The New York Giants are contemplating the future of the franchise as the 2024-25 regular season draws to a close. After another failed season, the G-Men must decide whether or not to clean house.
The Giants could fire Brian Daboll
While some recent reports have indicated that the Giants have not yet made a decision regarding the future of general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll, they could opt to make changes following the season’s conclusion. Daboll’s Giants have endured back-to-back losing seasons in 2023 and 2024 after a promising start to his tenure in 2022. Co-owner and team president John Mara has said that he wants to be patient and give this regime more time.
However, he has also reportedly had exploratory calls, weighing his options if he were to fire Daboll and company. If the Giants do move on from Daboll, there is some speculation that one of the NFL’s best head coaches could become available for trade.
Could Steelers HC Mike Tomlin become available for trade?
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, teams are expected to call the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason and inquire about a potential trade for head coach Mike Tomlin:
“And one other coaching note – I think there will be teams out there that watch the way the Steelers season has ended and wonder whether they should call the Steelers to see if they should inquire about whether the Steelers would be willing to move on from Mike Tomlin and move him to another organization,” Schefter said on ESPN’s NFL Countdown (h/t Steeler Nation).
“I don’t think Pittsburgh will do that. That has not been what they have been about, and there’s no indication that they would, but I do think there are teams wondering about whether they should lob in a call just to see if they could stir Pittsburgh’s ear.”
In the wake of the Steelers’ loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in their regular-season finale, Tomlin’s future with the team has become a hot topic of conversation. Pittsburgh is going to the playoffs regardless of their Week 18 result. However, this is a crucial postseason for Tomlin to prove himself to Steelers fans once again.
Despite Tomlin’s regular-season success, some Steelers fans are “sick and tired” of Tomlin, citing his recent failures in the playoffs as a reason to prompt change. Over the last 13 seasons, Tomlin’s Steelers have earned just a 3-8 postseason record with five-straight playoff losses in a row. They have gone seven seasons now without an AFC Conference Championship appearance. Perhaps a change of scenery could benefit both Tomlin and the Steelers, plus whichever team inherits the former Super Bowl-winning head coach.
Despite his more recent postseason failures, Tomlin is one of the most successful head coaches of recent times. Since taking over as the Steelers’ head coach in 2017, Tomlin has a career 183–107–2 (.630) regular-season record, 8–10 (.444) postseason record, and is a Super Bowl champion (XLIII). In 18 years as Pittsburgh’s head coach, Tomlin has never had a losing season. He holds the NFL record for the most consecutive non-losing seasons to begin coaching career
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Trading for Tomlin would be costly
While head coach trades are rare, they do happen on special occasions. However, they are typically expensive deals to make happen. Most recently, the Denver Broncos traded for HC Sean Payton from the New Orleans Saints in 2022. In exchange for Payton, the Broncos sent the Saints a 2023 first-round pick, 29th overall, and a 2024 second, receiving a 2024 third-round pick in return as well.
If the Giants wanted to trade for Tomlin, the price floor would likely be a first-round draft pick. With the Giants slated to own a top-10 pick in this year’s draft, they might be hesitant to pull the trigger on such a deal. However, it could be something they consider doing as Tomlin’s coaching could be viewed as more valuable than the impact of any rookie draft pick.
The Steelers are realistically unlikely to trade Tomlin. The Giants are also unlikely to sacrifice the assets necessary to acquire Tomlin. However, depending on how the NFL playoffs go for the Steelers, and also depending on how the offseason unfolds for the Giants, this unlikely scenario could become a possibility to monitor.
