Emotional Brian Daboll, low-key Daniel Jones the Giants' Odd Couple
Giants head coach Brian Daboll talks to quarterback Daniel Jones during training camp at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford, N.J., on Monday Aug 15, 2022. Credit: Brad Penner
From the outside, it doesn’t seem as if the pairing should work.
Brian Daboll is the gregarious hugger and high-fiver who has taken over as coach of the Giants. He’s a truth serum chugger who rarely leaves any doubt where he stands on a topic, an occasional haranguer and a sometimes rap lip-syncher, but a man who needs extra sleeves sewn into his shirts to accommodate all of the emotions he wears on them at any given time.
Daniel Jones is the quiet, unassuming quarterback whose eyes and ears get much more of a workout than his lips as he silently observes his surroundings but hardly ever lets slip what he truly thinks about them, at least not publicly.
Even those who have been his teammate or coach for several years sometimes have difficulty cracking the moat-like exterior of his personality. He makes stoicism seem like a racy word.
“I think that’s an important part of playing the position is being able to weather the storms,” Jones said. “Not get too high or too low and stay consistent with your mindset, with your approach and not let what’s happened good or bad affect the next play. That’s something I’ve always tried to do and something I continue to work on.”
Yet here they are, Fervid Dabes and Steely Dan, the odd couple of the Giants.
And somehow they have helped lead the team to a 2-0 start.
They’ll put that record on the line Monday night against the Cowboys at MetLife Stadium in what will be another opportunity to see if the coach and player who form the most important relationship on just about any team can continue to click well enough for the organization to bring Jones back after this season.
Jones hasn’t yet won that second contract offer from the Giants, but he is getting closer to winning over Daboll.
“I think he’s made really good decisions,” he said of Jones’ play in the two victories. “There’s always plays that we can be better at. But his decision-making process, where he’s gone with the football, he’s made the right decision, I’d say, a lot. And that helps.”
Jones’ numbers aren’t spectacular. He has completed 39 of 55 passes for 364 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. He’s run for 46 yards on 16 carries. But those aren’t the things the Giants are looking for from him.
“His job is to help the offense move the football, whatever that is,” Daboll said. “It starts with decision-making at quarterback. He touches the ball on every play. And he’s done a good job of that. We’re going to continue to build that. But I’m pleased with where he’s at.”
In the meantime, the two are still feeling each other out as people.
“He’s very steady and I’m a fairly emotional guy,” Daboll said. “It’s a good mix because I can get pretty high-strung at times, and he’s very, very consistent. I think he responds to a variety of different coaching techniques, if you will . . . You’re always trying to learn your players and I’ve gotten on him, I’ve loved him up. There hasn’t been much that I haven’t done with him that he hasn’t responded to. I think that’s the mark of a good pro.”
Jones, predictably, said he has no preference regarding the tack of his coaches.
“I’ve had coaches more that way and I’ve had coaches who do it differently, it’s just a personality thing,” he said. “It’s not good or bad, it’s just the way it is. I think it’s gone well, and our communication has been great so far.”
A win over the Cowboys would go a long way toward strengthening their courtship and perhaps be another step in extending the terms of their relationship beyond the end-of-the-season breakup deadline that currently exists.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
