What’s next for Brian Daboll after getting fired by New York Giants?

The NFL coaching cycle continued to churn early this week as the New York Giants fired head coach Brian Daboll after yet another blown big lead caused them to fall to 2-8.

Daboll had a 20-40-1 record with New York after being hired in 2022, a season in which he led the team to the playoffs and and in which he won the NFL Coach of the year Award. Now, let’s look at what is ahead for Daboll, 50, in the future.

It’s highly unlikely Daboll will get any real bites during the January hiring cycle. Daboll is a classic example of today’s NFL head coach candidates. When hired by New York, he was a highly sought-after candidate because he was a successful offensive coordinator. Now, though, his star has fallen after struggling as a head coach. He may get another chance in the future but he will likely have to re-earn another NFL head coaching possibility.

Don’t discount the possibility of Daboll jumping to college to become a head coach. Daboll has been an NFL coach since since 2000 except 2017 when he was Nick Saban’s offensive coordinator at Alabama. The college head coaching market will be popping in the next month with the serious turnover in the ranks tied to NIL. A big program could come after Daboll in the coming weeks. Penn State is already rumored to be targeting him, and a huge donor for the Nittany Lions is alumnus Terry Pegula, Daboll’s former boss with the Buffalo Bills.

This is the most likely step Daboll will take in 2026, assuming he wants to work next season. He has eight seasons experience as an NFL offensive coordinator, most notably with the Buffalo Bills from 2018-21. Daboll would likely be an extremely attractive and popular candidate as an NFL offensive coordinator in the next couple of months. Teams that make a change at offensive coordinator or lose theirs to a head coaching opportunity could easily turn to Daboll. A reunion with Sean McDermott and Josh Allen is plausible if offensive coordinator Joe Brady gets his walking papers from the Buffalo Bills.

This may be an unlikely avenue for Daboll to resume his coaching career, yet it can’t overlooked. He could reunite with Bill Belichick in North Carolina and with Saban rumored to come out of retirement, that’s a possibility, as well. Daboll also has a relationship with Lane Kiffin and perhaps he could be part of Kiffin’s staff at Ole Miss or if he moves on to greener pastures.