Three weeks ago, John Mara, co-owner of the New York Giants, told reporters that he still had faith in general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll.
“Obviously we are all very disappointed with where we are right now,” Mara said. “But I will say one thing: we will not make any changes this season. And I don’t expect anything to change in the offseason.”
The Giants were 2-5 at this point and the season was somewhat salvageable. Three weeks and three more defeats later, one has to wonder if Mara is reconsidering his support.
His 2-8 Giants are a sloppy, uninspired bunch who are now finding different ways to lose winnable games on a weekly basis. They lost in overtime on Sunday against Pittsburgh by eight points, Washington by five points and now by three points against Carolina.
Combine those games with a three-point loss at Washington in Week 2 where they botched their kicker situation and a five-point loss to a dysfunctional Dallas team in Week 4, and this season has been a series of “What if”. .”
They also lost to the outstanding Bengals by a respectable score of 17-7. Until the last two minutes it was 10:7.
If they had been more disciplined and focused in some of these games, they might have been right in the thick of things.
And it's not just about the players. The coaching staff and front office should also be housed there. They have mismanaged the squad several times this season and made questionable decisions when dealing with injured players.
Add to that Daboll's erratic in-game coaching decisions that backfired, and the Giants have only themselves to blame. He always outsmarted himself. The truth is that as Giants head coach, he has a winning percentage of just .398 – the fifth-worst of any Giants head coach in their history.
Mara must be frustrated. The fans definitely are. This NFL season is completely open and the Giants are not competing. The loss to Carolina was the latest blow in a long string of death blows this season.
Whose fault is it? WFAN anchor Sal Licata says look no further than Mara.
“For me, the main culprit is the owner,” said Sal. “If I were John Mara, I would wake up today and fire myself! He felt so bad. Their problems go back years, whether it was pushing out Coughlin, hiring McAdoofus, allowing Gettleman to draft a second overall running back, and then forcing Schoen and Daboll to extend Daniel Jones… Every step of the way it was wrong decisions, and it starts at the top with Mara… the problem is he’s not going anywhere.”
Of course, Mara didn't force Schoen to decline Jones' fifth-year option. If he had really gotten involved, this would never have happened and Saquon Barkley would still be wearing blue. This suggests that Schoen and Daboll are acting freely.
However, Mara is not without guilt.
Firing Schoen and Daboll will only keep the revolving door going. They are new to their job and, for all we know, may not be very good at it.
Mara needs to consider his role in this mess. These are not pleasant times for the Giants and their fans. Will they ever be able to escape this cycle of losses again?