Help Wanted on the Sideline

It was announced this week that Brian Daboll was fired as head coach of the New York Giants, and our Offensive Coordinator, Mike Kafka, is taking over in the interim.

            I’m not sure what happened to the coach who went for two against the Titans after Daniel Jones led the Giants down the field for a touchdown, but a lot has changed since 2022. Saquon Barkley is a Super Bowl Champion with the Eagles, Daniel Jones is 8-2 in Indianapolis with an MVP candidate behind him in the backfield, and we’re looking for our fifth head coach in nine years.

            From where I’m sitting, though, it’s not all bad. I don’t share the same doom-and-gloom outlook as other Giants fans who want Joe Schoen fired. I think Schoen has been a serviceable General Manager stuck between a rock and a hard place by Dave Gettleman. Have all of his picks and roster moves worked out? No (And I would point out to other Giants fans that every G.M. in NFL history has made moves that have missed the mark—even someone like Bill Polian or Ozzie Newsome). But I think Schoen has put together a good roster that sorely needs the right coach to tie everything together. If I’m wrong, I’m wrong…But I don’t think I am.

            Schoen has put together a team led by rookies. Jaxson Dart, Cam Skattebo, and Abdul Carter, standing beside Malik Nabers, Brian Burns, and Kayvon Thibodeaux, are a fantastic foundation! Once they’re all healthy, there’s no guessing where this team can go…as long as we have the right coach.

            Some have pointed out that, with Dart cementing himself as a franchise quarterback, the Giants’ head coach opening will be lucrative for potential candidates. I can only hope for now. Elevating Winston is a good start, but with all due respect to Kafka, I’m not expecting much from him. (Though Coach, if you want to fire Shane Bowen, by all means—hint, hint)

            Speculation will run rampant over the coming months, and names like Klint Kubiak, Lane Kiffin, Jeff Hafley, Steve Spagnuolo, and Kevin Stefanski have already been thrown out. I’m going to take a different approach. I want a coach who may not get us a deep playoff run every year, but would get us to a point where 10 to 12 wins a season is an expectation—not an outlier. I also want a coach who can unlock Dart’s full potential for years to come.

            I think that coach may be Mike McCarthy.

            Would I mind Hafley, Spagnuolo, or someone like Charger’s Defensive Coordinator Jesse Minter? Absolutely not—I think they would be good picks! I even like the idea of getting Stefanski (I’m not sure how we would pry him away from Cleveland, but that’s neither here nor there) But McCarthy has a proven track record of developing quarterbacks and getting the most out of his team—whether that be on Offense, Defence, or Special Teams.

            That’s where I’m leaning right now. That is absolutely subject to change over the coming months, but I’m sticking by it. For the love of Tom Coughlin, though, DO NOT hire Jon Gruden or Bill Belichick! Gruden has his own problems, and he’s been out of football way too long. And have you seen North Carolina’s season?     

Photo by Project 290 on Unsplash

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