Brian Daboll spent Monday morning answering questions about himself, the New York Giants’ future, Daniel Jones and more during his introductory press conference as head coach in East Rutherford. He then rehashed a lot of those answers, as he made the radio and TV rounds soon after.
“It was awesome. Great to meet the media, spend some time talking to all you guys,” Daboll said when he joined "Carton and Roberts" on WFAN on Monday afternoon. “Seems like Pat (Giants Media Relations VP Pat Hanlon) is in my office here every few minutes with another interview! It’s kind of been a whirlwind the last few days, but I’m blessed and humbled for the opportunity.”
Daboll did, indeed, touch on a lot of the same topics as he had in the morning with Craig and Evan, with a few new nuggets mixed in – he’s got a five-year contract, for one, and he felt his interview was a good “give and take” with the hiring committee that left him feeling good about the gig.
“There was give and take about a lot of different things. You have to be truthful in your answers, and it was good conversation about a lot of areas in the organization,” Daboll said. “I did a Zoom with the group, then they brought me in the second time and I spent a whole day here meeting with a lot of people around the building, and I left with a good feeling. I was hoping to get an opportunity, and I’m fortunate enough that it happened.”
However, outside of the basics, Craig and Evan took a bit of a different approach in asking Daboll about how what’s past is prologue – they asked him how difficult it was, as a kid who grew up a Bills fan in the shadow of Ralph Wilson Stadium, to leave Buffalo.
“I grew up about five minutes from the facilities, but look – when you’re in this business for a long time, you pick up and move a lot, sometimes when you don’t want to,” Daboll said. “This was an unbelievable opportunity, and I’m excited to be here."
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Giants fans hope that Daboll can do with Daniel Jones what he’s done with Josh Allen over the last four years in Buffalo, but the new Giants head coach noted that development like that starts with a tenet he’s going to try to bring to New York right away: communication and authenticity.
“It starts with a relationship with the player, especially at that position,” Daboll said. “Quarterback is extremely difficult physically and mentally, and the trust you have to have between player and play caller is where it starts, and Josh is highly competitive.”
One other thing Daboll hammered on during his rounds Monday was how important it is for a head coach, general manager, and ownership group to all be on the same page – and Allen is a shining example of that.
“Everyone was bought into Josh when we traded up for him – there were a lot of people saying what he was or wasn’t, but the entire building was on board with what we thought he was, and everyone had a hand in it,” Daboll said. “I thought he connected really well with the people in Buffalo, and we tailored the things we did to him schematically. And, we brought some veterans in like Derek Anderson, who Josh got to learn from, and we targeted improvements every offseason and did a good job bringing in pieces around him every year.”
That’s hopefully the blueprint the new Giants field brass can employ in East Rutherford, and perhaps, just maybe, the Giants can have a “perfect game” the way Buffalo did earlier this postseason.
“You’d love to be able to bottle that up and do it every week, but as the game goes on and things happen, you have to have trust and confidence in the players,” Daboll said. “So all the credit goes to those.”
And, hopefully, no losses like the ridiculous overtime loss in Kansas City that ended the Bills’ season.
“I was pretty excited that we made that final touchdown, and came back and made that drive,” Daboll said. "Being in this business, you know that until that final clock ticks, anything is possible.”
You can listen to Daboll's entire conversation during "Carton and Roberts" below:
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN