If you were hoping for another Ole Miss Rebel to head north and become the next head coach of the New York Giants, you might be out of luck. As current coach Brian Daboll currently stands on shaky ground in East Rutherford, there has been a natural question as to who could fill his shoes if New York (2-8) were to part ways with him.
Given the emergence of rookie sensation Jaxson Dart as a franchise cornerstone at quarterback, folks have drawn the logical line to giving Lane Kiffin a call to see if he’d want to reunite with his former quarterback and return to the NFL.
While it makes sense on paper, judging by what Brandon Dart, Jaxson’s father, had to say about that possible reunion, it doesn’t sound like a realistic option.
“As we were texting on our Kiffin-Dart family text thread, because I think Boomer Esiason had said something in the media today that maybe they should throw out a potential coaching (offer) to Kiffin, and he just sent it over with a smirk and just said, ‘It’s too cold in New York for me.’ It’s just kind of funny,” Brandon Dart told the “Bleav in Ole Miss” podcast, via the New York Post.
“But we have our weekly interactions with him and his family, and Jaxson holds high regard. I think Kiffin is one of his most trusted allies, and I think he uses him for advice in a lot of different ways, so there’s constant communication between them, even today, and there’s a lot of that between our families. I don’t think we could have asked for a more special coach relationship between our family and our son, so we’re very, very grateful for coach Kiff.”
Kiffin coached Dart for three years at Ole Miss, which included a stellar senior season in 2024 with the quarterback throwing for 4,279 yards and 29 touchdowns while completing 69.3% of his throws. That tutelage helped him become a first-round pick at the 2025 NFL Draft, and, given the close ties they share, it would make sense for New York to see if he’d be interested in the job.
While weather might be a factor for Kiffin, so is the current landscape in college football. There are a number of high-profile jobs open, including at LSU, Penn State, and Florida, where he could be a leading candidate. He could also simply stay put at Ole Miss, where he currently has the Rebels in contention for the College Football Playoff.
Even with Kiffin as a long shot, the mere fact that this is a conversation highlights how hot the seat is under Daboll at the moment. New York finds itself after Week 10 dead last in the NFC East at 2-8, and the club is currently on a four-game losing streak. That streak includes a 33-32 loss to the Broncos in Week 7, where the Giants allowed Denver to score all of those points in a frantic fourth-quarter comeback.
If Daboll, who is 20-40-1 in his 61 regular-season games as head coach of the Giants, doesn’t show signs of turning it around between now and the end of the season, it could force owner John Mara’s hand to make a change.
And if that change isn’t toward someone like Kiffin, let’s highlight three other possible options.
Jesse Minter
Current role: Defensive coordinator, Los Angeles Chargers
Ownership and fans alike may want an offensive-minded head coach to further cater to Dart’s development, but don’t sleep on a guy like Jesse Minter, either. New York has invested heavily along the defensive line by acquiring the likes of Brian Burns, signing Dexter Lawrence to a big-money extension, and drafting Abdul Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux inside the top five of the NFL Draft in recent years. That unit has the potential to be among the best in the NFL, and could reach that with someone like Minter at the helm, which would, in turn, help Dart and the offense.
Minter, who was the defensive coordinator at the University of Michigan and followed Jim Harbaugh to the Los Angeles Chargers in the same role, has presided over some dominant defenses. In 2024, the Chargers ranked No. 1 in points allowed and are No. 6 in the league in yards allowed in 2025 (entering Week 10).
Kliff Kingsbury
Current role: Offensive coordinator, Washington Commanders
Last offseason, we saw former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson accept a head coaching job in the division with Chicago, so maybe Kingsbury could be the latest to follow that track. Kingsbury has done wonders for the Commanders offense with a young Jayden Daniels, and could bring a similar boost to Dart’s development in New York. On top of being one of the top offensive minds in the NFL, he also comes with prior head coaching experience, leading the Arizona Cardinals from 2019 to 2022. Kingsbury went just 28-37-1 over that tenure, but it did include an 11-6 record in 2021.
Klint Kubiak
Current role: Offensive coordinator, Seattle Seahawks
Kubiak is expected to be a popular name this upcoming hiring cycle, especially after he has turned the Seattle Seahawks offense into one of the best in the league. Entering Week 10, Sam Darnold is playing at an MVP level and averaging 9.6 yards per attempt. Meanwhile, Jaxon Smith-Njigba currently leads the NFL with 948 yards receiving and is on pace to be the league’s first 2,000-yard receiver. Could he work similar magic with Dart and a healthy Malik Nabers with the Giants?
