Giants fire Jason Garrett as offensive coordinator
It was all the way back in late September when fans and analysts alike wondered if New York Giants offensive coordinator Jason Garrett could at least be stripped of his play-calling duties after New York fell to 0-3 and endured multiple frustrating spells on offense over those games.
The Giants dropped to 3-7 via Monday's demoralizing prime-time 30-10 defeat at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and announced a significant change Tuesday afternoon.
Big Blue confirmed Garrett has been relieved of his duties. As NFL Network's Tom Pelissero notes, Garrett is the first coach or assistant fired during this season. Pelissero added it's not yet known who will serve as interim coordinator moving forward, but logic suggests senior offensive assistant and former Cleveland Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens will take that role.
Per Jordan Raanan of ESPN, the Giants averaged a paltry 17.5 points per game under Garrett in his first season in charge of the offense in 2020. Per ESPN stats, New York currently ranks 25th overall averaging 18.9 points per contest and 23rd with 322.8 offensive yards per game.
"We have to do a better job of scoring points," Giants head coach Joe Judge admitted after Monday's loss. "I know it sounds pretty obvious and to the point with it. But I'm going to keep it pretty blunt right there. We have to do a better job of putting our players in position to make plays. We have too many good players. We have to put them in better position to capitalize on it. That's it."
Last month, Giants co-owner John Mara offered a public vote of confidence for Judge, but MMQB's Albert Breer suggested neither Judge nor general manager Dave Gettleman is safe ahead of the holidays.
Gettleman could enter retirement following the campaign, but Judge now sits at 9-17 overall during his Giants tenure and is practically guaranteed to miss the playoffs for a second straight year. Quarterback Daniel Jones seemingly regressing this fall could be the final figurative straw that leads to a complete house-cleaning as soon as Week 18 finishes on Jan. 9, 2022.
More must-reads: