Why Brian Daboll Would Be a Great Fit as the Jets' Next Head Coach
The Jets may have missed the playoffs by a long shot this year, but they've been busy on wild card weekend.
New York announced on Sunday that the organization completed an interview with Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, another highly sought-after head coaching candidate.
This comes after the Jets conducted an interview with rising star Joe Brady on Saturday, offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers.
Daboll is the fifth known candidate to interview for New York's opening thus far, joining Eric Bieniemy (Chiefs offensive coordinator), Robert Saleh (49ers defensive coordinator) and former Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis.
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Considering plenty of quality candidates have already met with the Jets, and more will follow in the coming weeks, what is it that can distinguish Daboll as a front-runner in the race to replace Adam Gase?
First off, Daboll has experience galore. The 45-year-old has two decades of coaching experience at the NFL level including 17 seasons in the AFC East. He's spent the last three years in charge of Buffalo's offense, but held the same role with the Dolphins not too long ago as well. Daboll has worked as the Patriots wide receivers coach (from 2002-2006) and New England's tight ends coach (2014-2016) to go along with two years as the Jets quarterback coach (2007-2008).
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That being said, there's no question Daboll is ready for his first head coaching gig in the NFL. It's the pedigree he's established these last three years in Buffalo, however, that make him even more of an appealing option for New York.
When Daboll was Nick Saban's offensive coordinator at Alabama in 2017, the Bills had the fourth-worst offense in the NFL. They averaged 302.6 yards per game, scoring only 18.9 points per game.
Three seasons later, helping develop Josh Allen into one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, Buffalo finished 2020 with the second-best offense in the league (396.4 yards per game). Their prolific offensive unit—second in the league in scoring (31.3 points per game)—secured the franchise's first postseason victory in a quarter of a century on Saturday.
Hiring Daboll would give the offensive guru another opportunity to turn a slumping program around. New York has had the worst offense in football the last two years under Gase.
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Further, Daboll has proven he's capable of developing young quarterbacks. Whether he and general manager Joe Douglas decide to stick with Sam Darnold—part of the same draft class as Buffalo's Allen—or the Jets start fresh at the position with their first-round pick this year, Daboll can strive to bring the best out of whoever is under center for New York within his newly-installed offense.
With years of experience working under Bill Belichick in New England, and a year with Saban in Tuscaloosa, Daboll will have no issues bringing a culture of winning to the Meadowlands.
If Douglas and his team ends up choosing between Daboll and the likes of Brady and Bieniemy—who are tremendous candidates as well—their experience may become a deciding factor. Brady and Bieniemy have been offensive coordinators for four years combined and only one team for each candidate. Daboll has held that role at this level for seven seasons and with four different organizations.
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