Brian Daboll May Step Out Of Play-Calling Role; John Mara Criticizes Giants’ Defense

After OC Mike Kafka primarily called Giants plays from 2022-23, Brian Daboll took the reins this past season. Despite being at the controls as Josh Allen morphed from raw talent into superstar with the Bills, Daboll could not do much with the 2024 Giants’ offense. As a result, he nearly lost his job.

John Mara, however, retained both Daboll and GM Joe Schoen but issued directives that an improvement must take place immediately. Daboll is now entertaining a step back into a CEO coaching role, though the fourth-year Giants HC did not confirm if the idea of another shift was his or Mara’s.

[RELATED: Mike Kafka Drawing HC Interest]

Mara said Monday he talked to Daboll about moving off play-calling, but Daboll subsequently insisted (via the New York Daily News’ Pat Leonard) he broached the subject. When pressed as to who initiated that conversation, Daboll admitted it was perhaps Mara who did. While this seems an important detail, Daboll will be coaching for his job early in the 2025 season — regardless of which party brought this up.

Daboll could not coax quality play from Daniel Jones, despite he and Kafka doing so in 2022. Jones struggled during an injury-plagued 2023 and did not bounce back this season, leading to an in-season cut and a move to the Vikings’ practice squad. The Giants then went around Drew Lock to give Tommy DeVito the first crack at replacing Jones. Lock then took the wheel to close the season, offering inconsistent play down the stretch. The Giants finished 31st in scoring, but in Daboll’s (slight) defense, they were 30th in 2023. This came after a Saquon Barkley-dependent offense placed 15th in 2022, leading to a divisional-round appearance.

Changes on offense may not be all that comes out of a disastrous 3-14 season. Mara criticized Shane Bowen‘s defense when assessing the season, potentially calling the former Titans DC’s job status into question. The Giants did climb from 26th to 21st in total defense, despite not having Dexter Lawrence for a third of the season and missing Kayvon Thibodeaux for a sizable chunk in the middle. New York’s secondary struggled, however.

“Quite frankly, I didn’t think our defense played very well this year at all,” Mara said, via the New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy. “I know that when you have an offense that performs like that, you’re putting more pressure on your defense. But we need to make improvements there. I’m tired of watching teams go up and down the field on us. So, I think that has to be addressed.”

Despite Hard Knocks‘ offseason effort showing Bowen being given a key voice in defensive personnel, Dunleavy reminds he was not the Giants’ first choice for the job. Bobby Babich and Dennard Wilson were the team’s initial preferences, Dunleavy adds.

The Bills promoted Babich — a former Daboll Buffalo coworker — to DC, while Wilson instead took the Titans’ DC gig. The Giants were one of three other teams to request a DC meeting with Babich, while Wilson — a former Eagles DBs coach — was one of three Ravens assistants to become a DC elsewhere in 2024. He met about the Giants’ job in mid-January; Big Blue did not hire Bowen until Feb. 5.

Monitoring Bowen’s status will be important for Giants fans over the next few days, as it would be difficult to expect the team to carry on as is after a 3-14 season. Nevertheless, Daboll will soon be the team’s longest-tenured HC since Tom Coughlin.