Giants coach Brian Daboll opens up; winning can do that
Daniel Jones #8 of the New York Giants celebrates his third quarter touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts with head coach Brian Daboll at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Brian Daboll does not exactly open a window to his coaching soul when he meets with the media. But in the last couple of days, these two examples have come close:
In the wake of the celebration as Daboll and his staff led the Giants back to the playoffs, back to respectability, back to playing NFL football the way it is supposed to be played, the coach interjected this little nugget: “Our goal — it’ll never be just to make the playoffs. That’ll never be just our goal.”
Well, hello there. That’s got to be music to the ears of Giants fans who had grown far too accustomed to mediocrity or worse.
But that doesn’t mean Daboll didn’t celebrate on his own terms Sunday night. Asked on Monday’s conference call, “How was the cigar?” he replied: “It was good — had a couple of them.”
The Giants haven’t had a coach this comfortable in his own skin since Tom Coughlin.
“You’re always grateful for the opportunity to participate in the postseason,” said Daboll, for whom going to the playoffs was routine during his time as the Bills’ offensive coordinator. “So I’d say you’ve put the work and time and effort and energy into it. And when you get a [playoff] spot, that doesn’t change the things that helped you get to where you’re at. You just dial back in and go back to doing the things that matter most.”
Daboll and his staff clearly had rebuilding to do, not only of a roster (which, of course, will undergo further changes this offseason) but of confidence in the locker room.
On the defensive side, coordinator Wink Martindale blitzed the heck out of most opponents (some things never change) and found players who not only liked the scheme but loved it.
On offense, as it turned out, Daboll, offensive coordinator Mike Kafka and quarterbacks coach Shea Tierney got the most out of quarterback Daniel Jones and the talent around him. That Saquon Barkley is Jones’ Robin didn’t hurt.
This Giants season and their record (9-6-1) have buoyed everyone in and around the team. As Giants co-owner John Mara said after the playoff ticket was punched Sunday: “It feels like I’m not as miserable as I have been.”
Yes, Mara finally has found the right coach.
So how did Daboll do it? How did he, seemingly against all odds, turn around the Giants in one season?
“It takes everybody in the building to do their job well,” he said. “It’s probably the greatest team sport to be part of, coaching or playing or being part of the football team.
“I have a lot of good people that are with me, whether that’s coaches, front office, scouting, most importantly the players, the administration staff — everybody that is responsible to do their job well. So I’m just one part of the puzzle. I try to do my job the best I can but count on a lot of other people doing their job well. And that’s again, like I said, a testament to them, and starting with the players.”
Daboll almost certainly is underselling his role in all of this. He wants his players to appreciate the situation they’ve put themselves in. He has no doubt they understand that the hard work continues.
“It’s extremely hard to get one of these [playoff] spots,” he said, “so I think that you should appreciate it.”
There’s no doubt the Giants and their fans appreciate it. For far too long, they’ve been on the other side. But not anymore. For these Giants, the playoffs await. Maybe more cigars for Daboll do, too.
Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.
