The Giants squandered an opportunity to get the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft when they beat the Indianapolis Colts 45-33 on Sunday.
Former NFL MVP Bommer Esiason believes the Giants should feel “thankful” after the win. Neither of the two quarterbacks — Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Miami’s Cam Ward — are worthy of the top pick, Esiason stated on his morning show on WFAN on Thursday.
New York should make this move instead:
“If I were a team that needed a coach and a quarterback – not named the New York Jets – wouldn’t it make sense for somebody to hire Brian Flores and bring Sam Darnold with him?” Esiason said, via Audacy. ”If [the Giants] had the guts to go for Brian Flores as their head coach, Sam Darnold as their quarterback, and sign Tee Higgins as a free agent.”
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Darnold has established himself as one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL this season. In his first season with the Minnesota Vikings, the 27-year-old is 343 for 504 passing, a 68.1 completion percentage with 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
The Vikings’ 14-2 record is tied with the Detroit Lions for the best record in the NFC, ahead of the 13-3 Philadelphia Eagles.
In Flores, the Giants would be getting a Brooklyn native with a proven track record as a head coach. Flores posted a 24-25 record in three seasons coaching the Miami Dolphins. This was skewed by his first year, in 2019, when the Dolphins went 5-11. In his final two seasons, Miami went 19-14 with Ryan Fitzpatrick and rookie Tua Tagovailoa taking snaps.
Flores does have a checkered history with the Giants. In a racial discrimination lawsuit filed in February 2022, Flores presented as potential evidence a text message from Patriots coach Bill Belichick — a mentor to him and Brian Daboll — while claiming that the Giants had already decided, before interviewing Flores, that they were going to hire Daboll as their coach.
Belichick’s text message meant to congratulate Daboll on getting the job, which he had yet to formally receive. But Belichick mistakenly sent the message to Flores and not Daboll.
“I hear from Buffalo & NYG that you are their guy,” Belichick wrote.
This could get in the way of hiring Flores.
Darryl Slater, Giants beat reporter for NJ Advance Media, contributed to this report. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.
Manny Gómez may be reached at mgomez@njadvancemedia.com.
