Why the New York Giants could be 2026’s version of the Chicago Bears

The New York Giants‘ record might not truly reflect the quality of their team.

Despite going 2-10 through the first 12 games of the season, the Giants’ ability to hang in there against tough opponents has some fans and analysts feeling optimistic about the team’s future, especially thanks to the emergence of rookie QB Jaxson Dart.

There was a similar story told just last season elsewhere in the NFC. One team in the North had a promising young quarterback, a head coaching vacancy, and the potential to see a major turnaround occur in 2025.

One of the best stories of the 2025 NFL season has been the emergence of the Chicago Bears as one of the league’s top contenders. The 9-3 Bears are the first seed in the NFC with a rookie head coach after a 5-12 finish last year. HC Ben Johnson has the Bears and QB Caleb Williams looking like title contenders.

Meanwhile, the Giants fired head coach Brian Daboll, despite a promising start to Dart’s career — a similar outcome to the one the Bears saw play out in 2024.

As the Giants endure yet another painful, losing season in 2025, they have already begun looking ahead to 2026. Could the Giants be the next worst-to-first team, just like the Bears were this season?

The similarities between the 2025 Giants and 2024 Bears

It’s hard to ignore the similarities between the 2025 New York Giants and the 2024 Chicago Bears.

Both teams possessed talented rosters with poor coaching that caused an inability to close out games in the fourth quarter, and resulted in a new coaching staff with the same general manager. The Bears fired head coach Matt Eberflus, and the Giants fired Brian Daboll. The Bears retained general manager Ryan Poles, and the Giants are expected to do the same for Joe Schoen.

The Bears constantly suffered fourth-quarter collapses in 2024 that caused them to finish with a 5-12 record, last place in the NFC North. The Giants have notably blown several fourth-quarter leads this season, sinking them to 2-10 and last place in the NFC East.

Both teams possess promising young quarterbacks who just need better coaching and playmaking talent to maximize their talents. For the Bears, Caleb Williams flashed his potential as a rookie, but ultimately faltered under the tutelage of Eberflus and former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. For the Giants, Jaxson Dart has flashed elite potential throughout his rookie season, but Daboll’s inability to lead the team as a whole sparked a need for change.

Williams entered year two with plenty of promise, as will Dart. Williams also directly helped the Bears attract their next head coach, and Dart will do the same.

The Bears struck gold with Ben Johnson, who transformed them into contenders overnight. He helped Williams take massive steps forward, sparking growth for the second-year quarterback. But Johnson also instilled a new culture and brought forth his leadership and strong coaching assistants that allowed the entire team to reach its potential on both sides of the ball this season. The Giants need someone to do those same things.

Jaxson Dart will attract a lot of strong coaching candidates, the same way Caleb Williams attracted Ben Johnson.

If the Giants hire the right coach, they can be 2026’s version of the 2025 Chicago Bears.

The Bears’ turnaround has been extraordinary

All the Bears needed was the right head coach to unlock Williams’s potential and the potential of the rest of the roster. They got that in Ben Johnson.

Now they sit atop the NFC with a 9-3 record.

That reality didn’t seem possible a year ago at this time. But, thanks to Johnson’s leadership, Williams’s development, and Poles’s roster construction, the Bears are the Kings of the North.

The Bears are legitimate title contenders now. That’s the difference a quarterback and a coach can make.

The Giants are close to a similar turnaround

The Giants have their quarterback. Now they need to find their coach.

Daboll’s love for Dart wasn’t enough to save his job. He failed across the board as a leader and as a strategist. The Giants were frequently underprepared, undisciplined, and out-coached during Daboll’s tenure.

Finding a head coach who can bring stability, discipline, and leadership for the entire roster (not just for Dart) will be Big Blue’s No. 1 priority this January.

Johnson was the perfect hire for the Bears, not just because he was an offensive genius who could maximize Williams, but also because he was a leader who could connect with the entire roster and bring in a strong coaching staff.

The Giants also need to find a head coach who can do more than just coach a quarterback.

The Giants’ defense is talented (and expensive), but underperforming. They just fired defensive coordinator Shane Bowen, a move that seemed long overdue.

An improved scheme and more energetic coach will unlock the wealth of talent that New York has on the defensive side of the ball — and that’s why it’s important for the Giants to hire a head coach who is more than just a quarterback developer.

The Giants have won games against the Eagles and Chargers this season — two playoff teams. They should have won, but ultimately blew leads against the Broncos, Saints, Bears, and Lions. Three of those teams are playoff juggernauts, and the Giants were not only competitive against them but essentially beat themselves more than the opposing team did.

Had they won those four games in which they blew their leads, the Giants would be a six-win, playoff-contending team with an entirely different narrative surrounding them.

These close games against top teams indicate the Giants are close to being a competitive squad. They give every team a run for its money but struggle to close things out. That’s who the Bears were in 2024.

Now, in 2025, the Bears are beating those top teams and proving to be one themselves. That’s the potential 2026 Giants — if they make the right head coaching hire.