The New York Giants parted ways with offensive coordinator Jason Garrett on Tuesday, ending his frustrating but brief run of one-plus seasons in charge of the club's offense.
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero confirmed the news that was first reported by Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News. The team later officially announced the firing. Senior offensive assistant Freddie Kitchens, the former Cleveland Browns head coach, will take over play-calling duties, NFL Network's Kim Jones reported.
"One of the things that motivated me to accept this position was the opportunity to help rebuild the Giants into a contending team," Garrett said, in part, in a statement he released. "We knew there would be many challenges. My expectations for our offense were much greater than what our results have been, and I accept full responsibility for that."
Garrett was hired by Giants coach Joe Judge ahead of the 2020 season after a nine-year run as the Dallas Cowboys' head coach.
"It's a great system he brings with great teaching that will allow our players to go out there and play aggressively," Judge said at the time of the hire.
That didn't come to fruition, however, as Giants offensive problems that pre-dated Garrett only continued in 2020 and through the first 11 weeks of this season. In Monday night's 30-10 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, things were no better as the Giants offense stumbled to the tune of 215 total yards and a 1-for-9 conversion rate on third down. Especially ugly was a third-and-2 failure in which three Giants receivers inexplicably took routes to the same spot on the field, resulting in a throwaway by quarterback Daniel Jones.
For Judge, the decision to move on from Garrett was simply about a lack of production.
"I'll make every decision based on what's best for the team long-term. I feel we have to be more productive as an offense," Judge said, via team transcript. "Generally speaking, the offense's job is to score points. I don't believe we're scoring enough points. It's my job as the head coach to make sure I give our players an opportunity to go out there and make plays."
The Giants (3-7) rank 25th in the NFL in scoring offense (18.9 points per game).
Garrett's tenure as offensive coordinator can't be summarized without acknowledging a spate of injuries to key players who never allowed the unit a chance to flourish as a whole. That begins with star running back Saquon Barkley, whose injuries forced him to miss 19 of 26 games in the Garrett era. Compounding Barkley's absence this season were injuries that caused missed action for left tackle Andrew Thomas, wideout Kenny Golladay, receiver Sterling Shepard, tight end Evan Engram and receiver Darius Slayton.
