The New York Giants fired head coach Brian Daboll on Monday after a 2-8 start to the season.

The 50-year-old finishes his tenure at MetLife Stadium with a 20-40-1 record. Thirty-three of those 40 losses came within the previous two and a half seasons.

Daboll was hired in 2022 and led the Giants to the NFC Divisional round in his first season, only losing to the eventual Super Bowl finalists, the Philadelphia Eagles.

The following two seasons, however, got progressively worse for Daboll’s side. The Giants missed the playoffs twice, finishing with a 6-11 record in 2023 and a 3-14 record in 2024.

In 2025, New York has found ways to lose in spectacularly bizarre fashion. Twice this season, the Giants have lost a game while leading by double-digit points with under four minutes remaining. In Week 2 against the Dallas Cowboys, Daboll’s men lost 40-37 despite scoring the go-ahead touchdown with 25 seconds to go.

In October, the Giants faced the Denver Broncos. Despite the team leading 26-8 with six minutes remaining, the Broncos completed a monumental comeback on a last-second field goal, becoming the second team in NFL history to score 30 points or more after recording none through three quarters.

The final blow to Daboll came last Sunday against the Chicago Bears, when the team suffered another late collapse in the fourth quarter, losing its fourth straight game.

Following Daboll’s dismissal, assistant coach and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka will serve as the interim head coach. His first game – and the Giants’ first in the post-Daboll era – will be a home match against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

The New York Giants will start quarterback Drew Lock in Week 16 against the Atlanta Falcons. It will be their fifth quarterback change since releasing Daniel Jones after their Week 11 bye.

In the past month, New York has alternated between Lock and Tommy DeVito, but neither passer has managed to stay healthy for two games in a row. DeVito sustained an arm injury and more recently a concussion, while Lock is returning from a Week 14 foot injury. If both players become unavailable in the near future, Tim Boyle would have to step back in, a move that doomed the team to a 35-14 beating against the Ravens last weekend.

With a 2-12 record and three games remaining, the Giants are tied for dead last in the entire NFL. With a premium draft pick in next year’s draft, New York is almost certain to draft a quarterback, widely speculated to be either Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward. With an army of teams plummeting through the standings late in the season, the Giants may have to keep losing to ensure an early pick, but that hasn’t been an issue to this point.

Even with Jones returning from injury at the start of the 2024 season, very few people expected anything from the Giants. They’ve lived up to every expectation in this context, never proving to be a serious competitor at any point. Playmakers like Malik Nabers and Tyrone Tracy have proved themselves as young talents, but they’ve struggled to produce consistently as the team shuffles between quarterbacks.

As December wears on, New York must simply march to its certain end, and hopefully a brighter future. That future may or may not include head coach Brian Daboll, who led the team to the playoffs in 2022 before amassing a dreadful 8-23 record over the last two seasons. It’s hard to blame the upstart head coach for the team’s passing-related struggles, but it may be hard to justify his stay as the team starts anew in 2025.

In Week 16, this doomed Giants team will face the Falcons, who haven’t managed to do much better this year despite much higher expectations. New York will face rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. in his first NFL start, replacing Kirk Cousins well ahead of schedule. His performance could be educational for the Giants in a number of ways, potentially providing a hopeful message or stark warning for betting on young passers.

The New York Giants will start quarterback Tyrod Taylor in Week 17 against the Los Angeles Rams. Tommy DeVito, who stepped in to replace an injured Taylor in Week 8, will return to a backup role.

Taylor replaced Devito in the second half of the Giants’ game last weekend and nearly led the team to a comeback win over the Eagles. Though New York still lost 33-25, head coach Brian Daboll said that Taylor deserved the starting position going forward.

“He earned the right to start this game,” Daboll said. “Let’s get ready for the Rams, really have nothing else to add on it. That’s where we’re at.”

Taylor and Devito may be exchanging the starting role for now, but the Giants’ problems at quarterback extend far beyond a few meaningless regular season games in 2023. Both passers began the year as backups to Daniel Jones, who has suffered two separate injuries and missed most of the season.

With a 5-10 record, the team is currently in contention for a choice draft pick in 2023 and could try to find a new franchise player under center. Faith in Jones has waned since the team’s improbable playoff run last season, which could be the deciding factor as New York considers another rebuild.

But as the Giants limp through a losing 2023 season, in which they were consistently hampered by injuries, it is clear that the team is more than a quarterback away from consistent success.

Star running back Saquon Barkley will depart for free agency in 2024 and the team’s pass catchers beyond tight end Darren Waller are relatively uninspiring. The offensive line has also underperformed and could take partial blame for multiple injuries at the quarterback position.

Multiple Giants games this season have been touted as excruciating defensive battles ahead of time, and the team has repeatedly lived up to that billing. Games against the Jets and Patriots, teams with their own issues on offense, were particularly poor.

2023 may be a year to forget as Taylor looks to end it as respectably as possible under center, but the path forward for New York from here remains unclear.

Devito has won the hearts of New Yorkers with stories of living at home, where his mom makes his bed every day.

New York Giants quarterback Tommy Devito will start under center in Week 10 against the Dallas Cowboys. The third-string quarterback has filled in for Daniel Jones and Tyrod Taylor for the past two weeks, putting up exceptionally poor numbers in both New York losses.

In Devito’s first appearance this season against the Jets following Taylor’s injury, coaches were so scared about his throwing ability that they almost exclusively ran the ball in the second half. He attempted just seven throws, completing two for -1 yards. The Giants lost the dreadful game 13-10 in overtime.

The following week against the Raiders, the Giants thought that usual starter Jones was back for good until he went down again on the first play of the second quarter. Devito came back in, and though the team was more liberal in the passing game, he still completed 15 of 20 attempts for 175 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. The Raiders won 30-6.

“I think it’s a shock to everybody. Not to have one quarterback but two quarterbacks go down, I mean it’s tough,” DeVito said Wednesday. “The quarterback position runs the team, and to have one and two go down like that, you would’ve never guessed that to happen.”

Giants head coach Brian Daboll said that there were talks of signing a veteran to take over the quarterback position, but coaches agreed that Devito was the best option because of his experience with the team. Journeyman backup Matt Barkley will be Devito’s backup.

Devito, a New Jersey native, has proven popular with fans during his stint with the team. During the game against the Jets, the crowd at MetLife Stadium was audibly frustrated with the coaching staff for not allowing him to throw. That being said, the undrafted rookie has not yet come close to proving that he can compete at this level.

If he starts as planned on Sunday, Devito will be the 10th rookie quarterback to start in 2023, the most in a single season in NFL history.

The New York Giants are optimistic that starting quarterback Daniel Jones will play the Buffalo Bills on Sunday after he left the Dolphins game with a neck injury. 

Jones was hurt in the fourth quarter when he was sacked for the sixth time. He was taken off for the rest of the game after feeling some pain. Jones had X-rays after the game and is due for an additional test on Monday. However, according to Giants Coach Brian Daboll said the team is feeling positive about the injury.

“I’d say we’re optimistic,” he said. “He’s feeling better [Monday]. So, I think he’s moving in the right direction. See where he is, obviously, when he comes back on Wednesday.”

Despite this, Daboll noted that he still needed to speak with the professionals. The Giants, who are 1-4, play the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

The Giants are also dealing with injuries from running back Saquon Barkley and left tackle Andrew Thomas. Their statuses are “yet to be determined” against the Bills. Jones has been sacked 16 times in the past two games. This isn’t the first time Jones has had a neck injury, as he missed the final six games of the 2021 season due to one.

New York Giants wide receiver Cole Beasley missed his second straight practice Wednesday with a leg injury. The 34-year-old journeyman joined the Giants this offseason after coming out of retirement for a short stint with the Buffalo Bills late last year.

Head coach Brian Daboll confirmed Beasley’s injury after practice Wednesday, though he downplayed its severity. The setback comes at a crucial point in the offseason for Beasley, who is fighting for a roster spot in a crowded receiver room. Isaiah Hodgins, Darius Slayton, Parris Campbell, Sterling Shepard, Jalin Hyatt and Wan’Dale Robinson are all currently ahead of Beasley on the depth chart, with many more behind him vying for a bump themselves.

Shortly before sustaining his injury, Beasley spoke to reporters in defense of Daboll, an outspoken coach prone to emotional rants during practice. The two worked together during Beasley’s first stint with the Bills from 2019 to 2021, when Daboll was the team’s offensive coordinator.

“Anytime you got a guy that’s also working every day and trying to push you to be the best that you can be, that’s what you want,” Beasley said. “What you don’t want is a coach being quiet when things are going crappy. So he does a good job of knowing when he needs to give us some energy.”

A longtime member of the Dallas Cowboys, Beasley entered the league with the team in 2012 after four seasons of college football at SMU. He proved to be a key contributor in Dallas until his departure in 2018. Between his two Buffalo tenures, the first of which included second-team All-Pro honors in 2020, he was briefly a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before his retirement on Oct. 5 last year.

In 11 NFL seasons, Beasley has amassed 5,744 receiving yards and 34 touchdowns in the regular season. He has also played in 13 playoff games across seven seasons, starting in three of those contests and earning an additional 525 yards.

Former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores has filed a lawsuit against the NFL and its 32 teams, alleging not only discriminatory hiring practices against African American coaching and front-office candidates but also sham interviews under the guise of following the Rooney Rule.

Filed in the Southern District of New York, the class-action lawsuit accuses the defendants of violating Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866; the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination; the New York State Human Rights Law; and the New York City Human Rights Law.

Flores claims to act on behalf of “all Black head coach, offensive and defensive coordinators and quarterbacks coaches, as well as general managers and black candidates for those positions.”

Flores was fired following the 2021 season—after leading the Dolphins to consecutive winning seasons—and he claims that the league acts like a “plantation”; he says the 32 teams, none of which has an African American owner, profit from the labor of a league that is 70% African American.

He adds that the league refuses to adequately address “racism, particularly when it comes to the hiring and retention of Black head coaches, coordinators and general managers.”

One specific allegation is that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross asked him to “tank” games during the 2019 season to improve the team’s draft position to secure who would eventually be quarterback Joe Burrow, who just led the Cincinnati Bengals to their first Super Bowl since 1989. Ross also allegedly offered the coach $100,000 for each loss that year.

“Then, when the Dolphins started winning games, due in no small part to Mr. Flores’ coaching, Mr. Flores was told by the team’s General Manager, Chris Grier, that ‘Steve’ was ‘mad’ that Mr. Flores’ success in winning games that year was ‘compromising (the team’s) draft position.’”

The lawsuit also alleges Ross asked Flores to violate league tampering rules following the 2019 season to recruit a ‘prominent quarterback’ set to enter free agency—allegedly Tom Brady.

The former coach says that after “he repeatedly refused to comply with these improper directives” Ross invited him to lunch on a yacht where the targeted quarterback “conveniently” arrived in the same marina. He reportedly “refused the meeting and left the yacht immediately.”

Following the yacht episode, litigation says that “Flores was treated with disdain and held out as someone who was noncompliant and difficult to work with.”

More allegations say the Broncos (2019) and Giants (2021) conducted “sham” interviews with him.

Flores claims then-Broncos general manager John Elway and team president/CEO Joe Ellis and others showed up for his interview an hour late and “completely disheveled, and it was obvious that they had drinking (sic) heavily the night before. It was clear from the substance of the interview that Mr. Flores was interviewed only because of the Rooney Rule, and that the Broncos never had any intention to consider him as a legitimate candidate for the job.”

He also has receipts: Flores included a screenshot of a text message with Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who confused him with Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. Belichick congratulated the wrong Brian for getting the job—three days before he was set to interview with New York.

The lawsuit aims to:

• Increase the influence of African American individuals in hiring and termination decisions for GM, head coach, and offensive and defensive coordinator positions;
• Increase the objectivity of hiring and termination decisions for GM, head coach, and offensive and defensive coordinator positions;
• Increase the number of African American offensive and defensive coordinators;
• Incentivize the hiring and retention of African American GMs, head coaches, and offensive and defensive coordinators through monetary, draft, and/or other compensation such as additional salary cap space;
• Complete transparency with respect to pay for all GMs, head coaches, and offensive and defensive coordinators.

Flores’ statement:

“God has gifted me with a special talent to coach the game of football, but the need for change is bigger than my personal goals. In making the decision to file the class-action complaint, I understand that I may be risking coaching the game I love. My sincere hope is that by standing up against systemic racism in the NFL, others will join me to ensure that positive change is made for generations to come.”

The NFL’s statement:

“The NFL and our clubs are deeply committed to ensuring equitable practices and continue to make progress in providing equitable opportunities throughout our organizations. Diversity is core to everything we do, and there are few issues in which our clubs and internal leadership team spend more time. We will defend against these claims, which are without merit.”

The Dolphins’ statement:

“We are aware of the lawsuit through the media reports that came out this afternoon. We vehemently deny any allegations of racial discrimination and are proud of the diversity and inclusion throughout our organization. The implication that we acted in a manner inconsistent with the integrity of the game is incorrect. We will be withholding further comment on the lawsuit at this time.”

The Broncos’ statement:

The Giants’ statement:

“We are pleased and confident with the process that resulted in the hiring of Brian Daboll. We interviewed an impressive and diverse group of candidates. The fact of the matter is, Brian Flores was in the conversation to be our head coach until the eleventh hour. Ultimately, we hired the individual we felt was most qualified to be our next head coach.”

Flores went 24-25 in three seasons in Miami—a worse-looking record due to a 5-11 season in that rocky 2019 campaign. He saw winning seasons in 2020 (10-6) and 2021 (9-8), missing out on the postseason by one game each year.

Prior to Miami, Flores was a scout and assistant under Belichick with the Patriots from 2004-18.