Transcript: Head Coach Brian Daboll

Head Coach Brian Daboll

June 13, 2023

Good to be back out here today. Really an extension of OTAs for us. We have an extra walkthrough and some extra meetings after practice, but relative to our practice and how we’re doing things, it’ll be very similar as to what we’ve done the last couple weeks. So, good to be out there.

Relative to, I know you’ll probably ask a couple (running back) Saquon (Barkley) questions, my position hasn’t changed on that from a couple of weeks ago. Every conversation that I have about Saquon will be private.

Q: Saquon seems frustrated that he feels like details of the negotiations were leaked and were misleading. Is that a concern on your end that he feels that way about the negotiations that are supposed to be private?

A: Yeah, everything that I have to say about Saquon will remain private.

Q: Is everybody here?

A: Everybody except Saquon, but he didn’t sign his tag yet.

Q: When you make your plans for the future, for the season, are you planning as if he’s going to be there?

A: I’m just planning for today. Have a good practice.

Q: But you obviously have to do roster construction.

A: I’m just worried about today right now.

Q: Because he’s so important to the team, can something like that become a distraction eventually from your experience as a coach?

A: I’m just focused on today.

Q: You mentioned that this is a continuation of the teaching, but at this point, are you looking for maybe more execution, alignment? What are you looking for exactly?

A: Yeah. So, we're adding some more things. Today, we'll do some more team periods but with their helmets off, we'll do some short yardage, some goal line and introduce some more things. Keep increasing the installation, and then go out there and have some call-it periods, albeit 7-on-7 where the coordinators are just calling the plays, there's no scripts. Try to build on our communication, our fundamentals and keep on stacking days together.

Q: Do you have pretty much everything installed at this point or is there stuff you’re holding back for training camp?

A: I'd say we have a lot. Not everything, but a lot. Today with the short yardage and goal line, it's hard to do, but we can do it with the helmets off and make it a teaching pace but install those things. We can do some situational football today, separate from one another, but last plays and things like that. We’re getting close to having everything in.

Q: Is there anything tangible that you’ve seen in terms of (quarterback) Daniel (Jones) from one year to the next year during this period?

A: Well, I’d just say that he's got much more comfort level with our offense. Again, we've added I'd say considerably new things these camps just to see how they look. But he's got really good give-and-take with (offensive coordinator Mike) Kafka, seeing how different players look in different spots. He's had a really good camp.

Q: How do you judge a really good camp?

A: He's made right reads, he's had good leadership, he's communicating well, he's good in the meetings. All the things that we ask him to do right now during this time of year, he’s done a good job with.

Q: I know you’re coaching everybody here, but as far as Daniel goes, a lot of time last year was spent getting to know guys. When you know your quarterback, how much does that comfort level from your perspective help grow things moving forward?

A: Yeah, I think it's just like any relationship. Year One, you're getting to feel each other out. Year Two, hopefully you can build on the things that you've—what makes him tick, what makes me tick, what frustrates me, what frustrates him, plays he likes, plays he doesn't like. I mean, it's good communication. He's a very good communicator. We have open dialogue – not just me, but him and Kafka, him and (quarterbacks coach) Shea (Tierney). He's done a nice job.

Q: Are there any young players that you’ve seen come in here – I know this isn’t a competition – and you can see that they improved, and if so, how?

A: I’d just say all the young players, and this is no different than it was last year, each day, you hope to see a little bit more growth from them, whether it's where to line up, how to line up, the communication factor. It’s still a work in progress for I'd say a lot of the young guys.

Q: What have you learned with a spring under your belt with (tight end Darren) Waller?

A: He's a good pro. He's smart. Again, much like Daniel, I said, he's done everything we've asked him to do. He’s a good communicator. He's played a lot of football and been productive. Again, we're still utilizing him in different ways. We’re seeing what he likes, what he feels comfortable with, what the quarterback feels comfortable with, but he's been a pleasure to be around both in the classroom and out on the field.

Q: Weapon wise, how does he change the offense?

A: We’ll see. We’ve got a long way to go. Again, once we get the pads on and start doing all the things that we can do. Right now, it’s more of a passing camp per se. But hopefully we can figure out a way to use him best.

Q: Given that it’s more of a passing camp, do you feel like a player like Darren is someone who you can assess more accurately than maybe a defensive tackle or an offensive lineman this time of year?

A: Yeah, those guys do pretty much individuals. So, they don't get a lot of good-on-good work, and that's just based on rules and things like that. Obviously, we have no pads on. We're trying to do the right thing there. But again, it's his first year in our system, he's still learning things. He's smart, he's picking them up, but we’ve got a long way to go.

Q: What do you feel with the group that you’re working with now that you’re back for a second year?

A: Excited. It’s a good day to be out here. These guys have worked really hard. They all understand what it is. It's passing camp, per se, and we're just trying to get better day by day.

Q: Has there been a focus and hunger that you want to see early going into training camp?

A: Yeah, we try to be pros in everything we do. So, you come into work, you do your job and try to be really good at it. You learn from your mistakes, starting with me, and try to improve each day.

Q: In your career as a position coach, offensive coordinator and now head coach, was your antenna up at this time when you’d see players come back who had gotten paid? They got paid, they got their contract, how are they going to be, how are they going to act, are they going to be the same?

A: No, I mean, my goal is just to build a relationship with our guys. Each guy is here for a reason, to come out there and do their job and try to get better each day.

Q: At any point will you encourage Daniel – in a couple of days, you guys break – to put it away for a while? Is that important for him?

A: Yeah, I've said this before, it's hard for him to do. So, I think he's been in the league long enough. He has a routine over the next month that he's used to, and I have a lot of trust that he'll be ready to go.

Q: There was obviously a priority this offseason in adding speed and explosiveness, especially at the wide receiver position. When you’ve looked at that group this spring, what have you seen?

A: Yeah, a lot of new guys. We’re still trying to figure things out. We move guys around; we shuffle them in and out. Obviously, there's some faster guys that we have out here. But we're still working through that.

Q: What do you mean by still trying to figure things out?

A: We've moved them around a bunch, and this is what I think this time of year is for. I know we're not doing a bunch of team work, but (offensive line coach) Bobby (Johnson) shuffled offensive linemen in and out to different spots – guard to center, center to guard, guard to tackle. This is the time to do it, to give them a little bit of a foundation, because come July 25 or somewhere around there, we're going to get going here and there's not a lot of time for mistakes.

Q: You have all these new players, Waller and some new wide receivers. Is there a balance between trying to stick with what you did well last year and trying to implement some of what these newer guys do?

A: That's a good question. Each year is so different, because you roughly have 30 to call it 40 percent new players. So, your job as a coach is to go out there and experiment with some stuff. Obviously, you have a baseline of a system, but just because one play looked good one year really has nothing to do with the next year. So, like I said, we’ve got a long way to go working through some things, and the guys have been working really hard and getting ready to go for training camp.

Q: How do you explain the change in the way running backs are viewed by the league now compared to five to 10 years ago when you came in?

A: I don’t know. I think each year is different.

Q: Can a young guy impress you during a camp like this and give you an idea of where he’s heading?

A: Right now, we're just trying to make sure they get lined up in the right spots, get our fundamentals and techniques down, and then build on from what they did the day before.

Q: Over the offseason, have you ever done a double take when (defensive line coach) Andre Patterson has walked by you, saying ‘Where did he go?’

A: I’ve got to get on his program. He looks good.

Q: Do you have any guys working out? I know last year you guys had some veterans—

A: There’ll be a couple guys out here. There’ll be a couple of guys out here.

And then the other thing is (former Giants head coach Bill) Parcells is here today. You guys will see him walking around.