Why Giants Are Confident Brian Daboll is The Right Head Coach

The Giants have changed head coached every two years since 2016. Here's why they hope that trend will end.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Jan 31, 2022 6:53 PM EST

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New Giants head coach Brian Daboll has a big personality.

He’s not afraid to crack jokes when he first meets you, something he did when surrounded by more than two dozen media, each of whom he greeted with a hearty handshake and a quip or two that made the recipient feel as though he’s known you for a lifetime.

Whether it was teasing a reporter for showing up late to his presser, playfully taking aim at a group of bald reporters seated together and asking them if they saved him a spot, or jokingly asking a reporter with a thick Brooklyn accent if he was from South Carolina, Daboll is who he is: A man driven by the desire to do everything possible to bring out the best he can in his players and staff.

“It certainly made him likable right from the beginning,” Giants co-owner John Mara acknowledged. “I don’t know that I’d say we’ve never had a coach with that type of personality, but he seems like somebody that will be very easy to work with in the building, that people will respond to and want to work with. That was certainly something we took notice of right away.”

The 46-year-old Canadian-born Daboll didn’t get like this by accident. A 25-year coaching veteran with 21 years in the NFL, Daboll has been exposed to several different systems and head coaches--Nick Saban, Tony Sparano, Romeo Crennel, Eric Mangini, Bill Belichick, and Sean McDermott--each of whom has his way of doing things.

“You take a lot of stuff,” Daboll said when asked what he’s learned from those head coaches for whom he’s worked. “You sit there, and you watch, you learn, you ask questions, not just on scheme but how they’re doing with problem players, what are issues in the building, all these different things. I think the older you get, the wider scope you have.”

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Brian Daboll speaks to members of the media, in East Rutherford, NJ, after being introduced as the new head coach of the NY Giants.

Brian Daboll Undecided on Who Will Call Plays on Offense for Giants

That decision will likely boil down to who the offensive coordinator is.

The exposure has shown Daboll that there’s more than one way to build a winning program outside of the common traits such as hard work, attention to the details, and fundamentals. Whether it’s building an offense’s reputation as a smash-mouth unit or a primarily passing attack, Daboll knows that there is no one-size-fits-all approach for what he’s about to try to accomplish with the Giants schematically.

He also knows that no matter how brilliant his schemes might be, it won’t matter if he’s not true to who he is.

“The thing that I’ve learned in my 21 years—and I’d say more these past four or five years—is just be true to yourself and be true to the players and the people that you work with because they’ll see right through you if you’re not,” Daboll said.

“I think that’s critical, is to be yourself. I can go on and on about the coaches that I’ve learned from, and I’m grateful and humbled that I had an opportunity to work for them, but I’m going to be me and take bits and pieces, but what you see is what you get.”

What the Giants are getting is a head coach who intends to be consistent with his praise and criticism rather than one whom the players won’t be able to figure out which way the wind is blowing. They’re getting a guy who will take his share of accountability on what they didn’t do well as a team.

They’re getting a guy who knows what he wants and is clear in communicating those expectations.

And most important of all?

“I’m a big relationship guy. I love my players, and I want to get to know them off the field. I think that’s where it starts.”

That all sounds lovely and rosy. But can Daboll, who like Joe Judge before him come from the Nick Saban and Bill Belichick coaching trees, be the winner that the Giants haven’t had since Tom Coughlin was in his coaching prime?

One of the men who hired him thinks so.

“I think his background, his ability to work with (General Manager) Joe (Schoen),” Mara said. “I think what he did with (Bills Quarterback) Josh Allen and that entire Buffalo offense. I think his presence, which I think you saw as he was up on that stage. I think all those things combine to give him the best chance at having success. Obviously, you never know until they get in and they start playing games and stuff, but we like what we’ve seen so far.”

Whether it’s enough to put an end to a vicious cycle in which they have turned over head coaches every two years remains to be seen. Still, Mara, who admitted that he’s not the most patient person in the world, thinks this time Giants fans have a legitimate reason to be optimistic about the franchise’s short- and long-term future.

“I think so,” he said, adding, “But that only lasts until we start playing games, but the reaction obviously has been positive so far, but that only goes so far. I think we’re off to a good start, but that’ll go away quickly if we don’t get off to a good start during the season. I think we’ve got the right guys in place now, and it’s up to us to make it work.”