NFL overreactions Week 10: Dolphins beat Bills, NFC West race heats up
USA TODAY Sports’ Prince Grimes ‘overreacts’ to some of the best games from Sunday’s Week 10 slate.
- The Giants on Monday fired coach Brian Daboll, according to multiple reports.
- New York dropped to 2-8 on the season after squandering a 10-point lead to the Bears in a 24-20 loss.
- Daboll finishes his tenure with a 20-40-1 record.
The New York Giants reached their breaking point with Brian Daboll.
The team on Monday fired the embattled head coach, one day after a 24-20 loss to the Chicago Bears, in which New York held a 10-point lead with four minutes remaining, dropped the franchise to 2-8 on the season.
Daboll finishes his tenure with the organization with a 20-40-1 record in three-and-a-half seasons. His career mark is the worst of any Giants coach who led the team for at least 50 games.
Associate head coach and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka takes over as the interim head coach.
“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,” president John Mara and chairman Steve Tisch said in a joint statement. “The past few seasons have been nothing short of disappinting, and we have not me 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.”
Daboll is the second coach to be fired this season after the Tennessee Titans sacked Brian Callahan in October.
With the latest defeat, New York is now 0-4 in road games in which they led by at least 10 points. Asked after the game whether he was concerned about his job security, Daboll said, “I’m just focused on these guys in the locker room.”
Rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart exited the game in the second half after suffering a concussion. The first-round pick, who took over for Russell Wilson after the veteran started the first three games of the season, has been evaluated for head injuries in three regular-season games and one preseason contest, with both his playing style and the team’s heavy number of designed runs drawing scrutiny.
“It’s unfortunate,” Daboll said Sunday when asked whether the hits to Dart finally “caught up” to the quarterback. “It’s unfortunate he got hurt.”
Daboll was named the NFL’s Coach of the Year in his inaugural season at the helm in 2022, when he led New York to a 9-7-1 record and its lone postseason appearance since 2017. Things unraveled after that point fairly quickly, however. Following a 6-11 record in 2023, running back Saquon Barkley left in free agency to join the rival Philadelphia Eagles. Barkley won Offensive Player of the Year en route to a Super Bowl 59 win.
The Giants also split with quarterback Daniel Jones last season, benching the starter in November before releasing him outright. Jones signed with the Indianapolis Colts this offseason and has led the team to an 8-2 mark while piloting the league’s top-scoring offense.
Mara retained both Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen after last year’s 3-14 campaign but let it be known he wasn’t happy with the trajectory of the franchise.
Said Mara in January when discussing a timeline for a potential turnaround: “Better not take too long, because I’ve just about run out of patience.”
