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The first time he tried this, it did not go so well.
“It stunk,” Brian Daboll recalled.
It was 2009 and Daboll was in his very first year as the offensive coordinator with the Browns. He was not well-versed in conducting media interviews and he tried to say as little as possible, keeping his personality under wraps. He was playing the role of the tight-lipped, uncooperative coach.
When he got back to his office, the light on his desk phone was blinking. Daboll picked up the receiver and retrieved the message. It was from his wife, Beth.
“What the hell was that? You better call me.”
Daboll called his wife.
“She said ‘What are you doing?’ ” Daboll said.
It is 13 years later and Daboll knows what he is doing. On Monday, he was introduced as the 20th head coach in Giants history. No. 17, Ben McAdoo, did not last two full seasons. No 18, Pat Shurmur, was two years and out. No. 19, Joe Judge, was supposed to get more patience but he got only two years.
It is a tough business and there are no assurances how long this lasts with Daboll, 46 years old, with 21 years of NFL experience. He arrived promising only one thing: He will be who he has evolved into and will not try to be what he is not.
“At the end of the day I’m gonna be myself,” Daboll said. “Is it good enough? Who knows? But I’m comfortable in my own skin, I’m comfortable the way I am as a leader, I’m comfortable working with people. I’m gonna give you everything I’ve got. I’m gonna give this town everything I’ve got, give this community, this team, the people I work with and try to build a winner.”
Daboll’s ease around people is readily apparent. He walked into a cavernous field house filled with loads of people he had never met and put everyone at ease. He joked that someone arriving late made a bad first impression. He asked if a reporter asking a question was from South Carolina, knowing full well the accent indicated he was not. “Brooklyn,” was the retort.
As he stood behind a microphone and spoke, he looked out onto the first row and pointed out that his 4-year-old son, Luke, had fallen asleep.
“This is going great,” Daboll cracked.
He admitted he was tough — too tough — when he embarked on his coaching career, learning from Nick Saban at Michigan State and Bill Belichick in New England, figuring he had to have plenty of bark and even more bite.
He was running the scout team one of his first days with the Patriots, a player messed up and Daboll let him have it, loudly and with obscenity-laced anger. Willie McGinest, the veteran linebacker, at 6-foot-5 looked down at the much shorter newcomer.
“Hey little guy, relax right now,” McGinest told Daboll.
“You learn, too, as you go,” Daboll said.
There is much to do and much to learn as Daboll, for the first time in his career, moves in as a head coach. He was the favorite for this job as soon as the Giants hired Joe Schoen, who was the assistant general manager in Buffalo, as their new general manager. Schoen and Daboll worked together the past four years as Daboll designed a rapidly improving offense and helped turn raw Josh Allen into one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks.
Daboll steered clear of any long-term projections or even any short-term goals. At one point, when asked if the Giants can make a quick turnaround, considering they won four games in 2021 and the Bengals, who won four games in 2020, are in the Super Bowl, he quickly shot back: “Right now, I’m just trying to hire a staff. Look, we’ll cross those bridges when we get to it. Let’s just start crawling before we walk.’’
One key move is in the works. Daboll said he will retain defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, as long as Graham, who is in the running to be the Vikings’ next head coach, does not leave. Daboll is actively interviewing offensive coordinator candidates and whoever gets hired will determine whether Daboll calls the plays, which he has done throughout his career and masterfully the past few years for the Bills.
Where Judge’s arrival two years ago was all intensity and urgency, Daboll was filled with a mix of homespun warmth and humble confidence.
“He’s very genuine and down to earth, he believes in having relationships with people and he’s a people person,” co-owner John Mara said. “I think he’s gonna fit very well in the building. I think he’s very inspirational, too.”
Mara made no secret of the fact that Daboll’s relationship with Schoen was a major factor in this hiring. Schoen said his observations the past four years convinced him Daboll can make the transition from coordinator to head coach without being overmatched.
“If you asked our defensive players in Buffalo, he’s a personable guy,” Schoen said. “He’s working the whole team and there’s mutual respect. He can joke around, he can communicate with anybody on the team, whether it’s the 90th man or the best player on the team and he truly cares about the players and who they are as human beings and he wants the best for them.”
Daboll said when he got the Giants job he quickly received a text from Daniel Jones, which made an impression. But there were no promises of turning Jones into Allen.
“I don’t think that’s fair to compare him to another guy that I was working with,” Daboll said. “He’s himself. We’re going to find out what he does well. We’re going to try to implement a system that suits him. There are a lot of things to like about Daniel.”
Daboll mentioned five ingredients he believes are vital to leadership: Be yourself. Be consistent. Communicate your expectations. Knowledge of what you are teaching. “And at the end of the day, relationships,’’ he said.
“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,” Daboll said. “Those five things, I think, are stuff that I’ve learned along the way, and it’s been quite a long journey, 21 years, it seems like 50 years in normal time. Those are some of the things.”
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