While his first regular season as the head coach of the New York Giants was a mixed bag, a divisional round loss in the 2022 playoffs suggested that there was some hope for Brian Daboll and the G-Men. However, New York has yet to produce a winning season since then. After the lopsided loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 9, they now have an 11-31 record in the past three years.
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Daboll was presumably on the hot seat before the 2025 regular season even started. With the Giants now sitting at 2-6 and firmly at the bottom of the NFC East rankings, many are calling for the front office to finally make a change.
And a particular few, including A to Z Sports’ Joe DeLeonee, believe that Jon Gruden may just be the man for the job.
“A lot of Giants fans are pushing for Jon Gruden,” DeLeonee had said after New York’s 22-9 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 3. He then explained why Gruden.
“A big reason why a lot of people like the idea of Jon Gruden is because he’s so vocal on social media and on his show on Barstool Sports about how much he loves Jaxson Dart. Having somebody who’s bought into Jaxson Dart right off the bat is huge,” added DeLeonee.
Anytime a franchise decides to seek out a brand-new head coach, the new hire typically wants to establish his own brand of football. That would often include picking a quarterback of their choice.
Considering that the Giants just spent the 25th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft on Dart, it wouldn’t make much sense for them to bring in an HC who is opposed to Dart or his skillset. That wouldn’t be the case with Gruden. The former Super Bowl champion has repeatedly gushed about Dart on various platforms.
“Jaxson Dart is one of those guys I’ve been waiting for,” Gruden had exclaimed before his viral pre-draft interview with the USC product.
“He’s the Evel Knievel of quarterbacks. I have never seen a guy play the position like this. He takes people on physically… He’ll take big hits and deliver strikes. He’s a great competitor and I’d love to coach him,” he had stated at the time.
It seemed to be nothing more than praise for the next man up from Gruden at that point. But as we continue to creep toward the inevitable end of the Daboll era, it’s starting to seem as if Gruden may have been dropping some potential hints all along.
Of course, only time can tell as to whether or not Gruden will be the man taking over from Daboll. But it’s rather hard not to get excited about the grit and tenacity that Gruden could bring to what has already proven to be a rather feisty roster.
