Opinion: Jaxson Dart can't save Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen

The Jaxson Dart era has gotten off to an explosive start in New York.

Wins over the Chargers and Eagles have instilled a new life into MetLife Stadium that hasn’t been felt since the Odell Beckham Jr. days, and even the losses have at least given us hope.

In the defeats to the Saints and recently the Broncos, it wasn’t the ugly Giants losses that they have accustomed us to.

Even in a historic meltdown against Denver, I left that game feeling content that Dart put the team on his back to end the game in a way we haven’t seen a Giants quarterback do in a decade.

Watching Dart go out there and play ball has made the losses tolerable, even if they have come in the fashion of blowing multiple score leads.

There are so many talented, young players who make me excited for the new era of Giants football.

However, this culture shift doesn’t absolve everyone of blame.

There has been plenty of talk about the job security of Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen.

What is extremely important right now is that the Giants nail the coaching position.

You have Dart on his rookie deal for four more years and Malik Nabers on his rookie deal for three, and if Dart really is the guy, then that’s your window to win.

Daboll deservedly won coach of the year in his first year in New York.

Since then, it has gone downhill. A constant stream of bad decisions, an undisciplined roster, and mental mistakes have continued to cost the Giants since the high of the first playoff win.

No matter what Jaxson Dart does for the rest of the year, the loss to Denver should be the nail in the coffin for the tenures of Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen in New York.

Teams that were up 18 points with less than six minutes to play had won the game the last 1603 times, but the Giants were able to squander that lead.

While Dart did throw a bad interception due to getting tripped up by a blown block that got the comeback going for Denver, the loss fell on the same coaching mistakes we have seen over and over.

Deonte Banks was benched for three quarters, inserted in the fourth, and then was immediately targeted and shredded by the Denver offense all quarter.

Jude McAtnemy hasn’t been trusted to take a field goal over 31 yards all season, and yet he is still on the roster because the Giants failed to replace Graham Gano, who has had consistent injury issues in the latter stages of his career.

McAtnemy missed two extra points on Sunday, and when you do the math, that’s pretty bad in a game you lose by one point on a walkoff field goal.

He was benched at Rutgers in his senior season, yet he is starting for an NFL team and losing them games.

In the midst of the defensive collapse in the fourth quarter, where they allowed 33 points, there were more coaching mistakes.

On the final drive, Brian Burns was clearly limping down the field, yet the Giants did not take the timeout they had to get him off the field.

Burns left the field in frustration, screaming in anger about how Shane Bowen only had three pass rushers on the field when the Giants' strength on defense is the four-headed monster of Burns, Dexter Lawrence, Abdul Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux.

This is the third time that the Giants have lost a game where they led by multiple scores, and this is the second time where Bowen’s defense just had to get a stop with less than one minute left and couldn’t do so.

Despite leading a talented unit to underperformance, Daboll reaffirmed that Bowen would be keeping his job.

He has pushed out a very good defensive coordinator in Wink Martindale due to disagreements between the two in the past, but now with Bowen, he won’t hold him accountable for two years of an underperforming defense.

Coming into the year, everyone thought the jobs of this regime would be dependent on the success of Jaxson Dart.

While Dart has shown flashes, his success shouldn’t save this regime.

It’s year four, and Daboll is still making mistakes that would be bad for a rookie coach.

Schoen has still been unable to build a competent interior offensive line, has spent two first-round picks on players who are unplayable in Banks and Evan Neal, and has built a team that lacks depth.

Right now, the Giants are in an advantageous spot. They have a superstar wide receiver, a very good running back, a promising young quarterback, and a future elite edge rusher, all on a rookie deal for at least three more years.

They also have Burns, who leads the league in sacks, alongside Dexter Lawrence, who might be the best defensive player in football.

This is a job that any new GM or head coach would dream of.

It’s been four years, and the pairing of Schoen and Daboll hasn’t proven they can take the Giants to where they want to be.

The franchise should thank them for getting the guy who looks like he could be their franchise QB, but if the Giants want to take advantage of this core while they are young and cheap, they need to have new leadership next season.

Edison Pellumbi is a first-year student studying broadcast journalism. To contact him, email him at ejp5889@psu.edu.