The

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

was the franchise's 29th season in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. The Giants were looking to improve on their 7–5 record from the previous season. However, the Giants hit rock bottom in 1953, losing their first three games of the season on their way to a disappointing 3–9 record and in 5th place in their division. The season included a 62–14 loss to the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

, the 62 points being the most points surrendered in franchise history at the time, until it was surpassed by the 1966 team that gave up 72 points to

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

in the highest scoring game in NFL history. Head coach Steve Owen was fired at the end of the season. After his departure, rumors emerged that future legendary coach

Vince Lombardi Vincent Thomas Lombardi (June 11, 1913 – September 3, 1970) was an American football coach and executive in the National Football League (NFL). Lombardi is considered by many to be the greatest coach in football history, and he is recognized a ...

was a candidate to replace him as the next head coach. However, the Giants ultimately settled on

Jim Lee Howell James Lee Howell (September 27, 1914 – January 4, 1995) was an American football player and coach for the National Football League's New York Giants. Howell was born in Arkansas, and played college football and basketball at the University of ...

as their next coach, while Lombardi was hired as co-offensive coordinator.

Schedule

Standings

New York Giants coaching vacancy

Before the end of the 1953 season, the New York Daily News had a headline in their paper that

was the top candidate to become the Giants new head coach. Although Giants co-owner

Wellington Mara Wellington Timothy Mara (August 14, 1916 – October 25, 2005) was the co-owner of the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) from 1959 until his death. He was the younger son of Tim Mara, who founded the Giants in 1925. Wellingto ...

was a classmate of Lombardi at

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

, the Giants were actually interested in Army head coach, Colonel

Red Blaik Earl Henry "Red" Blaik (February 15, 1897 – May 6, 1989) was an American football player, coach, college athletics administrator, and United States Army officer. He served as the head football coach at Dartmouth College from 1934 to 1940 and at ...

. Blaik had declined the job, but recommended Lombardi, who was his offensive co-ordinator at Army. Despite being Red Blaik's top aide, Vince Lombardi was anxious and frustrated. Three other Army assistants, including

Murray Warmath Murray Warmath (December 26, 1912 – March 16, 2011) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Mississippi State University from 1952 to 1953 and at the University of Minnesota from 1954 to 1971, compili ...

were now head coaches. In June, Lombardi had turned forty years old. Lombardi would be hired as the offensive co-ordinator for the 1954 season.''Giants Among Men'', p. 154, Jack Cavanaugh, 2008, Random House, New York,

References

New York Giants seasons

1953 in sports in New York City 1950s in Manhattan Washington Heights, Manhattan {{NewYorkGiants-season-stub

Schedule

Standings

New York Giants coaching vacancy

See also

References