In this paper, we consider the generalized higher-order nonlinear Schrödinger equation model with variable coefficients and obtain an exact dark soliton solution in explicit form for specified soliton management conditions. As an example, we consider a soliton control system, and present the main features of the dark soliton solution. Further, the stability of the dark soliton solution is numerically studied under the finite perturbations. Especially, we discuss the integrable conditions and the results reveal that the soliton control system may relax the limitations to parametric conditions. Finally, we investigate the interaction between neighboring femtosecond dark solitons under the combined control of the group velocity dispersion, third-order dispersion and the nonlinearity.