In their handful of conversations thus far, Brian Daboll hasn’t yet asked former Giants coach Tom Coughlin the secret to lasting in New York.
If he does, Coughlin’s advice wouldn’t surprise anyone.
“Win,” Coughlin said Friday night during a break from his hosting duties at the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation in Midtown.
Coughlin needed to win the regular-season finale in 2006 and sneak into the playoffs to avoid getting fired with a winning record after three seasons. He went on to win two Super Bowls before he was forced into retirement in January 2016, after four straight non-playoff seasons.
The Giants have been chasing that standard ever since, going 33-64 under three head coaches in the first post-Coughlin seasons. Daboll’s 5-1 start is the first hint at restoring glory, though owner John Mara has been wary of saying too much and jinxing the turnaround when approached by reporters twice this week.
“Things are going well so far,” Mara said at the annual gala, “but we haven’t exactly booked a reservation at the Canyon of Heroes just yet.”
Daboll and quarterback Daniel Jones had lunch with Coughlin and other Jay Fund staff earlier this year.
“To the extent that I have been around and known Brian,” Coughlin said, “he’s a very good man, he’s a good football coach, he’s doing it for all the right reasons. He’s excited to be the head coach of the New York Giants, and when you look at the passageway from which he came, he’s very well-prepared for this job.”
Mara, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Giants players past and present were among the heavy-hitters gathered to support the non-profit that provides financial and emotional support to families battling childhood cancer. The “families are struggling worse than ever because of inflation, because of COVID-19, you name it,” Coughlin said.
The timing of the gala happened to sync up with the Giants-Jaguars game on Sunday. Coughlin’s first NFL coaching job (1995-02) was with the Jaguars and he returned to Jacksonville for his last NFL job as an executive (2017-19).
“Grateful to both ownerships and franchises,” Coughlin said, “and I’m so happy the Jay Fund is very well supported in both Jacksonville and New York/New Jersey.”
Coughlin will release a book in December: “A Giant win” details the Super Bowl XLII upset of the Patriots.
“I’m excited for the Giants,” Coughlin said. “I’m happy for Brian. I hope he keeps it rolling. Good start.”
On one side of the coin is the Giants’ second-half comebacks. On the other is their first-half deficits.
Big Blue can’t bask in the 87-49 scoring advantage after halftime without worrying about the 64-41 cumulative first and second quarters.
“One of the things we need to do better is get off to a faster start,” Daboll said before Friday’s practice. “Everybody has to do a better job, starting with me and all the way through. We have to execute when we need to execute. We have to do a good job of designing our plays to start out the game. And there’s no magic recipe for it.”
OLBs Oshane Ximines (quad) and Azeez Ojulari (calf), WRs Kenny Golladay (knee) and Kadarius Toney (hamstring), and CB Cor’Dale Flott will not play Sunday. DB Jason Pinnock and C Jon Feliciano (groin) are questionable, but Daboll expressed confidence in Feliciano’s availability. If that changes, LG Ben Bredeson likely would move to center and rookie Josh Ezedu would fill the vacated spot.
RB Saquon Barkley (shoulder), LT Andrew Thomas (elbow) and S Xavier McKinney (rest) were full participants after limitations earlier in the week.
OLB Quincy Roche is expected to be elevated from the practice squad.
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