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ORLANDO, Fla. — New York Giants co-owner John Mara said Monday that despite calling the 2023 season “very disappointing,” he and general manager Joe Schon and coach He expressed his strong support for Brian Daboll. franchise.
“I have full confidence in Joe and his staff and Brian Daboll and his staff,” Mara said at the NFL owners meeting. “I think the communication is great. I think the process they go through is great and I think we’re heading in the right direction.”
Mara has taken a step back since leaving GM George Young’s lineage for the first time since 1979 when he hired Schoen in 2022. Mara used to give lectures multiple times a year, but now his only wide audience with reporters is with the owners. A meeting held in March every year.
When Mara spoke a year ago, the atmosphere around the team was much better. The Giants were coming off a surprisingly successful debut season for the Shane/Daboll regime and were on their way to their first playoff win since Super Bowl 46. The encore was even more tumultuous, with the Giants stumbling to 6-11, marred by an ugly divorce between Daboll and defensive coordinator Wink Martindale.
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Daboll’s explosive outbursts during games did not sit well with Martindale and other assistants. But Mara, who is known for losing his cool in the owner’s box during games, doesn’t think Daboll needs to change his attitude much.
“Sometimes I wish he would tone it down a little bit,” Mara said. “But I also attend team meetings and see how he acts around the people in the office and around the coaches. He always stays calm there. Do you get excited sometimes? Yeah. I do too. I don’t think it’s a big problem.”
Mara said he knew there was a “difference of opinion” between Daboll and Martindale, but didn’t realize the depth of the feud until after the season. This statement is difficult to understand, as the rift was well documented during the season. Martindale’s explosive breakup may not have been foreseeable, but it was no surprise that the relationship ended so badly.
“Did it blow up after the season? You know, it definitely did,” Mara said. “But I never felt like it was a big issue during the season.”
Mara doesn’t feel the need to address Daboll’s behavior toward the coach.
“I talk to him all the time,” Mara said. “I want him to be himself at the end of the day. If I think he’s acting irrationally and it’s affecting his performance. If I ever get into a situation, I’ll definitely talk to him about it. But I haven’t seen it.”
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Martindale’s divorce aside, there was a plethora of turnover on the coaching staff this offseason. Special teams coordinator Thomas McCaughey, offensive line coach Bobby Johnson, outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins and defensive assistant Kevin Wilkins were fired. Running backs coach Jeff Nixon, tight ends coach Andy Bischoff and assistant offensive line coach Chris Smith have taken on other positions.
That’s very uncertain as Daboll enters his crucial third season.
“I always believe you let the head coach choose his staff,” Mara said. “Obviously you wouldn’t want as many sales as we did, but he wanted to make some changes. So we let him do it first. We wish it had been a little more public. But I don’t think it’s been a big issue. I don’t think it affects the culture that’s in this building at all.”
Mara’s confidence in Daboll is rooted in how the team finished the season. After a 49-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 10, dropping them to 2-8, the season was heading toward disaster. However, the Giants finished the season with 4 wins and 3 losses, including three straight wins for undrafted rookie quarterback Tommy DeVito.
“I think first and foremost the fact that the players continue to play hard for him,” Mara said of the positive signs he saw last season. “I actually get it. I can tell you. That’s one of the reasons I go to practice. I kind of understand when players are ignoring their coaches, but that’s not the case at all. But if the players are still playing hard for him, I think that goes a long way to telling him he’s the right coach.”
Mara said he was told by the front office that this QB class is “the most talented group we’ve had in years.” 👀 https://t.co/gb3wUnuKlY
— Dan Duggan (@DDuggan21) March 25, 2024
Despite his vote of confidence in Shane and Daboll, Mara gave no guarantee that they would be spared if there was a repeat of last season. Mara and co-owner Steve Tisch have shown a quick hook since Tom Coughlin stepped down after 12 seasons as coach. Daboll will be the first player hired after Coughlin to enter his third season.
“I think you always have to give them positive reinforcement and I think we did that,” Mara said. “Did I give them any guarantees? No. But I think they know I believe in them.”
Ownership is showing more patience with general managers. Jerry Reese outlived Coughlin by two years, and Dave Gettleman was appointed GM for four years despite his lack of success.
Shane and Daboll came to the Giants after working together for four years in Buffalo. Their synergy is attracting attention as an asset. However, their futures may not be tied together.
“I don’t think of them as a package deal in any way,” Mara said. “They obviously came together and worked together, but they both have different jobs, different responsibilities, and can have different levels of success.”
The regime exceeded expectations in the first year but regressed in the second year. His third season should reveal which year there was an anomaly.
“We look at them the same way we look at building a team, trying to make progress every year,” Mara said. “It doesn’t always go up in a straight line. Obviously, we took a step back last year, but I’m confident they’re on the right track. I tell them, ‘We won so many games. I will not give you a command that says “I have to do it.” I say the same thing every year: I want to feel like I’m moving in the right direction at the end of the year. Several things happened this year. We’re building something here, and that’s how I want to feel when I walk off the field for the last game of the season. ”
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(Photo of John Mara and Brian Daboll: Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)
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