The New York Giants have been struggling on the field for months, and this past weekend, there were signs of more trouble ahead.
Before the Giants lost to the New Orleans Saints 14-11 on Sunday, a small plane flew around MetLife Stadium with a banner urging co-owner John Mara to make major changes to a team that has only reached the playoffs twice since winning the Super Bowl in February 2012.
“Mr. Mara, enough. Please fix this dumpster fire!” the banner read.
While Mara chose not to comment on the banner, it was clear that a frustrated fan, or possibly many fans, were fed up with the Giants’ (2-11) constant losses. The team’s current losing streak is now at eight games, just one away from tying the team’s record.
The frustration of one fan, and likely many others, is a problem for Mara and co-owner Steve Tisch. No owner wants an unhappy fan base, and the issue is not just about this season.
Seven out of the last eight seasons have ended with losing records, including a 2019 season where the Giants had a franchise-record nine straight losses. There have been two other streaks of nine losses, in 1976 and 2003-04.
Mara and Tisch need to make decisions about what comes next, but what should they do? The easy choice would be to fire head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen, who both came to the team in 2022 and helped lead the Giants to the playoffs with a 9-7-1 record that season. However, since then, the team has a record of 11-28-1.
The late Robert E. Mulcahy, former head of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and later athletic director at Rutgers, once said the hardest decision he had to make was keeping Greg Schiano as Rutgers’ coach after Schiano posted a 12-34 record in his first four years. Everyone wanted him fired, but Mulcahy believed in him, and it worked out.
Mara and Tisch are now in a similar position with Schoen and Daboll. If they believe in their ability to turn things around, they should stick with them. If not, they may need to make changes. But what they cannot do is let the emotions of the fans influence their decision.
