The New York Giants have officially parted ways with head coach Brian Daboll after a rough 2–8 start to the season, ending what once looked like a promising partnership. Just two years ago, Daboll had led the team to the playoffs in his first season, but back-to-back disappointing campaigns, mounting injuries, and ongoing quarterback instability made his position increasingly untenable. The move marks the second head-coaching change of the year, and one of the most notable, thus drawing reactions from across the league, including from his former quarterback, Daniel Jones. 

“I just kinda heard about it recently,” Jones said in an interview with USA TODAY Sports’ Chris Bumbaca. “And obviously, you never want to see anyone fired. It’s an unfortunate part of this business. I hope for the best for him and everybody there in New York.”

In 2022, Jones and Daboll teamed up to bring the New York Giants their first playoff win since 2011.  Jones rushed for 708 yards and passed for over 3,200, and Daboll earned Coach of the Year for turning the offense around. But just two seasons later, their working relationship ended: Jones was released after a string of uneven performances and injuries, and Daboll’s leadership saw a steep drop-off in wins.

The Colts picked him up, initially as a backup, but he won the starting job over Anthony Richardson in training camp. Now, he’s leading one of the league’s most balanced offenses and has Indianapolis sitting at 8–2, firmly in the playoff picture.

Ironically, Daboll might’ve fared better this season if he’d had Jones under center again. Quarterback instability has been the Giants’ undoing. They opened the year with Russell Wilson, then turned to rookie Jaxson Dart in hopes of finding a spark. For a few weeks, it looked promising, until it didn’t.

Dart showed flashes but also the growing pains you expect from a first-year passer. There’s only so much a rookie can carry when the roster around him is unsettled. Still, a midseason firing usually signals one thing: the franchise isn’t giving up just yet.

What’s next for the Giants?

Look around the league, and it’s clear some teams have already shifted their focus to next year. The Browns traded away multiple veterans. The Jets moved on from both Quinnen Williams and Sauce Gardner. Those are moves made by organizations thinking long-term, not trying to salvage the present.

The New York Giants, though, aren’t wired that way. Not yet.

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They still believe there’s something left to play for. And when you look at the NFC East, they might be right. Outside of the Eagles, the division is wide open. The Commanders have dropped five straight, and while the Cowboys made a splash by trading for Williams, one player isn’t going to fix that defense.

So if the Giants can find any kind of rhythm over the next month, finishing second in the division isn’t far-fetched. The schedule’s not kind, there’s no pretending otherwise. But they still control a lot of their fate, with key matchups against both Washington and Dallas coming up.

That challenge now falls to Mike Kafka, the team’s offensive coordinator and assistant head coach, who takes over in the interim. Kafka arrived in New York in 2022 after cutting his teeth with the Chiefs, where he worked closely with Patrick Mahomes and helped shape one of the league’s most dynamic offenses.

Since then, he’s been a steady presence on the Giants’ staff, and his promotion last year to assistant head coach signaled how much faith the organization had in him. The Giants likely won’t hire a permanent head coach until the offseason, which means the rest of this year runs through Kafka.