At this point, it may take a miracle for New York Giants coach Brian Daboll to not be fired by the time the season ends, and actor and New England Patriots superfan Mark Wahlberg is calling it.
This was not my first rodeo speaking to Wahlberg. I was comfortable wearing an Eli Manning jersey while talking to him, which he immediately called out. Speaking to ClutchPoints about his new movie, Play Dirty, Wahlberg wished the Giants “good luck,” but he's not convinced that making Jaxson Dart the starting quarterback is enough to save Daboll's job.
The move reeks of desperation. Throwing the “Dart Man,” as Wahlberg dubbed him — which is also what he calls his Play Dirty co-star Keegan-Michael Key, who was sharing the couch with him — out there may not have the desired result.
“Good luck with the Giants,” he said. “Hey, you're about to throw the Dart man in there. He's [Keegan-Michael Key] the real Dart Man, but you're about to throw Jaxson Dart [in] and now he's gonna have a terrible experience.”
His solution? Fire Daboll. Why? Well, ex-Giants Daniel Jones is 3-0 with the Indianapolis Colts right now, and Saquon Barkley is coming off a Super Bowl win with the Giants' divisional rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles.
“You gotta get rid of the coach,” Wahlberg confidently said. “Look at Danny Dimes [Daniel Jones]. Look at Saquon Barkley. What's going on here? Sometimes, you've gotta look in the mirror — the coach and the front office. Come on.”
Will the Giants fire Brian Daboll?
The future of Daboll with the Giants hinges on Dart's success. He will get his first start against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 4. It will be a tough matchup, as the Chargers are on a roll at 3-0 and atop the AFC West.
It won't get much easier from there. The Giants will play the 0-3 New Orleans Saints in Week 5. However, they will then play the Philadelphia Eagles twice in three weeks, with the Denver Broncos sandwiched between those matchups. They will then have a tour of the NFC North, squaring off with the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, and Detroit Lions from Weeks 10-12.
If the Giants go 3-14 again, like they did in 2024, it is hard to imagine them moving forward with Daboll. He led them to the playoffs once in his first year with them. However, since then, they have gone 9-28.
