After four turbulent seasons and a 2-8 start to 2025, the New York Giants have officially parted ways with head coach Brian Daboll. It’s a move that felt inevitable after the team blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead on Sunday against the Chicago Bears.
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The Giants, who entered the year hopeful with two veteran QBs and rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart, now find themselves once again searching for a new identity and a new head coach. With no successor named yet and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka taking over on an interim basis, speculation has exploded over who the Giants might bring in to lead their young, talented roster.
And if Julian Edelman’s recent comments are anything to go by, a familiar name might be worth watching.
Speaking on his Games with Names podcast, Edelman floated the idea of his former coach Bill Belichick returning to the NFL … and perhaps doing so with his former team, the Giants.
“They fired Brian Daboll Week 10 after the Giants lose that 10-point fourth-quarter lead to the Chicago Bears,” Edelman began, setting the stage. “There’s a team down in Chapel Hill playing a little better… what if the Giants brought in Bill Belichick?”
While the show’s producer questioned whether such a move was even possible, the ex-Patriots WR doubled down loudly.
“I don’t know. But he fu*king loves them. Guy shed a single tear every time we played there. The only time I saw him get happy was when we talked about LT,” Edelman said, referring to Lawrence Taylor, the cornerstone under Belichick’s days as a defensive coordinator in New York in the 1980s.
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Belichick’s former Giants connection is exactly why this is not an entirely far-fetched suggestion from Edelman. While Belichick is now the head coach at the University of North Carolina, he has close ties to the Mara family and to the organization that gave him his first break in his coaching career.
Moreover, Belichick spent over a decade on the Giants’ staff, serving as defensive coordinator under Bill Parcells during their Super Bowl-winning runs in 1986 and 1990.
That said, Julian Edelman also believes that the Giants may want to pursue a coach whose energy fits the team’s new centerpiece. “I think they’re gonna probably try to get someone that’s sexy for Jaxson Dart,” he said, hinting that the organization might opt for a younger, offensive-minded coach who can grow alongside their rookie quarterback.
Still, bringing Belichick back to East Rutherford would carry a poetic weight, the ultimate full-circle moment for a 73-year-old coaching icon whose defensive philosophy was born there.
On the flip side, Belichick’s age and preference for control could clash with a front office clearly committed to building around Schoen and Dart for the long haul. And last but not least, the drama surrounding the UNC head coach and his 24-year-old girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, is the last thing New York needs right now.
So for now, it remains a long shot. But given Belichick’s deep affection for the Giants and Edelman’s cheeky reminder that “he fu*king loves them,” this seems to be that one rumor that won’t die quickly.
