The Giants need a new head coach — again.
Monday’s firing of Brian Daboll means that in 2026, they’ll have their fifth coach in 11 seasons since they canned Tom Coughlin.
So will this lead to Bill Belichick’s long-awaited homecoming in East Rutherford?
It shouldn’t. For so many reasons, the Giants would be foolish to hire Belichick to replace Daboll. (Then again, given their recent track record of terrible hires, they might just do it.)
Co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch are now 0-for-4 on post-Coughlin hires, having whiffed on Ben McAdoo, Pat Shurmur and Joe Judge before Daboll. They’re also 0-for-2 on general manager hires post-Jerry Reese, since Joe Schoen is just Dave Gettleman with a better head of hair.
Schoen deserves to be fired, too. But if he sticks around, how much would that impact Belichick (a noted control freak) wanting this job?
To be clear: It is an attractive job, if only because of Jaxson Dart. Schoen sticking around would detract a bit from the vacancy’s attractiveness, but Dart’s talent is a big draw. There’s no doubt about that — even if the rest of the roster mostly stinks (because of Schoen’s terrible decisions).
Still, forget about whether Belichick would want this job if Schoen stays. Belichick just might want it regardless, since he loves the Giants. Belichick, of course, launched his legendary career as Bill Parcells’ defensive coordinator from 1985-90.
But the Giants should not want Belichick to begin with. They should resist the urge for a nostalgic reunion.
Yes, Belichick’s remarkable NFL track record is obviously impressive — six Super Bowl rings as a head coach, plus two more under Parcells.
Yet he will be 74 in April, so he is not a long-term solution. And you have to wonder about his ability to develop a young quarterback like Dart. Plus, there’s the whole North Carolina debacle.
It’s not just that Belichick has mostly flopped on the field there. It’s all the drama that has come with his 24-year-old girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, and her involvement in the program.
Do Giants co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch really want that? Do they actually think Belichick, at this point in his career, would be worth the headaches and circus?
The flip side to this anti-Belichick argument is that the Giants haven’t hired a head coach with a legit track record since Coughlin, who took the Jaguars to two AFC title games before the Giants hired him in 2004.
McAdoo, Judge and Daboll were all rookie head coaches with the Giants. Shurmur had head coaching experience, but had barely won — 9-23 in two seasons with the Browns.
So yes, Belichick does have that legit track record. There are other prominent potential candidates who have won in the NFL, too — like Jon Gruden, Bill O’Brien and Mike McCarthy.
There are also three intriguing offensive coordinators with than-less-stellar NFL head coaching resumes — Kliff Kingsbury (Commanders), Matt Nagy (Chiefs) and Arthur Smith (Steelers).
You’d think Mara and Tisch will at least consider them, since all three have an offensive background and head coaching experience. Do the Giants really want to bring in a rookie head coach yet again, even if he is a hot candidate, like Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak?
These are all questions Mara and Tisch — and maybe Schoen, if he sticks around — will have to address in the coming months, all while Mara continues to battle cancer. So this is not an easy or simple situation.
But one thing should be clear at this point: Belichick is not the answer.
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