How Latest Giants Coaching Report Could Impact Patriots’ Future
Less than a month ago, the New York Giants made it clear they were committed to head coach Brian Daboll. Now, it sounds like ownership might be having second thoughts, and the Patriots should be among the teams paying close attention to how the drama unfolds in East Rutherford, N.J.
Giants owner John Mara insisted last month that Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen wouldn’t be fired during the season. Furthermore, Mara said the duo was safe beyond the 2024 season. Since then, New York has lost three straight, and according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, that supposed job security might be dwindling after Sunday’s loss to Carolina in Germany.
“If the draft were today, the New York Giants would have the No. 1 pick. … Usually, teams that are in the position of having the No. 1 pick usually have some issues and are No. 1 for a reason,” Schefter said Monday on “The Pat McAfee Show” on ESPN. “Again, we’ll go back to what John Mara said a few weeks back. He basically said that he didn’t anticipate making any changes in-season. He wanted to stay the course.
“Of course, John Mara said the same thing in 2017, fired Ben McAdoo a few weeks later. Said the same thing in 2021, fired Joe Judge a few weeks later. I don’t know that anybody can say anybody is safe in New York. I don’t know that anybody can say anybody is safe when you’re on track to have the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. … But I think they’re going to be looking at everything, and anything is possible.”
The Daboll era in New York started off strong. The Giants went 9-7-1 in his debut and went on the road to win a playoff game in Minnesota, earning him Coach of the Year honors in 2022. Since then, New York has gone 8-19 and hasn’t sniffed the postseason.
If the Giants move on from Daboll, he’d likely land on his feet, at least in a coordinator role. He proved in Buffalo he can excel in that role while bringing along a talented young quarterback.
With Josh Allen under center, the Bills’ offense went from 28th in scoring in 2018, Daboll’s first season, to no worse than 10th over the next three seasons. That includes the 2021 campaign in which Buffalo had the NFL’s best offense, a distinction Daboll parlayed into the Giants job.
If he’s fired and if he’s open to a coordinating role, the Patriots absolutely should be interested. Alex Van Pelt has felt like a bridge coordinator at best this season. Is he really the coach who is going to be responsible for bringing along No. 3 pick Drake Maye? It’s not out of the realm of possibility, but there also hasn’t been anything overly imaginative or inspiring about Van Pelt’s offense. If anything, he runs an antiquated system.
Daboll’s best selling point for a team like the Patriots is the success he had with Allen. The Bills drafted the big gunslinger out of Wyoming with the No. 7 pick in 2018 and slowly but surely brought him along. With Daboll overseeing the development, Allen getting better every season. After struggling in in his rookie year (while missing four games), Buffalo went 10-6 in his second season, and Allen finished second in MVP voting in 2020.
As Patriots coach Jerod Mayo has pointed out, it’s unfair at this point to make any comparisons for Maye, but there are similarities between he and Allen. Maye is roughly the same size as Allen and has a lot of the same physical traits. He can throw the ball the throw a brick wall, and he has wasted no time showing off his ability to tuck the ball and run.
Where Daboll succeeded in Buffalo was his ability to accentuate those skills while also bringing along Allen where he needed improvement. Maye looks like he could be the real deal, and getting someone like Daboll to unlock that potential is crucial to the Patriots’ continued development.
It also doesn’t hurt that Daboll is familiar with New England. He served multiple stints as a Patriots assistant over the last two decades.
All of that should make the Patriots interested observers of how things shake out in Gotham.