ORLANDO, Fla. — All the yelling and screaming that surrounded last season has New York Giants coach Brian Daboll feeling some regret.
Daboll and the Giants went 6-11 in a tumultuous year that ended with an explosive meeting between Daboll and former defensive coordinator Wink Martindale. It concluded with Martindale cursing out his former boss and the two sides eventually parting ways.
“Yeah, there are times I wish I handled things a little bit differently, certainly,” Daboll said of the past year. “So, you continue to grow, continue to evolve.”
At one point in the middle of the season, Daboll rejected the notion of a rift with Martindale, saying “the biggest argument that Wink and I have had is who has the last piece of pizza.”
The emotional Daboll came under fire this past season in part for the way he interacted with his staff. Several of his assistants were unhappy with the work atmosphere, multiple sources confirmed to ESPN over the past few months.
After an offseason of turmoil, the Giants have seven new coaches in addition to two newcomers in their strength and conditioning program.
Daboll said that he’s a “passionate” person and that every offseason as a coach includes self-evaluation and change. This offseason was no different. Some of the things he has looked at include scheduling processes, the way they practice, structure of meetings and their leadership group.
“You have to grow in this business,” Daboll said. “You have to learn from some of your mistakes. You can try to build on some of the things you think you did well and do it with an open mind.”
Most of Daboll’s emotional outbursts were out there to see on the sideline. He had a highly charged conversation with Martindale in a blowout loss to the Dallas Cowboys that stretched across halftime. Earlier in the season he flipped a tablet in the direction of quarterback Daniel Jones after a poor play.
It hasn’t gone unnoticed, although the Giants also don’t believe it has reached a point where any sort of intervention is necessary.
“There are times where I wish he would tone it down a little bit,” owner John Mara said Monday. “But I’m also in the team meetings, and I see how he acts around people and his coaches in the office. He always maintains his cool there. Does he get excitable during the games sometimes? Yeah, so do I. I don’t think it’s a major issue.”
The Giants went 9-7-1 and won a playoff game in their first season under general manager Joe Schoen and Daboll. Year 2 didn’t exactly go as planned, in part because of injuries to key players.
Ownership’s confidence in Schoen and Daboll hasn’t waned.
“I still believe we’re headed in the right direction, and I have all the confidence in the world in Joe and his staff and in Brian Daboll and his staff,” Mara said. “I think the communication is terrific. I think the process they go through is great, and I do think we’re headed in the right direction. Obviously until we start winning games not everyone is going to buy into that, but I happen to believe it.”
The performance thus far has Daboll and Schoen heading into their third year facing external pressure. But they have been steadfast about their desire to build the team the right way. It takes time to rebuild a roster that was in shambles when they took over.
Mara has remained patient after firing New York’s three previous coaches after two years. Schoen and Daboll are already into Year 3.
“I think you always have to give them positive reinforcement, and I think I have done that,” Mara said. “Have I made them any guarantees? No, I haven’t, but I think they both know that I believe in them.”
