On draft day in 2004, the New York Giants made a franchise-altering move when they struck a deal with the then-San Diego Chargers to secure the rights to Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning.
The plan was to acclimate Manning to the NFL slowly, and they brought in two-time NFL MVP and Super Bowl champion Kurt Warner to fill the starting role until Manning was ready to play.
No one was sure when that would be. The Giants jumped out to a 4-1 start under first-year head coach Tom Coughlin that season, and it appeared as if Warner, who had loads of football left in his 33-year-old arm, had a hold on the job for at least the rest of the season.
But the Giants started to skid, losing three of their next four. It looked as if the offense had peaked and the team
was in neutral and going nowhere. Coughlin decided to make the switch to Manning despite Warner's 5-4 record as the starter.
Earlier that summer, the rookie lost a close training camp competition with Warner for the starting job. The switch was expected, but it came as a bit of a surprise since the Giants were winning.
"He is the future of the New York Giants; it just starts now," Coughlin said of Manning at the time, per ESPN. "I really felt the last four games we haven't been playing well offensively. We just need to make a change."
Warner recently spoke of the benching, an event that he has a professional viewpoint on. At the time, he didn't want to come out, but he knew the team was topping out and needed to move forward with their future plans sooner rather than later.
Kurt Warner offers some fascinating insight into why Tom Coughlin turned to Eli Manning. Hearing it from this perspective really puts into context the importance of recognizing an opportunity and capitalizing when the championship window is open.
— ΛWTHΞИƬIK (@awthentik) September 9, 2026
Very well said @kurt13warner 🫡 pic.twitter.com/Yf8xQlDVVF
The Giants collapsed the rest of the season with Manning under center. They lost the next six games before salvaging the season with a come-from-behind victory over Dallas in the season finale in which Manning tossed three touchdown passes.
Warner would play five more seasons in Arizona, where he took the Cardinals to their only Super Bowl appearance to date.
Manning, well, you know his story. He started 210 games at quarterback for the Giants and won them two Super Bowls. His No. 10 is retired by the team, and he has been inducted into the Giants' Ring of Honor.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Ex-Giants QB Kurt Warner reflects on being benched for Eli Manning
