NEW YORK — The New York Giants fired coach Brian Daboll on Monday, moving on from him midway through his fourth season after they dropped to 2-8 with a road loss to the Chicago Bears.
Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, a former quarterback at Northwestern and St. Rita, was named as the interim replacement. The move by ownership was made a day after the Giants blew another late lead and lost 24-20 to the Bears.
General manager Joe Schoen remains in his role, and owners John Mara and Steve Tisch said they will lead the search for the next coach.
“We spoke this morning about the direction of our franchise on the field, and we have decided that, at this time, it is in our best interest to make a change at the head coaching position,” Mara and Tisch said in a statement. “The past few seasons have been nothing short of disappointing, and we have not met our expectations for the franchise. We understand the frustrations of our fans, and we will work to deliver a significantly improved product.”
The rest of Daboll’s staff was kept in place, including defensive coordinator Shane Bowen.
The Giants have lost four in a row since upsetting the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles at home in prime time early last month. That included becoming the first team since 2003 to lead by 18 points with six minutes to play and lose, which the Giants did Oct. 19 in Denver.
This is just the Giants’ third midseason coaching change since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger and their first since 2017, when Ben McAdoo and general manager Jerry Reese were fired after a 2-10 start.
Daboll went 20-40-1 in his first NFL head coaching job. He led the Giants to the playoffs in his first season and was named Coach of the Year but has gone 11-33 since.
His .336 winning percentage ranks 154th out of 166 coaches with 50-plus games since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. Daboll is the second coach to be fired this season; the Tennessee Titans dismissed Brian Callahan after a 1-5 start.
“These are difficult decisions, and John and I do not take them lightly,” Tisch said. “But we feel like this is the right thing to do at this time and will allow us to move forward.”
Daboll, who previously served as the Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator from 2018-21, had faced increasing pressure about his job security in recent weeks and repeatedly took responsibility for the Giants’ woes.
“Look, you put everything you’ve got into it,” Daboll said. “You look at the things that aren’t where they need to be and you try to fix them. Whether that’s changing things on the schedule, whether that’s different periods of practice, whether that’s changing little parts of the scheme, again, that’s where we’re at. We’re at where we’re at.”
Kafka takes over after another turn of uncertainty in a lost season, following quarterback Jaxson Dart’s concussion against the Bears that forced Russell Wilson back into action. Fellow rookie Cam Skattebo and No. 1 receiver Malik Nabers already were lost for the season because of injuries.
The 38-year-old Kafka joined the Giants after working under Andy Reid in multiple capacities since 2017. He played four games and threw 16 passes for the Eagles in 2011 after being drafted out of Northwestern in the fourth round in 2010.
Schoen, who is in his fourth season as GM since also being hired from the Bills, got a vote of confidence from Mara and Tisch. Selecting edge rusher Abdul Carter with the third pick, trading back into the first round to get Dart and drafting Skattebo likely played a significant role in Schoen sticking around longer than Daboll.
“We feel like Joe has assembled a good young nucleus of talent, and we look forward to its development,” Mara said. “Unfortunately, the results over the past three years have not been what any of us want. We take full responsibility for those results and look forward to the kind of success our fans expect.”
Daboll, 50, has extensive experience as an offensive assistant and almost certainly will find a landing spot somewhere in the NFL next season. It won’t be immediately back in Buffalo, as Bills coach Sean McDermott backed offensive coordinator Joe Brady on Monday after the team’s loss to the Miami Dolphins.
“Brian’s a great coach,” McDermott said. “Unfortunate to see that happen to him at this point. That’s not under any type of consideration.”
AP’s Rob Maaddi in Tampa, Fla., and John Wawrow in Orchard Park, N.Y., contributed.
