Giants' Formula for Success Starts with These Basics

A look at the core pillars the Giants leaned on to expedite their rebuild process.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Jan 3, 2023 2:34 PM EST

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New York Giants

The New York Giants weren't supposed to be a playoff team this year.

Nope, not even close--how could they be after a season debacle in 2021 not only exposed glaring roster deficiencies and forced ownership's hand to make drastic changes that dramatically varied from how they had done business.

But it had to be done. The old way of doing things was no longer sustainable or successful, so ownership was left with no choice but to venture into the unknown.

It started with the general manager. After consistently promoting from within, the Giants finally went outside the confines of their team headquarters for a younger, more modern leader in Joe Schoen, who, along with Brandon Beane, had rebuilt a sagging Buffalo Bills team into a powerhouse.

The next step was the head coach. While there might have been an urge to give Joe Judge another chance to right the ship, in the end, it was decided that the coaching staff hadn't optimized the talent on the roster and that, contrary to any insistence that the team was headed in the right direction, it was not.

Schoen, along with ownership's blessing, brought in Brian Daboll. Together with the Bills former offensive coordinator, Schoen and Daboll united to form one voice on behalf of the organization but publicly and behind the scenes regarding how they envisioned this franchise being built.

So how did they turn things around so quickly, given that the Giants had one of the worst salary cap situations in the league at the time and a chronic injury problem?

All it took was these simple steps that Daboll wanted at the core of his program.

Consistent Culture

To some, "culture" is one of the most overused phrases in all sports. But to those who come from a winning pedigree, it's the core of building a successful program.

Ben McAdoo found this out the hard way when the losing fractured the locker room in his second season, and he could not stop it. Teammates were chirping at each other, the disagreements spilling over to the media. Some players were mailing it in as the losses piled up, and there was very little accountability among the team's supposed locker room leaders.

Daboll changed all that, thus far succeeding where others following Tom Coughlin failed. He approved a record-high 10 team captains to serve as his locker room lieutenants, tasking them with ensuring the messages from the coaches reached the far corners of the locker room.

He also allowed the return of locker room games for the players to enjoy during their downtime, such as a putting green and a ping pong table, because he believed that extracurricular activities between teammates built bonding.

It has worked. Teammates seem to know each other much better than before, both football-wise and personally. Moreover, there seems to be a more genuine brotherhood in the Giants locker room where all share one guy's triumph or tragedy.

This team has celebrated wins together, as they did Sunday night after clinching their first postseason berth since 2016, and have bonded with a stronger resolve after a loss--all of which is a by-product of the culture.

The Process

Win or lose, Daboll has been Mr. Consistency from the moment he pulled up to the Quest Diagnostics Training Center in his blue pickup truck.

Among the staples in his process is to keep the focus on the present and address every last detail necessary to ensure the preparedness is on point. Whether that's in the classroom, weight room, field, or lunchroom, leave no stone unturned, and the rest will usually work itself out.

Usually, but not always, things rarely go according to plan. But Daboll said he's fine with things so long as the processes that have been in place since the players reported for the off-season program in April last year are followed.

"I can live with results if we’re doing things the right way: we’re on time, we’re taking care of our bodies, we’re detailed in meetings, we practice our tails off," he said.

"If we go out there and don’t get the results we want Sunday, I can live with that. I don’t like it one bit, but I certainly can live with it based on what they’re doing and what we’re asking them to do and how they’re doing it."

The process has also helped the team through adversity. When the Giants went 1-3-1 recently, rather than panic or fall apart, they kept doing what they had always done because they knew it worked earlier in the year and that it would work again.

And it has. The Giants are 2-1 in their last three games--probably should be 3-0 were it not for a walk-off field goal capping an error-filled game. And they're playing their best ball of the season right now when it counts the most, which is ahead of the postseason.

System Fits

When he's first hired, every NFL head coach says the plan is to build a system that fits the roster's talent level. But arguably, not every head coach ends up doing that, whether it's because of a limited knowledge of multiple systems or a preference for doing something a specific way.

When a head coach locks in on one way of doing things, that can create issues for the players and whether they're a fit for what's being done. That can also affect a player's output on the field if he's asked to do something that his skill set just doesn't fit.

This doesn't mean that Daboll won't challenge the players to try new things, nor will he abandon his core system philosophies. Look no further than the work he did with quarterback Daniel Jones, in which he encouraged Jones to try making various throws so they could figure out what the signal caller was most comfortable with. On defense, look at how the staff challenged Dexter Lawerence to take on more nose guard responsibilities.

But if a guy isn't a fit for doing a specific thing, it's removed from the table rather than the coaches trying to shove a square peg into a round hole.

Open Mindedness

For most people put into a leadership position, it's only natural to surround yourself with people you either know or have worked with before.

This approach ultimately got the Giants into trouble regarding their leadership because it resulted in a comfort level that limited the team in the long run.

Daboll has managed to avoid this trap and for the best example, look no further than his decision to hire Wink Martindale as his defensive coordinator. Although Daboll was familiar with Martindale from having faced him when he was with Buffalo and Martindale with the Ravens, the two had never been on the same staff together.

So far, the marriage has worked. The entire coaching staff has been a very underrated yet key part of the Giants success, and for proof of that, just look at how they've been able to optimize the talents and contributions of guys the team has picked up off the street. That takes patience, good communication skills, and an ability to connect with the players from a teacher-student level which some of the best football minds lack.

There is another element to this. As a first-year NFL head coach, Daboll has allowed every member of his staff--of the organization, really--a piece of the program's ownership.

He's spoken about contributions made by the most unlikely sources, such as Dr. Lani Lawerence, the team's director of wellness and clinical services, the "NASA" room consisting of the data and analytics folks, and the director of coaching operations, Laura Young.

By allowing people to contribute, Daboll has allowed himself to be exposed to as many opinions as possible that may be in the best interest of the team, opinions that he sifts through in coming up with the final decisions. And that kind of open-mindedness allows him to change with the times.

Accountability

Leaders at all levels preach accountability, regardless of their work industry, but how many practice it?

The answer is not enough. The Giants were guilty of this in recent years when underperforming draft picks skated by on scholarships just because of their pedigree or when high-priced free agents were given snaps over harder-working and more deserving street-free agents who showed more of a hunger to play.

Daboll got rid of that. Simply put, you will get practice reps if you show up in the classroom. And if you show up on the practice field, you will play.

Receiver Kenny Golladay has had to learn this the hard way. Earlier in the season, the Giants' $72 million man spoke about how he "should be playing, regardless." And although the coaching staff has publicly said that Golladay has done all that's been asked of him, it's pretty obvious that isn't the case, else he'd be out there in more than just a mop-up role.

The other thing Daboll has changed is an over-reliance on "his guys." While the Giants locker room has a good sprinkling of former Bills players, they are guys that have proven they can play and contribute to the cause and who were considered an upgrade to what the team had at their respective positions prior, something that couldn't always be said of past personnel decisions.

Final Thoughts

Daboll hasn't been perfect--no one is perfect. But the planning and management he's shown in his first season have gone a long way toward expediting what was originally expected to be a multi-year rebuild.

And while it remains to be seen if the Giants are more than just a "one-and-done" playoff participant, the future of this franchise is finally one worth looking forward to.