Former Giants coaches believe that Brian Daboll’s tantrums are troublesome.
The third season under Brian Daboll, the head coach of the New York Giants since the storied Tom Coughlin, will occur in 2024. Daboll will also hold the record for the longest stay in team history. But after a dismal 2023 campaign, this season will be different from the others due to a reorganized group in the coaching staff and on the depth chart.
It was said that internal strife resulted from Brian Daboll’s rage.
In Daboll’s time as the Giants’ head coach, he has been known for his aggressive coaching style that sometimes would include fiery outbursts. One of the most widely recognized examples of such is the feud between him and former Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale — a feud which led to an awkward departure from Martindale to coach for the NCAA’s Michigan Wolverines. ESPN’s Jordan Raanan detailed more of the tensions from last season, which he reported stretched beyond him and Martindale.
According to those with direct knowledge of the matter, Martindale and a number of other coaches from both teams had had enough of Daboll’s regular rants. Several team sources told ESPN that Daboll’s staff believed he had stopped listening and there was a lot of “finger-pointing,” Raanan wrote (via GiantsWire).
This season, the Giants drastically altered their coaching staff.
Martindale’s departure (and the subsequent departures of his top assistants Kevin and Drew Wilkins) was a predecessor to a number of changes in New York’s coaching staff. Offensive line coach Bobby Johnson was let go at the start of the offseason, and so was special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey. New York allowed 85 sacks last season, the most in the NFL, and had the second-lowest field goal percentage at 71%.
They have since been replaced by Shane Bowen (defensive coordinator), Carmen Bricillo (offensive line coach) and Michael Ghobrial (special teams coordinator). The hope is that the new group can lead to more successful results on the football field, as they went 6-11 and ranked near the bottom in a surplus of major offensive categories last season.
Daboll’s aggression led to bad football decisions
Daboll had a reputation for having short fuse when it came to his players and other coaches. He frequently lost his cool on the field after a string of subpar plays. When he disagreed with a call, he would frequently argue with the referees, which would result in a frustrated challenge flag being tossed. Daboll was a perfect 3-for-3 on challenges in 2022, but was 4-for-7 (57.1%) on them in the previous season.
Another instance happened early in the season when Daboll tossed a video tablet on the sidelines out of disgust, apparently fed up with his quarterback Daniel Jones’s constant bad play.
Giants general manager Joe Schoen listened in on his coaching staff’s in-game conversations as the season went on, but there’s no evidence that this was done because he was worried about growing tensions in the locker room. However, Raanan noted in his report that Daboll’s behavior changed dramatically when he knew Schoen was paying attention as opposed to when he didn’t, and that the total intricacy of the matter made the former coaches decide not to pursue it.
“Everyone was attempting to leave the place,” an unnamed coach confided in Raanan.
Daboll’s intensity may be seen by some as a sign of enthusiasm and just a means of gaining an advantage in competition. It’s clearly evident, though, that previous coaches did not share that opinion. Perhaps Daboll’s attitude has changed as the new season draws near, which could result in a better football team.
