Daboll’s new mission: Don’t lose this team
BRIAN Daboll had enough on his hands already. After last season’s feel-good first year highlighted by a playoff berth from out of nowhere and a postseason victory on the road, his team is 2-6 and reeling after Sunday’s gut-wrenching 13-10 overtime loss to the Jets that was a 35-yard Graham Gano field goal away from victory and a 3-5 record.
Now, with defensive lineman Leonard Williams, one of the team’s best players and a captain, traded away to a win-now Seattle team for draft picks on Monday, the natural perception outside of the Giants’ locker room is that the front office has given up on this season and is looking toward the future.
Translation: A white flag has been raised.
This is a perception Daboll must curb inside his locker room or 2-6 can turn into something even more unsightly with a road game in Dallas coming after Sunday’s game against the Raiders in Las Vegas.
On Wednesday, the players’ first day back to work since Williams was traded, the vibe inside the locker room was a mix of disappointment, disillusionment and defiance.
Williams’ teammates, to a man, were bummed that he was traded, confused as to why and determined to make something of this season even if the outside perception is that the front office has bailed on 2023.
“I hate it,’’ safety and team captain Xavier McKinney said. “He was a leader and a captain for our team, he’s a guy that we all respect as a player and a person. He’s going to be missed.’’
When it was suggested that trading away Williams weakens a team still trying to find its footing and win in 2023, McKinney seemed to bite his tongue.
“Yeah, I don’t got much comment on that, but it sucks to lose a guy of his caliber,’’ he said. “I thought that our mindset as a team was to win right now, not future stuff, but I guess that’s not what they saw. We’ve just got to keep fighting and try to stack wins. That’s all we can do. We’re never going to give up on a season.
“We’re the ones that have to go out there and sacrifice our bodies. So, what we don’t want to do is go out there and BS it. We don’t want to sacrifice everything and not gain anything. We will want to go out there and prove that we can win games. At the end of the day, it is a business.’’
Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, one of Williams’ closest friends and who combined with him to form a devastating tandem as penetrating interior linemen, conceded that seeing Williams traded stung him.
“I probably was naive to it,’’ Lawrence said of the business side. “I just don’t think like that. I didn’t see why [and] I still don’t understand why. But it is what it is.’’
Asked if the trade sends a message to the team that management has given up on this season, Williams said, “If it does, it’s not spoken on.’’
Daboll on Wednesday was adamant that the Giants weren’t shopping Williams, which is consistent with Monday’s report from The Post’s Paul Schwartz that general manager Joe Schoen wasn’t trying to move Williams.
“Seattle called and Joe told me about it,’’ Daboll said. “Joe had a private meeting with Leo, those guys talked about it, [had a] good conversation, and decided that’s what we were going to do kind of on both ends. [I] love Leo, [have] a lot of respect for Leo. We’ll miss him, but have confidence in the guys [defensive lineman], A’Shawn Robinson and ‘Nacho’ [defensive lineman Rakeem Nuñez-Roches] and those guys that we have that are playing his spot.’’
Veteran offensive lineman Justin Pugh didn’t want to hear about white flags being raised or the season being over.
“We’re only two games out,’’ Pugh said. “The season’s far from over. Leo’s a great player. I’ve been playing against him the past decade. He’s a monster. He’ll be missed, his leadership will be missed. But the business of football is undefeated.’’
Giants management, beginning with Daboll, now has to hope this impactful trade that rocked the locker room doesn’t defeat the players remaining there.
“It’s tough, but it’s a decision that management, Leo, our coaches all came to and figured was best for all parties involved,’’ linebacker Bobby Okereke said. “As players, we’ve just got to trust the process and management. We’re also paid to do a job, and
that’s to win.’’