafka cut his coaching teeth as a graduate assistant at Northwestern before joining Andy Reid's staff in Kansas City in 2017. He jumped from Chiefs passing game coordinator and QBs coach to Giants OC in 2022 and earned the assistant head coach title starting with the 2024 season.
While succession plans aren't common in the NFL, the organizational chart could have suggested this would be the team's protocol upon firing Daboll.
As is the case with many interim coaches, Kafka is now auditioning for the permanent job. If he can continue to develop Dart and find enough success to intrigue the Giants' front office, he could find himself in the running -- that is, if New York isn't seeking a full coaching reboot.
What does this mean for GM Joe Schoen?
Schoen had a rough year in 2024, especially after Saquon Barkley ripped off a 2,000-yard season immediately after leaving the Giants for greener pastures in Philadelphia. His team's struggles and their unceremonious in-season divorce from Jones only added to the ugliness of the campaign, leading many to believe he and Daboll would be shown the door at the end of the year.
Instead, Schoen remained employed and executed a bit of a comeback attempt in 2025, nailing two draft picks (Dart and Skattebo) while also selecting the consensus top player in the draft in Abdul Carter with the third-overall pick. This, plus his selections of LSU star Malik Nabers, safety Tyler Nubin and tight end Theo Johnson in 2024 have stocked the Giants with legitimate talent, reviving his reputation as a personnel chief.
These successes have convinced the Giants to proceed with Schoen leading the way.
"We feel like Joe has assembled a good young nucleus of talent, and we look forward to its development," Mara said in a Monday statement. "Unfortunately, the results over the past three years have not been what any of us want. We take full responsibility for those results and look forward to the kind of success our fans expect."
Although the Daboll partnership did not produce the results the Giants desired, their decision to retain Schoen suggests they believe they're on the right track. Now, Schoen and the rest of the club need to find their next coach.
