Brian Daboll most likely will not be manning his post as New York Giants head coach much longer, but the impact of his questionable decision-making could linger for quite some time after his departure.
With the Giants playing catch-up down three possessions for a significant portion of the third quarter, Daboll kept calling rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart’s number, and the future of the franchise kept taking hits, whether it was buying time to find one of his ineffective receivers downfield or on designed runs that saw the Ole Miss product refusing to shy away from contact.
It was especially worrisome to see Dart bounding to his left for a 10-yard run on a 3rd-&-10 while down 34-17 with 1:56 to go, only for him to get blown up by 49ers linebacker Tatum Bethune.
This is the sort of player Dart is: An ultra-competitive leader who is going to put his body on the line regardless of the score. It’s the responsibility of Daboll and Giants management to, at times, save Dart from himself.
That’s not happening.
“It was 34-24, we had three timeouts left,” Daboll said of not lifting Dart in the final minutes. “Went for the onside [kick]. If we would have held them there, get the ball back with, say, 50 seconds, so we are going to try to play til the end there. That’s what we’re going to do.”
Through no fault of Daboll’s, the Giants have already lost two of their most important playmakers of the season in wide receiver Malik Nabers and running back Cam Skattebo. The rush to get Dart under center was, in part, for Daboll and general Joe Schoen to save their jobs after co-owner John Mara dictated that 2025 would be their last chance.
Even while Dart has proven himself to be a savior, Daboll’s leadership remains ineffective. The Giants are 2-7 for the third time in as many years, and having the franchise quarterback expose himself to potential injury by taking a continued beating due to coaching malpractice will sap any remaining shred of optimism surrounding Big Blue.
Daboll’s job security, or lack thereof, is no secret. And Dart’s response when asked about feeling any added pressure to save Daboll’s job just about says it all.
“I understand the question, but I’m going to give you the answer I truly feel, and I can only control what I can control,” Dart said. “I don’t want to look at things that way. I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself in that regard. I just want to live in the moment that I have. I want to take advantage of the opportunities that I have as a team. We should be thinking that same way.
“We have a chance to win every game on our schedule. We have to find a way as players, as guys out on the field, to make enough plays to win the game. That’s how I view things. The coaches, they call the plays, but a play can work against any defense or coverage. Same thing goes on the defensive side. We have to be better. They’re not the ones out on the field, we are.”
