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Shutout loss to the Seahawks likely was the final nail in the coffin for offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride.

(Andrew Mills/The Star-Ledger)

If Giants coach Tom Coughlin returns next season -- and all indications to this point have been that he will unless the Giants suffer more meltdowns over the final two games -- it's not going to be with one of his top lieutenants at his side.

The signs are clear: After Sunday's embarrassing 23-0 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, there is no way the Giants can, and will, bring back Kevin Gilbride as offensive coordinator.

With every interception quarterback Eli Manning threw to the white jerseys, the chances of Gilbride having the same job he's had for the past seven-plus seasons lessened. By the time Manning reached a full handful, the odds dipped close to nil. The franchise quarterback has regressed badly this season, and the Giants, to get Manning back into elite status, must make a change -- and they should do so as soon as possible.

Gilbride's on his way out the door. Book it. The "pathetic" offensive performance on Sunday, the weekly wilting of Manning right in front of our very eyes, the pointing of the fingers at the offense, this was all just the final nail in the coffin.

Problems have been surfacing with the Giants' offense for several seasons. Once a perennial top 10 offense, the unit fell to middle of the pack last season and spiraled close to the bottom this year. On Sunday, it finally reached rock bottom with a shutout in front of the home crowd. This is a futile group desperately in need of rehab.

The Giants are the only team in the NFL that failed to score a single point in a game this season. And now they've done it twice.

Worst of all, it's Gilbride's offense that is letting the rest of the team down and now has sparked locker-room division, finger-pointing and accusations that offensive players lack heart.

“I think defensively and with our special teams, we got it,” Coughlin said of Sunday’s effort. “Offensively we did not – there’s no way to sugarcoat it.”

When the head coach publicly is pointing a finger at his offense, you know there is a serious problem, especially a coach like Coughlin, who preaches keeping unrest in-house. This isn't isolated incompetence either. It has been a season-long problem.

The Giants are ranked 28th in total offense after compiling just 181 total yards against the Seahawks. That's one spot ahead of the Jets, who have a rookie quarterback working with probably the worst receiving corps in the NFL.

This isn't supposed to be happening to the Giants. They have their franchise quarterback in Manning, a two-time Super Bowl MVP.

Granted, there are holes in the offensive line and one of Manning's top targets -- Hakeem Nicks -- mentally and physically bailed on the Giants months ago. But it's up to Gilbride to design an offense that works with the weapons the Giants have, and he has failed.

“I have no doubt in my mind [Manning's] going to bounce out of this and become the Eli of old next year. I don’t necessarily worry about him. I see the work he puts in,” defensive end Justin Tuck said. “This season you scratch your head and wonder why. But I don’t believe you’ll see too much more of this.”

That's because Manning will be working with a new coordinator.

This is the second time in four years Manning has thrown 25 interceptions in a season. He could benefit from a fresh approach and a new playbook. It has worked wonders for the Chargers and Philip Rivers.

Right now, whatever it is they are doing, with whatever it is they have left in terms of talent, is not working. It's been a slow and steady deterioration of the offense and its quarterback, since the Super Bowl two years ago.

The warning signs have been there for quite a while. I’ve heard rumblings in the Giants facility about Gilbride’s offense for months.

The point of no return probably came in the second loss to the Cowboys, which was the moment this officially became a lost season. The Giants ran a draw in that contest on third-and-goal from the 10-yard line, trailing by 11 points. The following day, Coughlin still had trouble explaining what happened.

"That was another one of those alert kind of deals, where you have something called and also have a run built in," he said. "We ended up going to the run. If that is the way that goes [in that situation], that is our fault."

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It’s not just that the Giants ran the ball on that play either. It’s that half of the offense was playing as if it were a run, the other half as if it were a pass. It happened a few other times in the contest as well. It’s happened all throughout this season. The Giants offense has never been on the same page.

It’s obvious now that it can’t go on much longer. Two more games, tops. At that point, the Giants have no choice but to begin searching for a new offensive coordinator.