Lame-duck Daboll pays the price for endangering Dart and still losing

When a coach is fired midseason, there's almost always an argument that they were unfairly made the scapegoat.

Not so with Brian Daboll.

Oh, there were definitely contributing factors to the mess that is the New York Giants: the season-ending injuries to star wideout Malik Nabers and breakout running back Cam Skattebo, a woeful offensive line, and a defense that kept blowing fourth-quarter leads despite a wealth of talent up front.

Those last two problems fall at least as much on general manager Joe Schoen as they do on Daboll.

But Daboll had also covered the range of possibilities that generally lead to a coach getting fired. Terrible record? Since his rookie year and surprising playoff appearance, Daboll was 11-33. Internal disputes? Daboll fell out with former defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, fired several other assistants, and took over play-calling duties from offensive coordinator Mike Kafka last year before handing them back again. Former players performing better elsewhere? Saquon Barkley left the Giants to win a Super Bowl in Philadelphia. Daniel Jones, a first-round bust in New York, looks like Joe Montana right now while leading the Indianapolis Colts to an 8-2 record.

Yet none of that is quite as bad as Daboll's transparent self-interest in job preservation. In a sport that often gets carried away with military analogies about teamwork and sacrifice, Daboll continued to make decisions that seemed intended to reflect better on him.

Although he had several years of evidence that Russell Wilson's best days in Seattle were long past, Daboll named the veteran his starting quarterback to begin the season. Meanwhile, Denver took a historically large cap hit just to get Wilson off the roster, and Pittsburgh, with no other obvious solution at quarterback, didn't try to bring him back after last campaign.

But Daboll, under pressure from Giants owner John Mara to engineer a quick turnaround following last season's 3-14 disaster, evidently thought Wilson would provide a higher floor than rookie Jaxson Dart, so he handed the job to the 36-year-old.

Did this make the most sense for the organization? No, not when the primary objective for 2025 was determining if New York had landed a franchise quarterback when it selected Dart in April. Getting a decent bounce-back season with Wilson under center would've been good for Daboll, but it would have left crucial questions about Dart unanswered.

As it happened, Wilson struggled in a 0-3 start, prompting Daboll to hand the offense to Dart. The good news is the rookie has been something of a revelation, making plays with his arm and legs and generally looking like a tough, confident quarterback who can lead a franchise. The bad news is Daboll was far too reckless with Dart, taking advantage of the 22-year-old's fearlessness and making him far more susceptible to injury than any prized rookie should be.

Despite Dart being evaluated for multiple concussions this season, Daboll's offense used more designed quarterback runs than any other team. Two of them went for touchdowns Sunday. A third left Dart crumpled on the ground, leading to a visit to the blue tent and his removal from the game following the rookie's fourth concussion evaluation of the campaign.

It was coaching malpractice. Sure, leaning into Dart's running ability and willingness to plow forward in search of extra yards was the best way to move the offense. However, the desperation to win games in the short term - beneficial for Daboll - was also plainly at odds with the franchise's long-term success, as it was more likely to put Dart in danger. Daboll showed his disregard for head injuries when he appeared to try to shoo Dart out of the blue tent during a Week 6 win over Philadelphia.

Weeks later, he was still letting the would-be franchise savior run himself into another head injury.

There are a couple of lessons here. One, don't ask Daboll for his thoughts on the seriousness of CTE. And two, don't leave your NFL team in the hands of a lame-duck coach.

Mara's patience with Daboll had clearly worn thin after last season, telling reporters at the year-end press conference that he was "running out of patience" with the leadership group.

Still, he gave Daboll another chance, setting up the awkward dance in which the best thing for the franchise - developing the rookie QB and reducing his risk of serious injury - conflicted with the coach's desire to win games and prove he could lead the Giants into a new era.

In the end, Daboll made Mara's decision easy because even with Dart showing promise, the coach couldn't manage the winning part.

And the end, when it came, was about 10 games too late.

Scott Stinson is a contributing writer for theScore.