Brian Daboll Squelches Talk of a Rob Gronkowski Reunion
New England Patriots legendary tight end Rob Gronkowski might have a mild yearning to come out of retirement to play for New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll, but the feeling doesn't appear to be mutual.
During an appearance on the Up & Adams Show last week, Gronkowski said that while he didn't plan on coming out of retirement any time soon, if there was one head coach that could convince him to do so, it would be Daboll.
“Brian Daboll, yeah," Gronkowski. "He can’t get me out of retirement, but he would have the best chance to get me out of retirement.”
While the story should have theoretically ended there, there was still some curiosity about how Daboll, Gronkowski's position coach with the Patriots during the 2013-2016 seasons, felt regarding his former player's words.
"Well, I am close with Rob, so I got a lot of respect and admiration," Daboll said. "Coaching him for four years, he’s a good friend. We’ve talked--I’m not saying we talked about that, but he’s a close friend.
"When you coach someone for four years, and he’s a very productive player for you and a good person, we are from the same town, so wouldn’t read too much into that."
Daboll also declined to speculate if the 34-year-old Gronkowski still had enough in him to play the game.
"I don’t know," he said. "I wouldn’t read too much into that."
The Giants are set as of now at tight end, with Darren Waller proving to be every bit the player they thought they were getting when they traded a third-round draft pick to the Raiders to get him. The Giants have also been pleased with second-year tight end Daniel Bellinger, sort of the forgotten man by many given Waller's arrival, but someone whom Daboll appreciates.
"He’s got the right mindset of kind of the person we are looking for," DAboll said on Saturday. "He’s smart, he’s tough, he’s dependable, he’s a good teammate, he works hard. He puts the team first.
"I think he’s made strides from when he played last year to where he’s at now. Time will tell once we get going here in the regular season. Good young player; has the right mindset, and has a good player in the room (Waller) to learn from as well now."
In addition to Waller and Bellinger, Lawrence Cager is thought to be the leading candidate for the third tight end spot.
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