The New York Giants have fired head coach Brian Daboll after another rocky opening to an NFL season left the G-Men 2-8 through 10 weeks.

Daboll arrived in New York after successful spells as offensive coordinator around the league, most notably at Buffalo immediately preceding his hiring by the Giants. He made an immediate impact in the Big Apple, leading the team to playoffs in his first term, and turning a 9-7 record into a first postseason win in 11 years. However, Giants president John Mara issued a prescient summation of the achievement when he suggested that, while Daboll — who was named NFL Coach of the Year — was ‘walking around NYC like Bono, it is easy to go from Bono to bozo’.

In the two-and-a-bit campaigns since that playoff high, the Giants have regressed, going 6-11 and 3-14 before the current 2-8 slump that led to Daboll’s dismissal. The record, while clearly not good, does mask several close-fought games that ended in defeat — including allowing previously scoreless Denver Broncos to put up 33 points in the fourth quarter to win 33-32 — but which leave Daboll’s record as head coach at 20-40-1.

“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 chairman Steve Tisch said in a joint statement. “The past few seasons have been nothing short of disappointing, and we have not met our expectations for this franchise. We understand the frustrations of our fans, and we will work to deliver a significantly improved product. We appreciate Coach Daboll for his contributions to our organisation [and] wish the Daboll family all the best in the future.”

The team wasted little time in naming assistant head coach/offensive coordinator Mike Kafka as interim head coach, and confirming that general manager Joe Schoen, who arrived from Buffalo at the same time as Daboll, will continue in that role to lead the search for a new head coach.

“We feel like Joe has assembled a good young nucleus of talent, and we look forward to its development,” Mara added. “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.”

Kafka joined the Giants as offensive coordinator under Daboll in 2022 and added the title of assistant head coach in 2024. Before arriving in New York, he spent six years largely in a backup QB role with several teams after being drafted by Philadelphia, and then five seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, during which time he was part of Andy Reid’s staff that won Super Bowl LIV.