Could comments from Giants players lead to firings of Brian Daboll, Joe Schoen?

Earlier this week, multiple New York Giants players publicly campaigned for team co-owner John Mara to retain head coach Brian Daboll for another season even though the Giants will enter Week 18 at 3-13 and have gone 9-25 (playoffs included) over their past 34 games under Daboll. 

However, Mara probably won't love what some Giants players recently had to say about Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen letting star running back Saquon Barkley reach free agency last March. Barkley ultimately signed a three-year, $37.75M contract that could be worth up to $46.75M with $26M fully guaranteed to join the rival Philadelphia Eagles. 

"New York...had some leaders calling the team's effort 'soft' by Week 12, unconvinced everybody was giving 100 percent. It left a good chunk of players feeling that Barkley's presence in the locker room was underestimated by the Giants' brass," ESPN's Jordan Raanan revealed in a piece published Thursday. 

This past fall, multiple reporters debunked theories suggesting that Mara essentially forced Schoen and Daboll to sign quarterback Daniel Jones to a new four-year contract in March 2023 that let the club retain Barkley's rights for last season via the franchise tag. 

Additionally, the "Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants" program made it clear Mara wanted to keep Barkley through at least the ongoing campaign but let Schoen have the final say regarding the 27-year-old's status. 

The Giants parted ways with Jones in November, while Barkley began Thursday afternoon as a massive betting favorite to earn Offensive Player of the Year Award honors for his first season with the Eagles. Per StatMuse, Barkley leads the NFL with 2,283 total yards from scrimmage.

"A handful of players told ESPN recently that the veteran running back's presence was integral in helping keep the Giants together through a difficult 2023 season," Raanan said about what Barkley meant to the club that was his NFL home from 2018-23. "After making the playoffs the previous year, the Giants were 2-8 when [undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito] stepped in as the starter for injured quarterbacks Daniel Jones and Tyrod Taylor. They kept it together enough to win three straight games and finish 6-11."

Raanan added that Barkley "was the Giants' clear-cut vocal leader the past few years."

Some already believed Mara seeing one more banner demanding change flying over a stadium could be enough for him to fire at least Daboll as soon as this coming Monday. 

Players directly saying the Barkley decision resulted in the Giants having a "soft" locker room probably won't do the Daboll-Schoen regime any favors ahead of New York's game at Philadelphia this coming Sunday.