Brian Daboll firing surprises Giants fans but also gives them some hope

The Brian Daboll Era officially came to a close Monday afternoon when the Giants fired the fourth-year head coach.

Sunday’s 24-20 loss in Chicago, in which the Giants took a 20-10 lead with 10:19 remaining and Jaxson Dart suffered a concussion in the third quarter, was the final straw. The Giants are 2-8 and have lost four straight games.

While some Giants fans on Long Island were surprised by the timing of the decision, many are looking forward to the change.

“Excitement, for sure,” said Mitchell Klee, 23, of Port Washington. “It’s kind of tough after the Denver game, the Dallas game. I think when you see a trend like this, you kind of know where things are going. I think it’s almost sad yesterday, I’m not even upset about the loss. I kind of expected it.”

Chris Wasson, 26, from Massapequa, said: “I didn’t think necessarily it had to happen at this point in the season, but I think it was inevitable that it would happen at the end. So you might as well get the ball rolling in a new direction, start to put things past the Daboll era. Why wait until the end of the season if you’re sure about it now?”

But not everybody was happy. Steve Rice, 76, of Merrick, is a lifelong Giants fan. He said he was “completely shocked” by the decision.

“[Team president/CEO John] Mara talks about stability, and this is anything but stability. That’s number one,” he said. “Number two, I thought that the Giants were turning the corner, even though the results lately have been atrocious. The bottom line is that there are four games this year — Dallas, New Orleans, Denver and yesterday — where they had double-digit leads that were given up by the defense, and I don’t think that the defensive problems relate to Daboll.

“So the only thing I could think of is that the play-calling of designed quarterback draws are putting Dart in jeopardy, and that the front office and the general manager somehow think that those kinds of plays shouldn’t be called so that Dart doesn’t put himself in a position to get hurt.”

Michael Levenstein, 64, of Woodbury, has been a Giants fan since he was 9. He was surprised that the firing happened before the season ended, noting it is not the MO for the Mara family, but he ultimately was on board with the decision.

“I’ve seen the good and seen the bad,” Levenstein said. “But this has been bad. As bad as I can remember.”

Daboll finished his Giants tenure with a 20-40-1 record, the fourth-worst winning percentage (.336) in franchise history. He had a tremendous debut season, being named AP NFL Coach of the Year in 2022 and winning an NFC Wild Card game at Minnesota. But it has been downhill since, with the Giants starting 2-8 in each of the past three seasons.

The team also announced Monday that general manager Joe Schoen will remain in his position and lead the head-coaching search. There were differing opinions on that front.

Klee called it “one of the worst decisions the franchise can make.” Wasson does not think the roster is bad but pointed to the “losing culture” and the need for new leadership above the players. Levenstein said defensive coordinator Shane Bowen, whose unit has allowed the sixth-most points per game (27.3) and fourth-most yards per game (383) in the NFL, should have lost his job as well.

From their perspective, what was the breaking point in their support of Daboll?

Wasson pointed to the 2023 struggles after the great 2022 season, saying: “I think that was kind of a sign of ‘did this change or was it just one freak season and now we’re back to what we are?’ And then to have that repeated again and again, I think that’s kind of the loss in confidence in Daboll.”

Klee said his breaking point occurred during the 33-32 loss in Denver on Oct. 19, a game he attended. The Giants led 19-0 entering the fourth quarter and took a 26-8 lead with 10:14 left.

“All these Broncos fans are going home, and other people in my section are kind of hyping me up, like, ‘Oh, congrats, a huge win,’ ” he said. “And I didn’t expect to win the game, even when you’re up 20 in the fourth. So I think Denver was really where it was just, this had to change at some point.”

Daboll and Dart were intertwined in a strong coach-quarterback relationship that is no longer. There was fan speculation that Daboll would stick around because of their bond. The rookie from Ole Miss had only seven starts with him.

The new Giants coach will inherit a promising young quarterback to build with.

“Dart brought hope to Giant fans,” Levenstein said. “That’s what I was happy about this year. He brought a little hope. With hope, you need coaching still.”

By Ben Dickson

benjamin.dickson@newsday.com@bendickson__

Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.