The writing was on the wall for New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll, who was fired on Monday after the team started the 2025 NFL season 5-2-1. Daboll finishes up 20-40-1 in nearly four seasons leading Big Blue, and it wasn’t getting any prettier.
Sources indicate that offensive coordinator Mike Kafka will be the team’s interim head coach. Now that Daboll is gone, who might the Giants turn to as a new head coach?
Three Candidates To Become Giants Head Coach
While the Giants might be simply looking to play out the string with Kafka leading the team, ownership is going to be busy on the phones. Daboll didn’t win over too many players with his on-field style, despite having rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart doing his best to lead the Giants.
According to the PFSN NFL Offense Impact metrics, the Giants have a 68.9 Offense Impact Score and grade out at a D+. It didn’t help Daboll that star rookie running back Cam Skattebo suffered a season-ending ankle injury as well.
Breaking: Brian Daboll is out as the New York Giants head coach, sources tell @AdamSchefter.
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A few names that might be on the Giants’ phone call list include Bill Belichick, Mike McCarthy, and Matt Nagy.
Bill Belichick
It’s been a rough first season in the college football ranks for Belichick, who decided to take over as the Tar Heels’ head coach in place of Mack Brown.
Of course, Belichick has a Super Bowl-winning resume from his days with the New England Patriots. Even if his final seasons in Foxboro, Mass., were not successful, that doesn’t mean Belichick has forgotten anything when it comes to coaching in the NFL.
Belichick, despite offering a public commitment to North Carolina this season, might just want to go back to something familiar in pro ball. Belichick also has some ties to the Giants’ organization as he was defensive coordinator under Bill Parcells, helping New York win two Super Bowl championships.
Would Belichick, though, want to go back? He’d face a ton of questions about his time not only at North Carolina, but also about how things ended for him in New England.
Mike McCarthy
McCarthy has been sitting out of the NFL this season after his tenure with the Dallas Cowboys ended after a 7-10 finish to last season. In his previous three seasons, before the 2024 NFL season, McCarthy led the Cowboys to three straight 12-5 records.
Of course, McCarthy spent 13 seasons as head coach of the Green Bay Packers. He even led the Packers to a Super Bowl championship. McCarthy knows how to coach in the NFL and has had quarterbacks like Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers, and Dak Prescott leading his offenses.
What would it take, though, for McCarthy to coach the Giants? He wanted to remain as the Cowboys’ head coach, but Dallas owner and general manager Jerry Jones and McCarthy were unable to agree on a new contract. Still, McCarthy is out there and probably waiting for his phone to ring.
Matt Nagy
Currently, Nagy’s biggest issues involve getting Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his offensive teammates back on track. Nagy is the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator, his second tour of duty in KC, and is highly thought of by Chiefs head coach Andy Reid.
Nagy, though, does have previous NFL head coaching experience with the Chicago Bears. He spent four seasons leading the Bears, finishing with a 34-31 overall record. After a 12-win first season in 2018, Nagy saw his win totals shrink to 8 in 2019 and 2020 and 6 in 2021.
Bears fans were not happy at all with Nagy in his final season at Soldier Field. Would Nagy be open to leaving the Chiefs organization for another head coaching role? It’s going to be something worth watching in the coming weeks.
Other Candidates
Kellen Moore, head coach of the New Orleans Saints, and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury of the Washington Commanders might get some attention, too. Moore got some praise during his time as OC with the Dallas Cowboys; Kingsbury has previous NFL head coaching experience in his tenure with the Arizona Cardinals.
It’s also possible that Kafka performs so well in an interim role that New York decides to simply stick with him heading into the 2026 NFL season. With plenty of names out there to check out, the Giants are going to be busy working the phones.