Jordan Raanan

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Jordan Raanan

ESPN Staff Writer

Jordan Raanan covers the New York Giants for ESPN and can be heard hosting on ESPN Radio. Raanan joined ESPN in 2016.

Jeremy Fowler

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Jeremy Fowler

senior NFL national reporter

Jeremy Fowler is a senior national NFL writer for ESPN, covering the entire league including breaking news. Jeremy also contributes to SportsCenter both as a studio analyst and a sideline reporter covering for NFL games. He is an Orlando, Florida native who joined ESPN in 2014 after covering college football for CBSSports.com.

Nov 10, 2025, 03:40 PM ET

The edict was essentially given back in January for Brian Daboll. He needed to win in order to remain the New York Giants head coach.

Owner John Mara wanted – expected – even better results. It created a tricky spot for Daboll with dueling agendas – win while simultaneously developing a rookie quarterback.

He didn’t get it done. The Giants are sitting at 2-8 for the third consecutive season.

In a year where New York needed to show progress, they’re stuck in quicksand. They’re not just losing, they seem to be finding new and unprecedented ways to lose every week – with the final straw being a 24-20 loss on Sunday in Chicago.

It was the second time this season the Giants blew at least a 10-point lead with under four minutes remaining. They are just the second team in the Super Bowl era to do that. In addition, rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart was injured in the contest.

So Daboll is out with an 11-33 record over the past three seasons. Assistant head coach and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka takes over as the interim head coach. The Daboll era has officially ended, prematurely – in Week 10 of the 2025 campaign.

ESPN Giants reporter Jordan Ranaan and senior NFL insider Jeremy Fowler answer all the pressing questions in the wake of Daboll’s firing.

**Why fire Daboll now? **

Coaching can make a difference in close games and the Giants have already blown four double-digit leads on the road this season. It also gets held against Daboll that Dart was injured under his watch. Daboll was insistent on not wanting to take away his young quarterback’s aggressiveness. But the reckless nature in which Dart was taking hits ultimately led to this point. The need to avoid this wasn’t stressed.

Basically, this was the breaking point after blowing another game, the poor results and a handful of embarrassing incidents such as entering the blue medical tent to check on Dart while he was being examined for a concussion, which warranted discipline from the league. – Jordan Raanan

Kafka will serve as** interim head coach, the Giants’ ****sixth head coach since 2016. What should we expect from the former ****assistant head coach and offensive coordinator? **

A much more even-keeled and consistent personality than the highly-charged Daboll. Kafka may not have an over-powering presence, but those that interviewed him for head coaching openings considered him confident with a sound process. That could be welcomed by the Giants with Daboll often considered all over the place. The offense should also add some more elements from whatKafka ran in Kansas City with Patrick Mahomes. – Raanan

**Who will be the offensive playcaller? **

Kafka is expected to remain the playcaller, a source told ESPN. That at least gives Dart some stability. It’s Kafka’s voice that he hears most during games and that will not change. It’s also worth noting that the Giants offense was significantly more productive during the past four seasons with Kafka as the playcaller than Daboll. They’re averaging a respectable 23.6 points per game this season with Dart as the starter after being near the bottom of the league of the previous two seasons. – Raanan

How will this affect rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart?

First things first, Dart has to get healthy. He’s currently in the concussion protocol and could miss some time. Sunday was the fourth time he needed to get checked for a concussion this season, dating back to the preseason. But Kafka will now have to step into a bigger role in the development of Dart. Daboll met with the young quarterback regularly and for hours. That responsibility now falls on Kafka’s shoulders.

Kafka, 38, does have extensive experience in the development of rookie QBs. His job in 2017 was essentially to assist in the development of Mahomes. He played a key role in that. It will be much the same now with Dart.

As far as long term, this now puts into question whether Dart will have to learn a new scheme and get acclimated to a new coordinator next year. Guess it all depends on how the remainder of the season plays out. – Raanan

What effect will this have on the locker room?

It surely will be tough on Dart. He had a strong relationship with Daboll, who always cozied up to his top players.

The rest of the locker room will take it in stride.

Several players told ESPN after Sunday’s loss that someone had to be accountable and they understood it was likely the head coach. Daboll couldn’t keep pointing fingers elsewhere after discarding Daniel Jones last year and constantly reshaping his staff. The locker room as a whole won’t be too disappointed.

However, how they react to Kafka will be interesting. – Raanan

**What effect will this have on GM Joe Schoen’s future? **

The Giants have already said in their statement announcing the firing that Schoen will remain the general manager and head their coaching search. That indicates that he’s part of their plans moving forward.

The belief is that he’s collected a good core of young talent and it hasn’t been developed or deployed properly. The feeling around the league also seems to be that Schoen will survive a third straight difficult season. He has the trust and ears of ownership. – Raanan

**Could more changes be coming? **

It’s possible. The Giants have kept the remainder of the coaching staff intact as of Monday afternoon. But let’s see how this plays out as the coming weeks progress. The coach under the most pressure is defensive coordinator Shane Bowen. His unit has struggled this season, especially recently in fourth quarters when they’ve allowed 75 points across the past four games. – Raanan

**Who are the top coaching candidates at the moment? **

Kafka will be a factor in this. He’s well-regarded and has interviewed for multiple head-coaching opportunities elsewhere. He also has acquitted himself well with the development of Dart. Otherwise, the Giants should conduct their broadest search yet to find the right leader.

General manager Joe Schoen is driving the search. He has good sources in Buffalo, where he served as assistant GM, to learn about Joe Brady. He was part of Miami’s personnel staff when standout defensive coordinators Vance Joseph (Denver) and Lou Anarumo (Indianapolis) were on staff there, and where Anthony Weaver currently coordinates the defense.

He could lean on popular coaching trees such as the Rams (OC Mike LaFleur, DC Chris Shula, passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase, Vikings OC Wes Phillips) and Chiefs (OC Matt Nagy, DC Steve Spagnuolo – a dose of nostalgia from the Tom Coughlin days).

To shore up the defense, emerging coordinators such as Jeff Hafley (Packers), Jesse Minter (Chargers), Kelvin Sheppard (Lions) and Aden Durde (Seahawks) would be good to explore. On offense, Todd Monken (Ravens) has been a fixture on the scene, and Jim Bob Cooter (Colts) and Klint Kubiak (Seahawks) are making their mark this year.

You get the point...the possibilities are endless.

The coordinator pool is not as well-stocked as in past years – which should help 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who knows the New York market well – so collegiate standouts such as Marcus Freeman (Notre Dame) and Steve Sarkisian (Texas) and Bret Bielema (Illinois, also a Giants assistant in 2020) are worth researching. –* Jeremy Fowler*