The NFL trade deadline passed quietly on Tuesday, and the New York Giants did what their head coach has done all year — they stayed the course. No splashy trades. No fire sale. No panic moves. Just the same message Brian Daboll has preached through every rough patch of this 2–7 season: focus on the players in the building.
“My focus is on doing the things we need to do better on the field with the guys that we have here,” Daboll said Monday afternoon, one day before the deadline expired. “That’s what we’re going to do.”
And so it was. The Giants neither bought nor sold. They simply chose to ride out the storm with the roster they have — a roster that’s been battered by injuries, inconsistencies, and defensive breakdowns.
It’s a decision that reflects both patience and stubbornness. On one hand, the front office clearly believes that tearing things down midseason serves no purpose for a young team still trying to define its identity. On the other, standing still when everything feels like it’s slipping away sends a message that’s open to interpretation. Is it confidence? Or complacency?
Inside the Giants’ facility, Daboll is determined to keep the focus inward. When pressed on the defense’s struggles — three straight games allowing 30-plus points — he didn’t mince words. “We had a long meeting like we do after every game,” he said. “We looked at some of the things that were good and then a lot of the things that need to improve. That’s collectively — that’s all of us, from the coaches to the players.”
He stopped short of scapegoating defensive coordinator Shane Bowen, whose scheme and play-calling have been under heavy scrutiny. When asked if Bowen was still his coordinator and play-caller, Daboll didn’t hesitate: “He is,” he said twice, with deliberate calm.
“Nothing’s good enough,” Daboll admitted. “Offense, defense, kicking game — we all can be better. That’s what we’re working toward. I know that’s what Shane is working toward.”
It’s a line that could apply to every corner of the Giants organization right now. From the sideline to the front office, everyone is searching for answers to the same problems that keep repeating themselves: missed tackles, slow starts, sloppy execution, and an inability to sustain consistency from week to week.
When asked to specify what “doing better” means, Daboll laid it out plainly. “There are a number of things — from technique to maybe changing up the scheme a little bit to open-field tackling. Everything that’s important on defense, we’ve got to do a better job of. That starts with me.”
Even the crowd noise became a storyline this week, with players admitting they had to go to a silent count — at home. Daboll brushed that aside with a matter-of-fact explanation. “The two false starts weren’t a result of a silent count,” he said. “We flinched on one, jumped on another. We adjusted on the sideline and went to a silent count for a while.”
It’s the kind of detail that reflects both his hands-on coaching style and his growing frustration. These aren’t schematic failures — they’re lapses in concentration. The kind that lose football games.
He faced questions about personnel decisions too, including Jalin Hyatt’s surprising cameo as a kickoff returner. “He’s been working at it for quite some time,” Daboll explained. “We were down in numbers at cornerback and running back. Jalin’s been working at it, we felt comfortable with him back there.”
And when it came to Evan Neal, the former top draft pick now relegated to a backup role, Daboll didn’t sugarcoat it. “Evan’s one of our backups,” he said. “He continues to work. He’ll continue to work to improve at his craft.”
It was all business, all accountability — and all frustration just beneath the surface.
As the questions turned personal — about his job security, his patience, and his leadership — Daboll stayed resolute. “You put everything you’ve got into it,” he said. “You look at what’s not where it needs to be and you try to fix it. Whether that’s changing things on the schedule, different periods of practice, little parts of the scheme — that’s where we’re at.”
Asked if the constant scrutiny wears him down, he shook it off. “No,” he said. “You look forward to doing everything you can to fix this thing and get it where it needs to be. I know everybody’s locked in on that, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
It’s the kind of answer you expect from a coach fighting for his team — and perhaps for his tenure. But there’s no trace of panic in Daboll’s tone, only resolve. “The biggest thing for us is to control the things we can control,” he added. “That’s the way I’ve always approached it, and that’s what we’ll keep doing.”
At this point, the Giants’ approach mirrors their head coach’s personality — quiet, stubborn, and unflinching in the face of chaos. The trade deadline came and went without a move, but maybe that’s fitting. The Giants didn’t sell off their season, and they didn’t buy false hope. They chose to look inward, to bet on themselves, and to live with the results.
It’s a risky bet — but it’s the kind of bet Brian Daboll has made his entire career.
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