Worth the Risk? New York Giants Hire Another Rookie Head Coach

Joe Judge was fired as head coach of the New York Giants on January 11, 2022. The team was without a head coach, general manager, or a general sense of direction.

Plainly put, the Giants were close to rock bottom.

Seventeen days later, Joe Schoen has been hired from the Buffalo Bills as their general manager, and they've already named their next head coach: Bills' offensive coordinator, Brian Daboll.

Joining Daboll under the headset in New York is his right-hand man in Buffalo, passing game coordinator and QB coach, Ken Dorsey. It's being reported that recently-fired Ravens' defensive coordinator Don Martindale is being considered as the team's defensive coordinator, while current DC Patrick Graham continues to interview for head coaching jobs.

17 days. Less than three weeks. And the Giants are moving in the right direction. That being said, based on their history, this hire is still a bit risky.

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Why Hiring Brian Daboll is Smart, But Risky

When it was announced that Buffalo Bills' assistant general manager, Joe Schoen, would be named the New York Giants' general manager, it seemed nearly perfect that Brian Daboll would join him at MetLife. Both Schoen and Daboll had been the "second-hand men" to Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott, respectively, and one could imagine that both would like to build a franchise on their own.

The Giants interviewed a number of qualified candidates, multiple of which had NFL coaching experience prior to now, but chose to go with a rookie head coach.

Again.

Look, Brian Daboll is a logical choice to be a head coach, and is even more logical for a team led by Joe Schoen. He helmed one of the best offensive attacks in the NFL over the past three seasons, and presided over the development of Josh Allen, Gabriel Davis, Devin Singletary and more.

That being said, the Giants have been burned in the last half decade by new head coaches. Ben McAdoo had a successful first season under the headset, but quickly soured in the eyes of fans, and was ousted after two seasons. Joe Judge seemed to be finding his groove, as well, after his first season, but appeared to have completely lost the locker room by the time his days were numbered.

Hiring a rookie coach is risky, but the Giants were able to get a coach-GM tandem who know one another, and who will be motivated to win. That, right there, is a win in itself.

And now, the real work begins for both parties.