Brian Daboll was hired as the 20th head coach in Giants history on Jan. 28, 2022, and directed one of the most successful debut seasons in the history of the franchise.
Daboll was named the 2022 NFL Coach of the Year after leading a resurgence that resulted in nine regular-season victories, the team's first playoff berth in six years, and its first postseason victory in 11 seasons. The Giants won just four games the previous season and Daboll was the first coach since 1990 selected Coach of the Year with fewer than 10 victories.
Daboll, 49, was the first Giants coach to be selected Coach of the Year since Jim Fassel in 1997. Like Fassel, Daboll took over a team that was last in the NFC East the previous year and led it to the playoffs in his debut season. He took the team one step further by defeating the Minnesota Vikings in an NFC Wild Card Game.
Daboll was the fifth Giants coach to be selected Coach of the Year since it was first awarded in 1957. Allie Sherman was honored in 1961 and 1962, Bill Parcells in 1986, Dan Reeves in 1993 and Fassel four years later.
When he was the Buffalo Bills' offensive coordinator in 2020, Daboll was voted the AP NFL Assistant Coach of the Year after the Bills finished 13-3 and unseated longtime powerhouse New England atop the division. Daboll is the first person to win both Coach of the Year and Assistant Coach of the Year.
In 2023, numerous Giants players suffered injuries that sidelined them for multiple games. Quarterback Daniel Jones was limited to six games and the Giants played for a significant time without tackles Andrew Thomas and Evan Neal, running back Saquon Barkley, tight end Darren Waller, center John Michael Schmitz, and kicker Graham Gano. The reserve quarterbacks played several contests behind a patchwork offensive line.
But Daboll's Giants displayed maximum effort in every game. In the season's final three weeks, the Giants lost by eight points at defending NFC champion Philadelphia and by a single point to the postseason-bound Los Angeles Rams before ending the year with a resounding 27-10 victory against the Eagles, who were also headed to the playoffs. It was the Giants' first victory against Philadelphia in six meetings, including one in the playoffs.
The Giants scored 25, 25 and 27 points in those three games, three of their five highest point totals of the season.
Under Daboll's mentorship, rookie free agent quarterback Tommy DeVito started six games in Jones' absence and won half of them, leading the Giants to victories at Washington and in home games vs. New England and Green Bay. DeVito was the first Giants rookie quarterback to win three consecutive starts since Phil Simms won four in a row in 1979. He was just the third undrafted rookie quarterback since the 1970 merger to win three starts in a season, joining Ed Rubbert, who won three strike-replacement games for Washington in 1987, and Pittsburgh's Devlin Hodges in 2019.
DeVito's passer ratings in those three games were 137.7, 103.9 and 113.9. He was the first undrafted rookie since 1970 to have three consecutive games with a passer rating higher than 100. DeVito was the first Giants quarterback since Eli Manning in 2014 to record three straight games with a 100-plus passer rating.
DeVito was selected NFC Offensive Player of the Week after leading the Giants to a Monday night victory vs. the Packers. He completed 17 of 21 passes (season-high 81%) for 158 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions for a passer rating of 113.9 and added 10 rushing attempts for 71 yards. In the 74 seasons since the NFL began tracking starting quarterbacks in 1950, DeVito became the first starter in league history to complete at least 80% of his passes, rush for 70+ yards, commit no turnovers and take no sacks.
In Daboll's debut season, the Giants finished 9-7-1 and qualified for the NFC playoffs as a wild card team. It was the Giants' first winning season and first postseason appearance since 2016. The Giants won just four games in 2021, the year prior to Daboll's arrival, and the five-game improvement is their largest in one season since they jumped from six victories in 2015 to 11 the following season.
Daboll was the fifth coach in Giants history to lead the team to the playoffs in his debut season, joining Sherman (1961), Reeves (1993), Fassel (1997) and Ben McAdoo (2016). Rookie coach Earl Potteiger led the Giants to the 1927 NFL championship in the era before playoffs.
Daboll was one of three first-year head coaches to lead his team to the postseason in 2022, joining Minnesota's Kevin O'Connell and Miami's Mike McDaniel. Daboll was the only one of the three to advance to the divisional round, and he did so with a victory against O'Connell's Vikings.
Daboll was the first Giants coach to win his postseason debut since Reeves in 1993. He joined Jim Lee Howell, Ray Perkins, Bill Parcells and Reeves as Giants coaches who were victorious in their first playoff games.
The Daboll difference was evident early in the season. In 2020 and 2021, the Giants started 0-5 and then 0-3. But in their first game under Daboll, they overcame a 13-0 halftime deficit to defeat the Titans in Tennessee, 21-20, on a touchdown and two-point conversion reception with 1:06 remaining. Daboll became the first Giants coach to win his debut with the team since McAdoo in 2016. He was the first Giants coach to win five of his first six games since Reeves in 1993, and his 6-1 start was the best for a coach in his first Giants season since LeRoy Andrews was 6-0-1 in 1929.
In the first five weeks of the season, the Giants defeated Tennessee and Green Bay, the 2021 No. 1 playoff seeds in their respective conferences.
The Giants performed significantly better on offense in 2022 than they had the previous season. Their 365 points were 107 more than they scored in 2021. The Giants averaged 333.9 yards a game, an increase of 46.6 yards per game. One year after averaging 99.3 rushing yards a game and 4.0 yards per carry, they finished fourth in the NFL with 148.2 rushing yards a game and fifth with 4.8 yards a carry. Their 352 first downs were 53 more than the previous season.
Under the tutelage of Daboll and his offensive assistants, quarterback Daniel Jones and running back Saquon Barkley – each selected in the top six picks of their respective drafts - had their finest statistical seasons.
Jones completed 317 of 472 passes for 3,205 yards, all career highs. His 15 touchdown passes were the 2nd-highest total of his career, and his 5 interceptions were a career low. Jones' passer rating was a career-best 92.5 and his 67.16 completion percentage was a Giants' single season record. He had each of his five highest single-game completion percentages in 2022: 80.9 at Tennessee, 80.6 vs. Washington, 79.2 vs. Indianapolis, 77.8 at Green Bay and 76.5 vs. Houston. Jones led with NFL and set a franchise record by throwing an interception on just 1.1% of his passes (five in 472 throws).
In addition, Jones rushed for a Giants quarterback-record 708 yards and seven touchdowns on 120 carries, all the second-highest totals on the team.
Barkley was selected to his second Pro Bowl and was one of three players nominated for the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award. He had career-high totals of 295 carries for 1,312 yards – the NFL's fourth-highest total - and rushed for 10 touchdowns, one less than his career-high rookie total. Barkley was also the team's co-leader with 57 receptions and was seventh in the NFL with 1,650 scrimmage yards, almost double his 2021 total of 856.
Daboll joined the Giants with 20 years of NFL coaching experience.
He is a five-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots and won a national championship at the University of Alabama.
Daboll joined the Giants after spending the previous four seasons as the offensive coordinator of the Bills. He devised the game plans and called the plays for one of the most productive offenses in the NFL, one that helped Buffalo earn three consecutive playoff berths, win two AFC East titles and advance to the conference championship game in 2020.
Daboll also oversaw the development of quarterback Josh Allen, the seventh overall selection in the 2018 NFL Draft. Allen is the only player in history with 100 passing touchdowns and 30 rushing scores in his first four years. In his last two seasons working with Daboll, Allen threw 73 touchdown passes against just 24 interceptions.
In 2021, Daboll's offense excelled as Buffalo won its second straight AFC East championship with an 11-6 record. The Bills finished third in the NFL with 28.4 points a game and fifth with 381.9 yards a game. Allen was sixth in the league with a franchise-record 409 completions, seventh with 36 touchdown passes and eighth with 4,407 yards. Allen's favorite target, wide receiver Stefon Diggs, caught 103 passes for 1,225 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Daboll was voted the AP's NFL Assistant Coach of the Year in 2020 when Allen finished second in the NFL MVP voting after setting Buffalo single season franchise records with 4,544 yards, 37 touchdown passes, a 69.2 completion percentage and a 107.2 passer rating.
Daboll joined the Bills in 2018 and in his second season the Bills scored 45 more points and won four more games than they had in the previous season to earn a wild card berth.
In 2017, Daboll returned to collegiate coaching for the first time in 18 years when he became the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Alabama, which finished 13-1 and earned its 17th national championship. The Crimson Tide averaged 38.8 points, 245.0 rushing yards, 210.3 passing yards and 455.3 yards of total offense in Daboll's one season in Tuscaloosa. Daboll coached future NFL quarterbacks Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones.
Daboll joined the Crimson Tide after spending the previous four seasons with the Patriots, his second stint with the team. He spent a total of 11 seasons in New England and helped the team win five Super Bowl titles (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLIX and LI).
Daboll was an offensive assistant in 2013 before coaching the Patriots' tight ends the next three seasons. Under his tutelage, Rob Gronkowski was selected first-team All-Pro in 2014 and 2015. The following season, Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett combined for 80 receptions, 1,241 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Daboll was the Kansas City Chiefs' offensive coordinator in 2012. The Chiefs finished fifth in the NFL with an average of 149.7 rushing yards a game. Jamaal Charles was fourth with 1,509 yards and five touchdowns and averaged 5.3 yards a carry while earning a selection to the Pro Bowl.
In 2011, Daboll was coordinator in Miami, which improved from 30th in the league the year before his arrival to 20th during his one season with the team. That Dolphins team had both a 1,000-yard rusher and 1,000-yard receiver for the first time in franchise history as Reggie Bush ran for 1,086 yards and Brandon Marshall totaled 1,214 yards while catching a team-high 81 passes.
Prior to Joining the Dolphins, Daboll served as Cleveland's offensive coordinator during the 2009 and 2010 seasons. The Browns offense saw dramatic improvement in the second half of the 2009 season. Cleveland scored 11.1 more points per game, was 20.8 percent better in the red zone, converted on 14.7 percent more third downs and averaged 1.9 fewer turnovers per game during the final eight games of the season. The 2010 season saw the Browns improve 12 spots to rank eighth in the NFL in rushing offense, averaging 130.4 yards per game.
Daboll coached quarterbacks during his two seasons (2007-08) with the New York Jets. He helped Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre pick up the Jets offense after the signal-caller came out of retirement. In his one season under Daboll, Favre was named to the AFC Pro Bowl team and had the second-highest completion percentage of his career (65.7). Daboll also helped the Jets improve from the NFL's 25th ranked scoring offense in his first season to No. 9 in season two, averaging 25.3 points per game.
Daboll's first stint in New England began in 2000, his first of two seasons as a defensive assistant for head coach Bill Belichick.
From 2002-06, he coached the Patriots' wide receivers. Daboll helped Deion Branch earn Super Bowl XXXIX MVP honors in the Patriots' victory against Philadelphia following the 2004 season. Branch became the first wide receiver to win the honor since San Francisco's Jerry Rice in Super Bowl XXIII after the 1988 season.
Prior to entering the NFL, Daboll spent the 1997 season as a volunteer assistant at the College of William & Mary before serving two seasons (1998-99) as a graduate assistant for Nick Saban at Michigan State.
Daboll graduated from the University of Rochester in 1997 with an economics degree. He was a two-year starter at safety for the Yellowjackets and intercepted three passes in a game in his junior season.
Daboll was born in Welland, Ontario, Canada, a suburb of Niagara Falls. He was raised by his grandparents and mother in West Seneca, N.Y. Daboll lettered in football at Saint Francis High School in Athol Springs, N.Y.
Daboll and his wife Beth have six children: Mark, Christian, Aiden, Haven, Avery and Luke.
