The Giants have brought in another head coach that, well, hasn't been a head coach before in Brian Daboll. Some feel it's another roll of the dice that John Mara and Steve Tisch did with Joe Judge, and we saw how that worked out.
But Daboll addressed that very question on Monday while talking with the New York media for the first time. What exactly makes him ready to be a head coach?
He had a very deliberate answer.
“I think four to five things that come across the top of my head right now as you ask that question. One, you have to be authentic. Joe spoke of the mentors that I’ve had, and I have and I owe those guys a lot. But I’ve learned you have to be yourself in this business. That’s what I aim to do. I’m a people person. I think I’m a good leader and I think that’s the first thing, to be authentic.
“The second thing that I’ve learned is you have to be consistent in this position. To get up in front of a room, I know as an offense, you guys are all the players out there after a bad game you have to own it and talk to those guys and give them the things they didn’t do well and the things I didn’t do well and give that to them on a consistent basis. I think that helps in not riding the roller coaster and that helps.
“Clearly communicating your expectations and standards goes a long way with these men. Obviously understand what you’re talking about, whether it’s knowledge of offense, defense, kicking game, whatever that may be.
“And at the end of the day, relationships. I’m a big relationship guy. I love my players, I want to get to know them off the field. I think that’s where it starts. So those five things I think is stuff I learned along the way and it’s been quite a long journey. You know, 21 years seems like 50 years in normal time.”
Lots to unpack there, but what jumps out immediately is how prepared Daboll was for that question. He knows there's going to be pressure on him to immediately prove he was the right man for the job. GM Joe Schoen wanted someone he was aligned with and Daboll was the clear favorite given their time in Bufallo. And Daboll even mentioned how "when you're not aligned, that's when things start going astray."
But his answer is likely what his players want to hear. You don't want a coach coming in and trying to be somebody he's not, and that's the first thing Daboll addresses. Building relationships is also key to finding out what players are going through in the locker room and outside of it -- recognizing there's a huge human element to this game.
That, along with the expectations portion of the answer, is what could lead to Daboll setting that proverbial culture everyone wants in their locker room.
But the results on the field will matter most at the end of the day for Daboll. He obviously wants to start winning, but recognizes that might not happen right away. He and Schoen should be in lockstep with that mindset, taking things a day at a time and making sure this Giants rebuild is done methodically instead of skipping important steps.
"Let's just start crawling before we walk," Daboll said.
