Getty Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.
The search for the next collective to try and pry the New York Giants from the depths of mediocrity is underway. Despite an atrocious four-year run in East Rutherford, Dave Gettleman was able to ride off into the sunset, retiring before he could be fired officially. As for Joe Judge — after some deliberation — he was ultimately given his walking papers the day following “Black Monday.”
According to co-owner John Mara, the plan is to first hire a general manager, who will then hand-select the person to fill the vacancy left behind by Judge — a change from the past two coaching searches, each of which Mara headed.
This new way of operating would theoretically lend its hand towards the possibility of a packaged coach-GM deal. Meaning the Giants could already have a loose idea of who their next head coach will be based on the general manager that they choose. As Zack Rosenblatt of NJ Advance Media put it, “it’s not inconceivable that the Giants would hire a general manager who could bring a top head coaching candidate along with him to East Rutherford.”
On Wednesday, January 12, such a plan may have already begun to be put into motion. Joe Schoen, the assistant general manager of the Buffalo Bills, became the first candidate to interview for the vacant GM position. Should he ultimately stake claim to the job, there’s a high possibility that he brings Bills offensive coordinator and head coaching candidate Brian Daboll along for the ride.
via Rosenblatt:
Analysis: Of all the pairings on this list, this feels like the one that might be the most realistic — if the Giants can reel Schoen in as GM… Schoen has ties to Bill Parcells and has been groomed under Bills GM Brandon Beane, one of the best decision-makers in the league.
Daboll has been head coaching candidate for a couple years now thanks to the way he unlocked Josh Allen’s potential and helped turn him into an MVP-caliber quarterback. The Giants should be trying to bring in offensive-minded coach and Daboll is one of the best available in that regard.
Schoen-Daboll Hire Could Lure QB Help to New York
In an ideal world, Daboll would be able to work his magic on the current placeholder under center for the Giants, elevating Daniel Jones’ play in a similar fashion as he once did with Josh Allen. However, that’s not to say the G-Men should remain indebted to Jones as their be-all-end-all at the position. While the prospect of luring a Russell Wilson or Aaron Rodgers away from their current situations may be a bit too steep (and frankly, somewhat unrealistic) for a rebuilding Giants franchise, adding talent to the position should be on the shortlist of things to do for the new shot-callers in New York. If not for anything but the simple fact that fans never have to sit through another Mike Glennon start during their lifetime.
Insert Mitchell Trubisky, who Rosenblatt’s colleague, Joe Giglio, named an “under the radar” option for the Giants in 2022.
“Remember him? The former number two overall pick (taken ahead of Patrick Mahomes and Watson in 2017) has been quietly backing up Josh Allen in Buffalo this season, and waiting for a second chance at playing,” wrote Giglio on January 5. “Although it ended poorly in Chicago, it’s hard to ignore a quarterback that owns a 29-21 career record and 86.1 passer rating.”
We at Heavy dabbled in the prospect of Trubisky finding his way to East Rutherford back in December, highlighting the statistical comparison between the former Chicago Bears starter and Jones over their first sub-40 games in the league:
Despite Matt Nagy doing everything in his power to move off of the North Carolina product, Trubisky led the Bears to two playoff appearances and a record of 25-13 over his final three seasons in Chicago. Over that span (39 games, 38 starts), he accounted for 63 total touchdowns and 37 turnovers. As for Jones’ first three years in the league, the 24-year-old has appeared in 38 games (with 37 starts) totaling 50 touchdowns and 49 turnovers with just 12 wins to his name and zero postseason experience under his belt.
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Is Trubisky a clear upgrade over Jones? Who knows. In reality, watching the Giants offense operate without Jones under center over the final month of the season makes you truly appreciate what the former No. 6 overall pick was able to do with the situation he was dealt. Still, while Jones has the ability to blossom into the team’s franchise signal-caller, he’s not there yet. And the team would be doing a disservice to enter another season with a Glennon, Colt McCoy, Alex Tanney-type talent behind him on the depth chart.
Trubisky is the type of player who could push Jones in camp and legitimately have an opportunity to supplant him. If he were to do so, handing the offense over to a soon-to-be 28-year-old former playoff starting quarterback has its perks. Mainly, the possibility of not having to completely start over at the position despite a failed draft pick — ala Ryan Tannehill taking over for Marcus Mariota in Tennesse.
Still, those expectations for Trubisky may be a bit grand. However, if he can simply pose as a high-level backup for the Giants, you can check that off as a homerun signing for the organization. A mobile dual-threat quarterback with a similar skillset to Jones would be paramount for an offense that has been stripped of their starting quarterback for 10 games over the last three years due to injury.
With that said, weighing the benefits of landing Trubisky this offseason and actually inking him to a deal are two totally different animals. As NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah pointed out on the “NFL Rhodes Show podcast,” the former North Carolina standout is expected to have his fair share of suitors on the open market.
“God bless Mitchell Trubisky. You watch, people are going to be shocked how much money he gets. He’s going to be a starter next year, there’s too many openings, there’s not enough quarterbacks to go around,” Jeremiah said during an October 20 appearance. “People have seen the Chicago offense that they don’t necessarily love. They’ve seen it without him and they’ve seen the struggles that still exist and [are] saying ‘ok, maybe this wasn’t Trubisky’s fault, he actually did play pretty well there for a minute.’ We saw him in the preseason this year, [with] minimal sample size, simple defenses, he looked great. He threw the ball really well in a system that fits him. And somebody will talk themselves into it, you watch.”