BREAKING: Giants fire offensive coordinator Jason Garrett
The New York Giants have made a major change to the coaching staff. After the Giants 30-10 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football, the team has decided to fire offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
The Giants are now 3-7 on the season, sitting in last place in the NFC East. Garrett’s offense with the Giants ranked in the bottom third of the NFL with 322.8 yards per game, 92.9 rushing yards per game, and 18.9 points per game. The team’s 229.9 passing yards per game ranked middle of the pack.
Garrett was the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys from 2010 through 2019. He was fired after the 2019 season. He was in his second season as the Giants offensive coordinator.
ESPN’s Field Yates has named Giants tight ends coach Freddie Kitchens as a likely successor as the Giants play caller. Kitchens filled in for Garrett last season when Garrett was out due to COVID-19 protocols.
The Giants tried to add offensive talent, but it wasn’t enough to save Garrett’s job
Daniel Jones receives a lot of criticism as the Giants starting quarterback. In ten games this season, he has completed 64.3 percent of his passes for 2,226 yards, nine touchdowns, and seven interceptions. He has been sacked 21 times and has fumbled twice.
New York tried to surround Jones with talent on offense, but things simply haven’t gone as planned. Star running back Saquon Barkley worked his way back from a torn ACL only to suffer an ankle injury earlier in the season. Barkley has played in six games, rushing for 220 yards and two touchdowns. He is averaging just 3.7 yards per carry. Jones also has 268 rushing yards with two touchdowns. Devontae Booker leads the team in rushing with 330 yards and two touchdowns.
On paper, the Giants actually have a pretty decent group of wide receivers. Kenny Golladay was signed in the offseason and Kadarius Toney was drafted out of Florida, joining a room that already had Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton. But not a single one of those players has played in ten games. Shepard has played in five games, Slayton and Golladay have played in seven, and Toney has played in nine. Toney leads the team with 392 yards and 35 receptions. Tight end Evan Engram leads the team with two touchdown receptions.
While injuries can certainly be part of the Giants’ offensive struggles, the team struggled overall to move the ball at a consistent level. The Giants firing Garrett is a big step and could be one of many changes coming to the offense over the coming months. New York is poised to have an early draft pick in the NFL Draft, plus the team holds the Chicago Bears’ first round pick.