New York Giants

The Eagles interviewed Brian Daboll for their offensive coordinator vacancy on Tuesday, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Philadelphia is seeking a replacement for Kevin Patullo, who the Eagles fired after only one season on the job.

The Giants fired Daboll on Nov. 10 after a 2-8 start to his fourth season. He went 20-40-1 with one playoff appearance in his time in New York.

He interviewed for the Titans’ head coaching job, which went to Robert Saleh, and for the Chargers’ offensive coordinator job before they hired Mike McDaniel. Daboll is also expected to be a candidate for the Bills’ head coaching job.

Daboll worked with Eagles coach Nick Sirianni in Kansas City in 2012, and he coached Jalen Hurts as Alabama’s offensive coordinator in 2017.

Daboll has served as the offensive coordinator for the Browns (2009-10), Dolphins (2011), Chiefs (2012), Crimson Tide (2017) and the Bills (2018-21).

Giants receiver Malik Nabers underwent surgery to repair the torn ACL in his right knee on Oct. 28. He was on a cane on the sideline while watching the season finale against the Cowboys on Jan. 4.

Nabers, though, has made enough progress in his rehab that Giants General Manager Joe Schoen expressed optimism that the 2024 Pro Bowler will be ready for training camp in late July.

Nabers made 109 catches for 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns as a rookie and had 18 receptions for 271 yards and two touchdowns in 2025 before his season-ending injury in Week 4.

Giants running back Cam Skattebo, who is recovering from a season-ending ankle injury, will be ready for the offseason program, Schoen said.

Giants head coach John Harbaugh downplayed his desire to report directly to ownership during an introductory press conference on Tuesday and stressed the need to work collaboratively with General Manager Joe Schoen and others in the organization as they try to build a winning team.

The issue was significant enough for Harbaugh to negotiate it into his contract, however, and Giants senior personnel executive Chris Mara made it clear in post-press conference comments to reporters that Harbaugh is now “the most important cog” in the organization. That suggests Harbaugh will have final say on all football decisions and Schoen was asked after the press conference it is humbling for him to have his role change after four years with the team.

“I’m not worried about that,” Schoen said, via SNY. “I’ve been in the league for 26 years, so everywhere I’ve been, the head coach and general manager work together. That’s the only way it’s going to work. Get on the same page, go through the process, we’ve done it everywhere I’ve been. I’m not worried about it. That’s just something on a piece of paper. Doesn’t matter. We need to work together and we’re going to come to the final conclusion. It’s always going to be about what’s best for the New York Giants. I have no problem with that and I’m looking forward to working with him.”

If it truly didn’t matter, it probably wouldn’t have taken a couple of days to work out the language setting up the organizational hierarchy in the “piece of paper” that Schoen referred to on Tuesday. It is unlikely to come up as a contentious issue if the Giants can win games, but any stumbles could lead to the kind of disputes that make it matter a great deal to all involved.

As the Giants and John Harbaugh worked to finalize a deal for him to become the team’s head coach last week, one of the topics of discussion was whether Harbaugh would report directly to management.

The Giants had previously had coaches reporting to the General Manager and the discussions took enough time that there were concerns the deal might not come together, but reports over the weekend were that the Giants conceded to the change in operations in order to land Harbaugh.

At a Tuesday press conference, Harbaugh said it has been “phenomenally great” working with GM Joe Schoen and downplayed the significance of the reporting structure because all roads still flow to team owner John Mara.

“It’s really not that important,” Harbaugh said. “In the big picture, the big scheme of things, I think it’s overblown just a little bit in terms of how it works. The main thing is that it works and that we work together. That’s what matters. That’s kinda what I was used to and it felt like a good way to kinda start off. I think Mr. Mara was happy about that. It seemed like it made sense. I don’t think it really matters, I think we’re all gonna work together. We all report to the boss and the boss is ownership. John Mara is running football operations here — he’s running it — and I’m glad he is.”

Senior player personnel executive Chris Mara spoke to reporters about the same issue after the press conference. Mara said, via SNY, that Harbaugh is “the most important cog” in the decision-making process, but added that “final say” will be a collaborative process involving Harbaugh, Schoen and ownership.

Collaboration will clearly be part of the operations, but it was clearly important enough to Harbaugh that it became a major point in the negotiations. However he and the team frame it now, the most important cog tends to win any disagreements about which path to take and will make for a very different way of doing business for the Giants in 2026 and beyond.

New Giants head coach John Harbaugh said today that he thinks he’s inheriting a good young starting quarterback in Jaxson Dart.

“It starts with the quarterback, for sure,” Harbaugh said. “You build your team around your quarterback. You build your team around your players and what they do well, and I like the way he plays. I like his talent, skill set, all the things he’s accomplished. But more than that, I like who he is and what he’s about. To me, he’s about football. This young guy loves football. He wants to talk football all the time. And that’s what I like doing too so I think we’re going to have a lot of great conversations. Can’t wait to get started with him.”

Although it’s possible the Giants could bring in another quarterback to compete with Dart, Harbaugh sounded like he’s preparing for Dart to start and Jameis Winston to back him up. Winston was present for Harbaugh’s introductory press conference, and Harbaugh referenced a game in 2024 when Winston, then with the Browns, passed for 334 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Harbaugh’s Ravens.

“The quarterback’s kind of important, that’s kind of a big deal. I’m excited about Jaxson Dart. I’ve seen your backup quarterback, too, Jameis, up close and personal two years ago. I saw him complete a bunch of passes. Remember that game? It was a great game, for you,” Harbaugh said to Winston.

Harbaugh said he thinks the Giants have the personnel to win in 2026. And that includes at the most important position.

Before the 2026 coaching carousel exploded from two to 10 vacancies, the thinking was that first-time head coaches would have a hard time getting any of the available jobs.

So far, the four jobs that have been filled have gone to candidates who have previously been head coaches: Giants coach John Harbaugh (18 years with the Ravens), Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski (six years with the Browns), Titans coach Robert Saleh (three-plus years with the Jets), and Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley (four years at Boston College).

Six jobs remain open — Raiders, Browns, Cardinals, Ravens, Steelers, and Bills. Each will need to decide whether the preference is to hire someone who has been a head coach before, or whether to make the projection that a career assistant will be able to step into one of the 32 NFL head-coaching jobs.

It is a fundamentally different assignment. The head coach trades Xs and Os for the big-picture challenge of running a team, of communicating with a full locker room of pro athletes, of dealing with the media, and of properly delegating tasks to people who can be trusted to accomplish them.

Former head coaches who have gotten interviews in the current cycle include Sean McDermott, Mike McCarthy, Brian Daboll, Mike McDaniel, Jonathan Gannon, Jason Garrett, and Raheem Morris. Although some college coaches were lurking, it’s currently believed none will make the leap to the next level.

With so many jobs open, it’s likely at least one will be a first-time head coach. For now, however, they’re 0-4. It remains to be seen how many of the 10 total positions will be filled by someone who has never before been a head coach.

Former Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora is back to analyzing the NFL on TV in the United Kingdom after a health ordeal that had him in a coma for five days.

Looking healthy but much thinner than in his playing days, Umenyiora appeared on a broadcast Monday and said he wanted to answer the question he’s been getting from so many viewers: “Osi, where have you been?”

“I went through some real adversity,” Umenyiora said. “I was in the hospital for almost a month. I was in a coma for five days, had some extensive surgery. I was in a really, really bad place. And I find out right then and there who actually loved me. Because there were some people who showed up every single day. There were some people who came to see me when I was in a coma. There were some people who traveled from all across the world to come see me when I was at my lowest points.”

Umenyiora singled out his TV co-host and former Giants teammate Jason Bell as being particularly supportive.

“This man right here was by my side,” Umenyiora said of Bell. “I remember when I got up and I saw him for the first time, I just started crying because I could feel the love. So don’t you ever mistake what we got going on up here for something that’s not real because this is real, and I love you, J Bell. I really, really appreciate everything you did. They told me that when I heard your voice, my heart rate started to spike, which was absolutely incredible. I love you, J Bell.”

The 44-year-old Umenyiora did not go into any details about the health problems that landed him in the hospital, but he sounded optimistic about his future, and his continued role analyzing American football in his native country.

The Giants hired John Harbaugh as their new head coach and they’re getting to work on filling out his coaching staff.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the Giants have requested an interview with Vikings defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator Daronte Jones for their defensive coordinator post.

Jones has also interviewed with the Cowboys and Jets for their coordinator vacancies. He could also be a candidate for a promotion with the Vikings if Brian Flores winds up leaving the team.

Jones coached for the Vikings in 2020 and then spent a year as LSU’s defensive coordinator before returning to Minnesota’s staff in 2022.

When the Patriots fired Bill Belichick two years ago, most assumed he’d land on his feet with another NFL team.

In the third hiring cycle since his firing by the Patriots, Belichick has been publicly linked to only one job (the Falcons, in 2024).

This year, with 10 total openings, Belichick’s name has not come up. Except, of course, when he brought it up on his own.

In November 2025, Belichick issued a statement declaring he won’t pursue the opening with the Giants “despite circulating rumors.” (None were circulating.) The Giants, as we hear it, weren’t pleased with the pre-emptive announcement, since they had no intention of pursuing him.

If any other team has even kicked the tires on the Tar Heels coach, the interest has been kept tightly under wraps. Nothing has leaked about any inquiries or conversations or even basic background work (like, for example, figuring out the depth of and basis for his lingering animosity toward his former NFL employer) associated with making a potential hire.

The Buffalo job would be the one to watch, given the presence of quarterback Josh Allen and the ongoing rivalry with the Patriots. Belichick is regarded as the greatest game-day coach in league history. Yes, other factors have potentially complicated things, to say the least. Still, given the craziness of the past few weeks in the NFL, it would be foolish to completely rule out anything.

For now, though, the key word as it relates to Belichick’s NFL prospects is “nothing.” In three cycles, he’s had one announced interview. And while he has said he doesn’t want to return to the NFL, few in NFL circles believe it. The more reasonable interpretation would seem to be that it’s his way of dealing with the fact that no NFL team wants him.

Dysfunctional teams do dysfunctional things. And, thanks to plenty of the perennially dysfunctional teams, the league is a current dysfunction mess.

The current hiring cycle, which at one point seemed like it could be quieter than usual, has sparked turnover with 10 teams. Nearly one third of the league. Two jobs have been filled; with Monday’s termination of Bills coach Sean McDermott, the number of vacancies is back to eight.

Here’s how one current NFL head coach put it, in a Monday morning unsolicited text message to PFT: “At this very moment, [this is] the worst collective of 32 owners in league history.”

It’s a strong statement, but the proof is, if anywhere, in the pudding. Bad teams stay bad. They think that they can turn it around by firing the current coach and hiring a new one, because for other teams it happens.

But the cycle of hiring and firing and hiring and firing contributes to the situation. When the owner has an itchy trigger finger, the coach spends way too much time looking over his shoulder and wondering whether the next decision that doesn’t pan out will be his last.

There’s no competence test to pass in order to qualify to own a team. The paths remain simple (if not easy): (1) have enough money to buy a team; or (2) get your name in the right spot in the will.

While some of the currently vacant jobs are open for reasons unrelated to membership in the gang that couldn’t own straight, most trace to owners who feel like they need to do something, so they fire the coach. In plenty of cases, three years or less after firing the last one.

Meanwhile, the teams with capable owners will benefit. Rash decisions aren’t made. Patience is displayed.

Aaron Rodgers recently blamed the media for the presence of certain coaches on the “hot seat.” The blame goes to those who don’t know what to do (because they secretly don’t know what they’re doing), so they do the easiest thing — fire the coach.

Even if the coach isn’t the biggest part of the problem. Of course, for the truly dysfunctional franchises, the biggest part of the problem isn’t subject to a pink slip. Because owners can’t be fired for general incompetence when it comes to the on-field performance of the team.

Financially, they’re all performing well. They’re all winning, even when they’re losing. And those who are losing will feel compelled to keep the fans believing that the future will be brighter (or less bleak) by dumping the current coach, and by moving to the next coach in who inevitably will be the next coach out.