Not a lot is going right for the 2-7 New York Giants.
The team is riding a three-game losing streak, star wide receiver Malik Nabers is lost for the year with an ACL injury, and breakout rookie running back Cam Skattebo is also lost for the year with an ankle injury.
But if there has been one bright spot for the Giants, it’s that it appears the team found its next franchise quarterback in rookie first-rounder Jaxson Dart.
The 22-year-old Ole Miss alum has been a revelation since replacing Russell Wilson back in Week 4, throwing for 1,175 yards, 10 touchdowns and three interceptions with a passer rating of 93.9.
He’s also added 251 yards rushing and five more scores on the ground, showing why the Giants traded up from Round to back into the first round to grab Dart with the no. 25 overall pick back in April.
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And while Dart’s future looks to be plenty secure, the same can’t be said for Giants head coach Brian Daboll or general manager Joe Schoen. There’s been plenty of speculation one or both could be gone when the season ends, and rumors are starting to spread that Dart’s college coach Lane Kiffin could be Daboll’s potential successor in New York.
Though Kiffin has a pretty good gid with Ole Miss, Dart’s father Brandon sparked some debate about Kiffin booking it to New York to reunite with Dart in the NFL during an appearance on the “Bleav in Ole Miss” podcast, via the New York Post.
“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,” Brandon said. “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.
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“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.”
While Brandon’s remarks seem to indicate Kiffin will likely stay put, it’s hard to ignore that Kiffin is even having conversations about potentially making another jump to the NFL.
It’s possible Kiffin could be lured away from Ole Miss either by Penn State, Florida of LSU, and Giants fans seem to be against a Dart-Kiffin reunion in New York.
“Sure, he did such a great job during his fifteen minutes as Raiders head coach,” one fan wrote.
“Dart’s dad needs to stay out of it,” another added.
“Lane Kiffin was already a wash out in the NFL and nobody needs him here coaching the Giants anyway,” a third fan stated.
“Sure why not consider Kiffin who has failed at big stages. He destroyed USC as Pete Carroll replacement and yet you wanna put in charge of the Giants,” remarked one user.
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