The New York Giants are a familiar 0-2 to start the season and their upcoming schedule offers no immediate reprieve. They are 6.5-point road underdogs against the Cleveland Browns this Sunday and then have a quick turnaround against the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night.
From there, they will be underdogs against the Seattle Seahawks, Cincinnati Bengals, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Washington Commanders, who defeated the Giants, 21-18, in Week 2.
Things can get late fast and that reality has some players in the locker room questioning head coach Brian Daboll.
ESPN’s Jordan Raanan reports that several Giants players are beginning to lose faith in Daboll and fear that he will lose the locker room entirely if the team reaches 0-4.
“I’ve spoken to guys over the past few days,” Raanan said on the Breaking Big Blue podcast, “and some of them — not all of them — have said it’s starting to get shaky in there. The confidence in Brian Daboll is hanging by a thread.
“Their trust in him is waning.”
Publicly, Giants players have presented a very different narrative but there have also been some red flags.
All-Pro nose tackle Dexter Lawrence took very uncharacteristic aim at fans following a Week 1 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, saying he didn’t respect their booing. There was also a tense exchange between Raanan and linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux after the Washington loss, but that was quickly resolved in a lighthearted way.
Then, of course, there was Daboll angrily staring down New York Daily News reporter Pat Leonard following a question about his job security.
“This is about as tenuous as I’ve seen the locker room since 2017 when things fell apart on Ben McAdoo,” Raanan said. “This one here has the potential to go in the wrong direction if this gets much worse.”
Raanan adds that there are players in the locker room who refute the failing confidence in Daboll but “more than one or two” see things headed down an ugly road.
Vegas shares similar expectations as many sportsbooks currently list Daboll as the odds-on favorite to be the first coach fired this season (+150, 40% implied probability).
