Rex Ryan blames one person for Giants' woes

Multiple NFL reporters suggested after the New York Giants fell to 2-9 on the season via Sunday's 30-7 home loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that New York head coach Brian Daboll could be fired this coming Friday if his club suffers an embarrassing defeat at the 4-7 Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving.

During Monday's edition of the ESPN "Get Up" program, former head coach and current analyst Rex Ryan blamed general manager Joe Schoen for the woes the Giants have experienced over the past two years. 

"I feel bad for Brian Daboll," Ryan explained, as shared by Justin Terranova of the New York Post. "He is a good football coach. This GM right now, that’s the one. I would just say gone, get the hell out of our building." 

Specifically, Ryan noted how former Giants players that Schoen let reach free agency, such as running back Saquon Barkley of the Philadelphia Eagles and safety Xavier McKinney of the Green Bay Packers, are thriving with their current employers. Barkley entered Monday afternoon as the betting favorite to win the Offensive Player of the Year award for the season and is a legitimate Most Valuable Player award candidate. 

Ryan also criticized the Giants for benching and then releasing former starting quarterback Daniel Jones last week. While Jones had played poorly throughout the campaign, it's no secret the injury guarantee for 2025 attached to the contract he signed back in March 2023 was a major reason Schoen and Daboll wanted to keep the 27-year-old a benched spectator through Week 18. 

Team captain Dexter Lawrence II was among the Giants players who made it known before the Tampa Bay debacle that they disagreed with the handling of Jones' situation. 

"Great message you send to the locker room," Ryan said about Schoen and Daboll moving on from Jones during the season. "You got exactly what you deserve. ...Don’t tell me the players gave up on you. You gave up on them when you made this move. It’s such a ridiculous thing. This isn’t one game left in the season. There’s seven games left. You know what? It’s not Daniel Jones' fault that you gave him $40M. It’s not."

Numerous analysts previously defended Schoen for not overpaying to hold onto Barkley earlier this year, considering the Giants are in the middle of a roster rebuild. However, Ryan pointed out on Monday that Barkley is both "a once-in-a-lifetime player" and "an amazing teammate" who served as a locker-room leader throughout his Giants tenure. 

Ryan has recently campaigned to once again be head coach of the New York Jets. Perhaps he'd accept a call from Giants co-owner John Mara if Mara decides as soon as Friday he wants to blow things up.