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There is a good chance the Giants had their next head coach in the building on Tuesday. Whether the in-person interview with Brian Daboll turns into a hiring remains to be seen. The answer will come soon enough, probably before the first flakes hit the ground for this weekend’s snow activity.
By Friday, the Giants could have their new head coach in place. At this point, it is more likely to be Daboll than anyone else, but things can change.
Daboll, the Bills’ offensive coordinator, was the first of six candidates to come in for a second interview. Patrick Graham, still under contract as the Giants’ defensive coordinator and assistant head coach, gets his chance on Wednesday to convince people he already knows quite well — co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch, plus Chris Mara, the senior vice president of player personnel — that he deserves a promotion to replace his very good friend and recently fired Joe Judge. Graham, considered a longshot, will also get the opportunity to make an impression on new general manager Joe Schoen, who is leading the head coach search. Daboll also met with other members of the Giants’ front office and toured the team facility.
On Thursday, Brian Flores arrives. Unlike Daboll, who had a teleconference first interview last Friday evening, this is the first time Flores and the Giants will get together. He is a more known commodity than Daboll, with certainly enough success in his three years as the Dolphins head coach (24-25, no playoff appearances) to warrant a serious look. The Giants’ contingent will present a list of questions for Flores to get to the bottom of why he had a falling out in Miami, why he supposedly had a deteriorating relationship with Dolphins general manager Chris Grier, why he cycled through offensive coordinators (three in three years) and how he would differentiate himself from the often heavy-handed Bill Belichick coaching methodology he learned in his 11 years working for the Patriots.
The Flores interview will conclude the first group of candidates on Schoen’s list: Daboll, Flores, Dan Quinn (Cowboys defensive coordinator and former Falcons head coach), Lou Anarumo (Bengals defensive coordinator), Leslie Frazier (Bills defensive coordinator and former Vikings head coach) and Graham. If none of these candidates — Daboll is the favorite, with Flores in contention — wows the Giants’ braintrust, there is a second group Schoen has put together and additional interviews could take place. It is believed Doug Pederson, the Super Bowl-winning head coach of the Eagles, is on that list. Raheem Morris, the Rams defensive coordinator and former Buccaneers head coach, could also be on that list.
It will be a big upset if the Giants get through the next few days and determine both Daboll and Flores are not right for them. Schoen comes highly regarded from Buffalo and he built a solid connection with Daboll during their four years together. That does not mean Schoen wants to rubber-stamp Daboll, but it does mean Flores has some catching up to do.
The candidacy of Daboll, 46, will never be hotter, considering how Josh Allen and the Bills played on offense in their excruciating 42-36 overtime loss to the Chiefs in an all-time classic AFC divisional playoff game. Daboll is a top option for the Dolphins’ head coaching vacancy created by the surprise dismissal of Flores. Would Daboll rather work in the sun of Miami with Tua Tagovailoa or in the swamps of Jersey with Daniel Jones? Will he be in position to make that choice?
Weeks apart earlier this season, Daboll lost both his grandparents, Ruth and Chris, who raised him in the Buffalo suburb of West Seneca. Bills players rallied around Daboll, who they call “Dabes.’’ Word out of Buffalo is Daboll is approachable, personable and is comfortable in his byplay with the media. He will chat up reporters on the field before practice and this season actually asked one of them how their dog was doing (there was a Twitter post concerning the pet). When a beat reporter passed out (it turned out to be nothing serious) in a preseason open practice, Daboll was one of the first to make sure the reporter was doing fine afterwards.
Daboll cannot promise the Giants that he will bring Allen with him but he can detail exactly how he helped develop an athletic but raw quarterback into a lethal weapon on the field.
“I think teams would be foolish not to offer Brian Daboll a job,” Allen said Monday. “I’m praying they don’t, because I want him back here, but I love him and his family too much to really think that. I think he’s one of the best coaches in the league.”
Daboll could be next in line for the Giants. By Friday, we should know.
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