Another NFL season has brought what is seemingly perpetual disappointment for Jets and Giants fans. Hope once again faded to black for the fanbases of both franchises less than halfway into the season. By November 2 the Giants were 2-7 and the Jets, on their bye week, were 1-7. Although both teams were mathematically still capable of making the playoffs, realistically, neither was coming close to a postseason spot.
As they enter their Week 15 games, the Jets in Jacksonville to play the 9-4, AFC South leading Jaguars, and the Giants at home in MetLife Stadium to face longtime NFC East foe, the 3-10 Washington Commanders, there is a palpable feeling that the Jets and Giants leadership are deep into planning for next season as the Jets are 3-10 and the Giants 2-11.
Yes, each has four more regular season games remaining and Jets head coach Aaron Glenn and Giants head coach Mike Kafka are endeavoring to keep their team in the present. But it is a challenging charge when the players and coaches are suffering from losing fatigue. For the Giants, many players naturally are viewing Kafka as a placeholder.
It doesn’t mean they don’t have his respect. But those who are certain to be back next season know the likelihood that he will be their head coach is minimal. Kafka was elevated from offensive coordinator on November 10 when former head coach Brian Daboll was fired after a 20-40-1 record in three-plus seasons and one wildcard playoff appearance in the 2022 season.
Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza and Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, will be two of the NFL’s top draft picks next April. Credit: AP Photo/Jay LaPrete
Correspondingly, the job status of Giants general manager Joe Schoen is ostensibly also tenuous. Schoen and Daboll were by and large a package deal when they were hired by team owners John Mara and Steve Tisch in January of 2022. Schoen was the assistant GM for the Buffalo Bills and Daboll their offensive coordinator. A little over a week ago, Schoen addressed the media regarding the state of the team.
“Let me start off with two wins is not where we want to be right now, it’s good enough. I understand the frustration from fans, ownership, [and] the people inside the building,” he said. “Nobody is more frustrated than myself, it starts with me, and I’m tasked with trying to get this organization going back in the proper direction.”
“…So, we’re going to look at everything. Free agency, the draft, coaching, finishing, execution on the field, whatever it may be. …As for the coaching changes we made earlier in the year. This is the first time I’ve spoken with you guys since we moved on from Coach Daboll and (defensive coordinator) Shane Bowen. Dabs and I have an extended history together professionally and personally, a difficult decision, but one we decided to make and he’s a great football coach and he’s going to be successful in whatever he does after the New York Giants.”
“As for the coaching search,” Schoen expanded, “we’re going to do everything we can right now to support (interim head coach) [Mike] Kafka. That’s our primary focus right now is to give Kafka everything he needs in order to succeed over these next four weeks, support him and his staff. At the appropriate time, we’ll get into potential coaches research and we’ll do thorough collaborative research and come up with the best coach to lead the New York Giants going into the 2026 season.”
While the Jets’ and Giants’ share last-place standings in their respective divisions, their circumstances are dissimilar. While Schoen and the departed Daboll have had nearly four years to get the Giants headed on an upward trajectory, this is Year 1 for Glenn and Jets general manager Darren Mougey. The Jets are in desperate need of a quarterback who can drive them back to a competitive level. The Giants think they have secured their long-term QB1 in rookie Jaxson Dart, who they drafted last April in the first round, No. 25 overall, out of the University of Mississippi, more commonly known as ‘Ole Miss,’ also the alma mater of the franchise’s two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning.
The Jets, after trading defensive lineman Quinnen Williams to the Dallas Cowboys for a package that included a 2027 first rounder and a 2026 second rounder and cornerback Sauce Gardner to the Indianapolis Colts, acquiring two first round pick in exchange, both dealt on November 4 at the NFL trade deadline, now possess an enviable trove of at least two first rounders in the April 2026 draft and a minimum of three first round slots in the 2027 draft to rectify their problematic quarterback position.
Maybe after an extensive evaluation, the Jets may target Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who is currently in New York City for this weekend’s Heisman Trophy ceremony as the frontrunner for the award. They can also wait until 2027 to use their draft capital on a QB. As for the Giants, Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, who many scouts have compared to Pro Football Hall of Famer Ed Reed, would be a perfect fit to sure up their flawed secondary.
While the free agency period doesn’t begin until early March and the NFL Draft, this year being staged in Pittsburgh from April 23-25, is over four months away, they are pretty much all that Jets and Giants fans have to look forward to.