Everything got turned upside down this week for Giants quarterbacks coach Shea Tierney.
Brian Daboll — who has been Tierney’s superior since 2017 at Alabama, the Bills and the Giants — was fired as head coach, and Jameis Winston went from third-string quarterback to starter because Jaxson Dart is injured and Russell Wilson was demoted.
“Miss him and love him,” Tierney said about Daboll. “Appreciate the opportunity he gave me.”
Tierney was bypassed for offensive coordinator by interim head coach Mike Kafka, who chose instead to elevate tight ends coach Tim Kelly.
Kelly has called plays for the Texans and Titans.
“I was happy for Tim. He has a lot of good experience doing it,” Tierney said. “I don’t think there is ever any expectation [to be promoted] with anything like that. When these things happen, it’s, ‘What’s best for the team?’ ”
The Giants are starting a third quarterback for the third time in Tierney’s four seasons in the post.
“Getting Jameis ready to go — he’ll do a great job — and Russ has been awesome throughout this whole thing,” Tierney said. “[Jameis’] energy, his focus, his detail, the experience, him singing and all that happens in the meeting room, that happens all the time. He gives energy to the other guys, he feeds off the other guys.”
Dart, DL Chauncey Golston (neck), OG Evan Neal (hamstring), WR Darius Slayton (hamstring) and OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (shoulder) did not practice and will not play against the Packers.
Safety Tyler Nubin (neck) and DT Rakeem Nunez-Roches (toe) are doubtful.
That could be the entire inactive list unless someone goes on injured reserve, which is a possibility for Neal (zero snaps played this season).
LB Bobby Okereke (shoulder) and CB Paulson Adebo (knee) are questionable after returning to practice.
Dart was on the field during media-viewed stretching Friday, his first sighting since he suffered a concussion last Sunday.
Dart likely is in Phase 2 of the five-step protocol and, barring any setbacks, he could be in line to practice late next week and then play against the Lions.
The firing of Daboll brought back memories for Giants secondary coach Marquand Manuel, who held the same role with the Jets last year when Robert Saleh was let go in Week 6.
“We felt like we let him down,” Manuel said. “It keeps you up at night. ‘How did I did not help Saleh?’ And that all kind of came back with Dabes. Let’s just go play the next game. You never know when your last day in the league is, and understanding that taught us a lot about who really were.”
Jeff Ulbrich looked overwhelmed as he went 3-9 as the Jets interim coach. Kafka is auditioning for the full-time job after interviewing for head coach jobs with eight other franchises since 2023.
“We have a good group of guys,” Manuel said. “Dabes and Kaf were right hands, so we know we have to give him our best.”
In a quieter week, Xavier McKinney’s return to MetLife Stadium would’ve been a bigger story.
McKinney was a 2024 First-Team All-Pro after leaving the Giants in free agency and has 10 interceptions in 26 games with the Packers.
“A guy that we leaned on here,” Kafka said. “He’s kind of the heartbeat of that defense in terms of getting everyone lined up, so we have to know where he’s at on every play.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
