Win or lose against the Vikings, Brian Daboll’s rise is a head scratcher no more.
MINNEAPOLIS — Among the hundreds of people I interviewed for a book on Bill Belichick, one stood out for his ability to scout Patriots personnel and to read them … well … like a book. He had a great feel for the strengths and weaknesses of Belichick’s executives, assistants, scouts, and staffers, and for how much each figure meant to the dynasty.
But in reviewing those old interviews, there was one and only one Patriots person that this source missed on — a guy by the name of Brian Daboll. The source said that Daboll’s reputation as a significant contributor was “a head scratcher” to many in the know, and that, as an aside, some of his former co-workers in Cleveland had almost no use for him.
But Belichick and Nick Saban rebuilt him in New England and Alabama, respectively, and Daboll took it out on the rest of the league by turning Josh Allen into a monster in Buffalo. That got him the head-coaching gig with the dog-ass Giants, at age 46. At summer’s end, fans were merely hoping Daboll would win five games. He won nine instead, and tied another, and landed the Giants in the playoffs for the first time in six years.
But whatever happens inside U.S. Bank Stadium, where the third-seeded Vikings are favored to beat the Giants the way they beat them on Christmas Eve, Daboll’s job will stand the test of time. Given that some thought the Giants owned the league’s worst roster, Daboll’s Year 1 work is right there with Jets coach Bill Parcells’ in 1997 , and with Yankees manager Joe Torre’s in 1996 .
On a certain level, it makes sense that an improbable season was shaped by an improbable coach. Daboll didn’t just weather those four brutal years as the Browns/Dolphins/Chiefs coordinator, and the firing of his Jets boss, Eric Mangini, before following Mangini to Cleveland. He also overcame Belichick’s earlier decision to promote Josh McDaniels ahead of him on the Patriots’ coaching depth chart, after Daboll had helped bring McDaniels into the organization.
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