On Monday afternoon, a day after another late-game collapse, the Giants fired head coach Brian Daboll, a move most expected would ultimately happen.
During Daboll’s four-year tenure in New York, the team went 20-40-1, which includes only one winning season in 2022 when the team, in his first season as head coach, went 9-7-1 and he won Coach of the Year.
But the team steadily went downhill afterwards, going 6-11, 3-14 and 2-8 this year after the ugly loss to Chicago on Sunday.
Immediately after the Giants parted ways with Daboll, names of potential replacements started circulating including UNC HC Bill Belichick, Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo, Chargers DC Jesse Minter, Mike McCarthy, Seahawks OC Klint Kubiak, Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury, Seahawks OC Shane Waldron, Boston College HC Bill O’Brien, Broncos DC Vance Joseph and Vikings DC Brian Flores.
Most glaring, and frustrating, to see and hear is that only two Black candidates, Joseph and Flores, surfaced in those initial discussions, and their names were rarely mentioned on the talk shows since the Giants vacancy opened up.
I’m not saying the hosts discussing the potential hires are racists.
Instead, these discussions illustrate the biased thought and visualization process involved in the NFL head coaching hiring process.
Sadly, the same names and faces are regurgitated anytime an NFL head coaching position becomes available, a long standing issue faced by the league.
It’s similar to the discussions centered on what a prototype NFL quarterback “looks like” and does and why someone like Jalen Hurts doesn’t get the respect that he deserves despite winning at the highest level.
Yes, there are valid reasons for these particular names to immediately come up.
It could be connections, such as the coaching tree of legendary Giants coach Bill Pacells (Belichick); former ties to the organization (Spagnuolo) or the consistent love organizations have for young, flashy offensive coordinators (Kubiak, Kingsbury).
Unfortunately, those characteristics mean the process reverts back to the same group, and look, of people.
Some will read this and immediately become defensive, throwing out the anti-DEI favored keyword of “merit” hiring, yet I never stated those candidates lack qualifications or experience.
I am pointing out the way the minds involved think when it comes to the hiring process.
The Giants need a strong leader and someone who can handle being in New York. They need someone who has coaching experience, preferably NFL head coaching experience, a person who can clean house, prevent late game collapses and, of course, win.
With that in mind, why isn’t Brian Flores’ name at the top of the list?
Flores cleaned house in Miami during his three seasons there, taking over after Adam Gase let the locker room go. In his first season, Flores went 5-11 but then finished 10-6 and 9-8. He navigated through lack of talent and a bad relationship with Tua Tagovailoa, a player he didn’t even want to draft (seems he was right). He also held a winning record (4-2) against his former boss Bill Belichick, whom he won a Super Bowl with as a coach with the Patriots.
Flores is also from Brooklyn and played at Boston College, so he has a special understanding of the game and environment.
But instead of recognizing these skills and talents, the thought immediately goes to white coaches, and that’s the problem.
Black coaches rarely get a second chance to become an NFL head coach. Only 11 men have done so- Art Shell (Raiders twice), Tony Dungy (Bucs and Colts), Jim Caldwell (Colts and Lions), Dennis Green (Vikings and Cardinals), Ray Rhodes (Eagles and Packers), Herm Edwards (Jets and Chiefs), Romeo Crennel (Browns and Chiefs), Lovie Smith (Bears, Bucs and Texans) and Hue Jackson (Raiders and Browns).
Bowles and Joseph, who was the head coach of the Broncos for two seasons, both deserve to be at the top of the list in the Giants’ head coaching search, yet they were mentioned only after the aforementioned coaches.
What about Jets DC Steve Wilks, Lions passing game coordinator David Shaw, former Penn State head coach James Franklin, or former Chargers head coach/Washington running backs coach Anthony Lynn? What about Caldwell, who the NFL just seemed to forget about despite coaching two teams to winning records?
They all have the experience, yet fail to enter the conversation.
It’s unfortunate that mental conditioning continues to plague both Black coaches and NFL coaching searches because when minds are open, they can produce positive results (Mike Tomlin, Todd Bowles and DeMeco Ryans to name a few).
The Giants are one of 11 NFL organizations who have yet to hire a Black head coach, and while a coach should be hired on merit, their last five coaching hires (all white) have failed to produce winning records (53-104-1).
Sounds like it’s time the team change who and what they look for in a head coach.
