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If you listen to the woman behind the man who has been entrusted to lead the Giants out of their malaise of eight losing seasons in the past nine years, Brian Daboll is “easy.’’
“He has a fiery, passionate side with work, but he’s the most patient, easy-going person in the world,’’ Beth Daboll told The Post in an exclusive interview. “He’s just so easy to get along with.’’
Of course, Beth Daboll is biased. She’s married to Daboll and they parent six children, two of whom are theirs together since they were married in 2009.
But, Beth Daboll insisted, the 20th head coach of the Giants is so genuine that he’s cut from different cloth than many of the others who’ve occupied this position before him.
During his days as the offensive coordinator in Buffalo, Daboll used to have his players and coaches over to the house for an impromptu barbecue and a swim in the backyard pool. These events happened so randomly that Beth sometimes would have no idea until a bunch of hungry 300-pound men turned up at their home.
“This man will see one of his guys at a grocery store and he’ll be like, ‘Hey, come on over, let’s grill steaks,’ ” Beth Daboll said. “One time, I was in the backyard in my bathing suit swimming with the kids, no makeup on, hair in a bun and 40 guys walk into the yard and said, ‘Dabes said to come on over.’
“That’s how he is.’’
That’s who the Giants players are getting for their head coach. A driven coach who demands hard work but is as approachable as friend, too.
“Brian always has an open-door policy,’’ Beth Daboll said. “You really are drawn to his personality, because he’s authentically him.’’
Beth and Brian met in 2006 at a bar in Buffalo. Brian was celebrating his 30th birthday with some buddies and Beth was out with some girlfriends on their way to see a local band.
Beth said what first attracted her to Brian was his appearance.
“I do have a thing for bald guys, so the bald head got me first,’’ she admitted sheepishly.
“When we first met, the No. 1 thing was he’s just so caring about his kids, and I found that so attractive,’’ she said. “Brian and I were both on the same path, parallel to each other. We both got married young, had two kids, both parted ways with our exes on good terms. And, Brian [and] I were the ones being divorced from, so we were both kind of like, ‘That wasn’t fun.’ We both said we would never get married again.’’
Three years later, they married.
“Brian, back in the day, was a real treat,’’ Beth recalled with a laugh. “People think he has a big personality now. Imagine it when he was 20 years younger. It was even bigger. I used to say when we first met, he was like a party in a box. Like, you just take him anywhere and sit him down and you know you’re going to have a great time.’’
Daboll was shaped into the person he is today by his grandparents, who raised him in a Canadian suburb just over the border from Buffalo.
Chris and Ruth Kirsten, who were married for 68 years, died three weeks apart during this past Bills’ season. Chris was 95 and Ruth 86.
“His grandparents were two of the most incredible people you could ever meet,’’ Beth Daboll said. “They left a mark wherever they went. They were so old school, all about hard work. They worshiped the ground Brian walked on.”
Beth, becoming emotional over the phone, said she was “grateful’’ that they died during the season because she said Brian could “bury his head in his work’’ to perhaps take the edge off the grieving.
“He went and saw them at least twice a week over at their house,’’ she said. “He just adored them.’’
Beth said their passing “felt like perfect timing’’ because it occurred while Brian was in Buffalo, not having already moved on to a place like the Giants, where he wouldn’t have been able to be around them regularly.
“We came here [to Buffalo] for the last four years of their lives,’’ she said. “We got to see them constantly. He always felt it would be so hard to leave them there, knowing that could be the last time he sees them. It’s like God took them intentionally so Brian could move on with his life.
“If he was not there and he was somewhere else as a head coach, he wouldn’t have been able to be at the masses and be there for the decision-making and he wouldn’t be able to be at his grandmother’s bedside holding her hand as she passed. So, it was like a blessing in disguise that everything happened when it did.
“It worked out the way it was meant to be. I’m happy we were here when it happened, and I’m happy that we can move on without him having any guilt. He’s super grateful for that.”
Daboll got personal closure just before he was about to open the most important chapter of his professional life.
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