Podcast Summary: Don, Hahn & Rosenberg — Hour 1: The Giants Future

Date: November 10, 2025
Hosts: Don Hahn, Peter Rosenberg, Alan Hahn
Producer: ESPN New York

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the fallout from the New York Giants’ latest loss and the immediate firing of head coach Brian Daboll after a disappointing 2-8 start to the 2025 season. The hosts debate the timing and implications of the firing, evaluate GM Joe Schoen’s future, and speculate on the Giants' next head coach. Several callers join to voice their frustrations and ideas, while the hosts keep the discussion candid, passionate, and unfiltered.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Brian Daboll Fired — Timing and Frustrations

• Firing Details:

  • Daboll was fired midseason after a 2-8 start, following a series of blown games where the Giants had a >90% win probability entering the 4th quarter but lost all.
  • Kafka (Offensive Coordinator) takes over as interim coach.

• Hosts’ Initial Reactions:

  • Don: “Are we happy with the when and the only? ... are you cool that it happened in the middle of the season?” [00:52]
  • Peter: “We’ve seen it enough at this point...yesterday had to be the final meal. It had to be.” [02:21]

• Roster/Front Office Accountability:

  • Discussion on GM Joe Schoen remaining while Daboll takes the fall; acknowledgement that each failed game was an embarrassing and recurring trend.
  • Don: “Even if you wanted Schoen gone...I’m happy today that Schoen is staying because that means it’s not John Mara making the decision on who the next head coach would be.” [03:36]
  • Detailed discussion on Mara’s inability to hire winning GMs or coaches and personal health issues impacting his hands-off approach. [04:00]

2. Roster Analysis and Rebuild Path

• Schoen’s Roster Construction:

  • Peter: “This year's team had enough to be competitive for a playoff spot...still a very young team.” [05:01]
  • Discussion on continuity: letting the roster/GM build rather than blowing everything up with a full new regime.
  • Coaching staff blamed for key mistakes (notably, firing a successful DC and inexperienced kicker decisions).

• Missed Opportunities:

  • Peter laments: “You have four games that were supposed to be wins...all metrics told you the expectation of winning was over 90%.” [08:26]
  • The hosts enumerate games squandered: Dallas, New Orleans, Denver, Chicago—each dissected for blown leads and coaching inadequacy. [09:08-10:16]

3. The Giants Head Coaching Search

• Belichick Debate:

  • Don floats Bill Belichick as a “get us back on track” candidate, not necessarily to chase a title but to instill discipline and respectability, likening his potential impact to Tom Thibodeau with the Knicks. [13:02-15:29]
    • “Can I just find somebody to kind of get us back on track, gets us out of the embarrassment pool?” — Don [14:21]
  • Peter and Allen skeptical: “That’s not a fit anymore...this is a young team.” [13:14-13:29]
  • Concerns about Belichick wanting GM-level control; whether Mara would accept the “circus” that could come with Belichick [12:44].

• Alternative Candidates:

  • Debate over “resume coaches” (experienced but maybe past their peak) vs. young/growing assistants.
  • Names floated: Mike McCarthy (“get you organized,” “at least you’d make the playoffs” [20:59]), Pete Carroll, Brian Flores (hosts agree Giants would balk due to his legal baggage), Steve Spagnuolo, Clint Kubiak.
  • Importance of a “leader of men,” not just a schematic genius: “I just need a leader...that’s what you’re looking for with the Giants right now.” — Peter [47:10]

4. Caller Reactions: Disbelief & Resignation

• Common Themes:

  • Callers echo hosts’ exasperation with repeated blown games and “expected losses.”
  • Brian (season ticket holder): “Just reckless. I just thought [Daboll’s] actions on the sideline were never that of a leader.” [43:24]

• Roster vs. Coaching:

  • Debate on whether the Giants’ problems are deeper than coaching—one caller (Daniel) calls for John Mara and inner circle to stop making football decisions due to a lack of success since his inheritance of the team [36:20-38:43].
  • Peter: “The roster was good enough to be 6 and 4. Yes or no?” Don: “Yes.” [38:00]

• Crisis of Expectations:

  • Peter: “How are we not 6-4 right now...with a roster that is banged up but we are right. We should be right there. And instead, we’re all the way down in the basement at 2-8 and embarrassment and everybody’s laughing at us.” [21:36]

5. Memorable Moments & Quotes

Daboll as a Lightning Rod

• “When is Dabel going to get fired?...he’s the only victim here.” — Don [00:52]
• “You have to separate [Schoen and Daboll].” — Don Allen [07:44]

Reputation of Collapse

• “If there’s a way to lose, they’ll find it.” — Don [32:56]
• “That’s the reputation of the Giants right now.” — Peter [24:46]
• “Those crazy records...when leading by 20, they’ve won 50 straight games...and then you got the bad teams that they’re .500 with a lead after seven innings...And that’s the Giants.” — Don [22:05–22:18]

Leadership & What’s Next

• “Failing in New York is 10 times failing in Tennessee.” — Don [19:47]
• “The Giants ain’t a team that’s messing with a guy who’s suing the league.” (on Brian Flores) — Don Allen [16:54]
• “Sometimes we fall too much into offensive/defensive genius — I just need a leader of men.” — Peter [47:10]

Key Timestamps

• Don opens topic: Brian Daboll fired, questions of timing and blame [00:52]
• Roster vs. coaching: Giants should be 6-4, not 2-8 [03:12–03:35]
• Why Mara isn’t involved in football decisions [04:00–05:00]
• Roster construction & stability: keep GM, dump coach? [05:00–06:30]
• ‘Should have won’ games dissected [08:26–10:16]
• Belichick idea introduced, debated [12:42–15:29]
• “Leader of men” vs. schematic genius [47:10]
• Caller resonating with fans’ despair and lack of trust in ownership [36:20–38:43]

Tone & Language

True to the hosts’ reputations, the discussion is blunt, witty, and laced with gallows humor. There’s both a sense of resignation and a search for hope amid the Giants’ dysfunction. Passionate about New York sports and alive with pop culture analogies, the dialogue doesn’t mince words but also seeks real solutions—if only to make the team “not a colossal embarrassment.”

Conclusion

“Hour 1: The Giants Future” chronicles a franchise at a crossroads—one publicly grappling with a humiliating collapse, leadership vacuum, and an urgent need to rebuild trust and direction. The hosts parse the nuances of firing a coach midseason, the wisdom of keeping GM Joe Schoen, and the daunting task of identifying the next Giants head coach capable of righting the ship. Intelligent, fiery, and open-ended, the hour captures the pulse and pain of New York Giants fans at a breaking point, while looking for the first steps forward.