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What We Learned: Dan Campbell calls Brian Daboll 'one of the smartest football minds'

DABOLL-CAMPBELL-KONICA

The Giants will take on the Detroit Lions Thursday night in the preseason opener at MetLife Stadium.

The two teams met on the practice field Monday for the first of two joint sessions leading up to Thursday's game. Coaches Brian Daboll and Dan Campbell spoke to reporters before the spirited practice, while quarterback Daniel Jones and outside linebacker Brian Burns met with the media after.

Numerous Giants alumni were in attendance for the first joint practice, including Tom Coughlin, Michael Strahan, Victor Cruz, Phil Simms, Chris Canty, Kevin Boothe, Shaun O'Hara, Howard Cross, and Carl Banks.

Here is what we learned at the podium Monday.

1. Campbell: Daboll 'one of the smartest football minds'

The relationship between Brian Daboll and Dan Campbell has been well-documented. The two overlapped for one season with the Miami Dolphins back in 2011, when Daboll served as the offensive coordinator and Campbell as the tight ends coach. While they only shared the sideline for one season, it was more than enough time for Campbell to see just how high Daboll's football IQ is.

"I appreciate our time together," Campbell told the media. "He is one of the smartest football minds I've been around. Talk about thinking fast. He tested us as a staff. I learned a ton of football around him. Here's what I would say, is he's continued to grow like any great coach has. He evolved. What he was doing in Buffalo was not what we were doing. There were similar concepts, but he evolved with what the roster and that quarterback said he was going to evolve to, what was going to make them best. That's what he's done here, and what he will do here. He's a hell of a coach. He is. You don't do what you did a year ago without being able to coach. So, I've got a lot of respect for Dabs."

Upon hearing Daboll talk about Campbell, it is very obvious just how mutual the respect is between the two head coaches.

"I got a lot of respect for Dan," said Daboll. "Dan was the tight end coach for me when I was a coordinator. He's got great energy. He is who he is. He's smart. He does a good job of motivating the guys. I'm speaking back when I was a coordinator with him, not knowing him in his role. But he's got a lot of great intangibles. I got a lot of respect for him."

The New York Giants hosted the Detroit Lions for joint practices ahead of Thursday's preseason opener.