Brian Daboll has yet to even talk to the entirety of the holdover staff from the Joe Judge era, so he wouldn’t necessarily talk to any specifics when it comes to coaching, but he did reveal one thing in his introductory presser on Monday: if Patrick Graham doesn’t get a head coaching gig, Daboll would love to have him back as the Giants’ defensive coordinator.
“I’ve had a good relationship with Pat for some time in this league, especially working with him in New England. He’s very diligent and smart, players respect him, and he understands different defenses,” Daboll said.
Graham interviewed with the Vikings over the weekend for their head coaching gig, once of six still vacant, and has also interviewed for Pittsburgh’s vacant DC spot. Daboll is hopeful his long-time friend will be a head coach someday, but admitted some part of him hopes it’s not now.
“Certainly we hope has an opportunity to become a head coach, which is everyone’s dream I think, but selfishly, I’d like him to be here,” Daboll said. “He offers a lot to this program and would be a great support system to me. I hope it works out.”
On the other side of the ball, there have been rumors that Daboll would like to bring Buffalo quarterbacks coach Ken Dorsey with him as an offensive coordinator, but given that it’s realistically day three, he’s not quite sure exactly who will be on staff and how his offense will run.
“We’ll be a work on progress depending on who the offensive coordinator and the rest of the staff is, and then we’ll talk about that as we get going,” Daboll said. “It’ll be dependent on the players, and trying to build a system conducive to their skill sets. There’s a core philosophy you have to have – fundamentals, situational football, bringing in the right people – but schemes evolve over time, so they will be what the players are best at.”
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The choices on the offensive staff will also determine whether or not Daboll calls the plays, or that job is deferred to the OC, as it was for Daboll in Buffalo – but he agreed with an earlier statement by GM Joe Schoen that ideally, it’s the latter.
“I think the first thing we have to do is find the right one, and once we get him in here and acclimated, my ideal situation is to hire someone to do everything I did as an OC,” he said. “How everything goes, we have a lot of time to decide that, but having someone to do that, allows you to take some stuff off your plate.”
And when it comes to quarterback, Daboll thinks Daniel Jones will be ready to go, and while they’ll likely bring in a veteran backup to mentor and/or push Jones, the idea is to build something around Danny Dimes, not replace him.
“Quarterback is a very difficult position to play, and it’s like learning a new language every year when you’re in a different system,” Daboll said. “But he has good size and strength and athletic ability, and a tremendous want-to; he’s a smart guy, and we’re going to try to help him develop and put some pieces around him.”
Which includes adding the right players to both accentuate the offense and push everyone around them to their maximum performance level.
“Our job is to do the best we can to let them be the best version of themselves,” Daboll said of his players. “Make it highly competitive, and they’ll end up deciding whether they’re going to help us or not. I’m not thinking two or three years down the road, I’m just gonna try to do the best we can to put guys in good positions and establish a culture.”
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