Dogged pursuit
Eli: Daboll can’t let one season change him
Eli Manning came to the Giants in 2004, the same season Tom Coughlin was hired as the head coach. Manning saw Coughlin evolve into a more nurturing and empathetic version of himself. These were needed alterations that were embraced by the players and helped coalesce two teams into Super Bowl champions.
Is this the journey Brian Daboll has to undertake to take his Giants squad to greater heights after a falloff in 2023?
“With coach Coughlin, he understood, made some changes, I think it was because he knew he had great leadership in a lot of guys who had been around for a number of years, been used to his system and he could let us take over some of that leadership responsibilities with the team,” Manning said Tuesday at a Guiding Eyes for the Blind event at the Penn Club in Manhattan. “Daboll, hey, you got to be yourself though, you got to coach the only way you know how to coach and I think he does a good job, and you can’t let one tough season impact the way you’re gonna be or the way you’re gonna coach.”
It certainly was one tough season for Daboll after a smash-success debut, when he was named the NFL’s Coach of the Year in 2022 for leading the Giants to a winning record (9-7-1), followed by the first playoff victory for the franchise since 2011. Daboll in Year 2 could not repeat those achievements, as the Giants went 6-11. Immediately after the season, Daboll, notably intense with his staff, fired four assistants and defensive coordinator Wink Martindale stormed out of the building after cursing out Daboll, leading to a parting of the ways.
“That’s just football,” Manning said. “Coming to New York, it’s a tough place and if you don’t do well they’re gonna want change and want to do everything. I think obviously last year was unbelievable and the turnaround, this year hey, it wasn’t the best, they still had a number of games they could have won, the record could have been a lot better than what it was — the Jets [game], the Bills on a last-second play, the first Philly game, all of a sudden those are three games. It’s always winning those close games, and they weren’t able to win a lot of those close games this year and that was the difference in making the playoffs and not making the playoffs.” The key for 2024 is determining who plays quarterback for Daboll and the Giants. Daniel Jones, rehabbing from surgery to repair a torn ACL, might be ready for the start of the season. The Giants have the No. 6 pick in the draft and could use that pick on a quarterback, as Jones has missed games with assorted injuries in his five seasons, including two separate neck issues and now a knee reconstruction.
“I’ve seen Daniel a few times last week,” Manning said. “I know he’s in the training room, he wants to heal up and I know one thing with Daniel, every time he’s had something he’s wanted to improve on or he’s had something on his mind to get better he goes and does it. I think he’ll rehab and control what you can control, keep his mind focused on getting better and trying to prepare to be the starting quarterback for the Giants next year.” Manning and Jones were teammates in 2019, with Jones replacing the franchise icon two games into the season.
“I do,” Manning said, when asked if he still believed in Jones. “Obviously the injuries, it’s not fun. But I know he’s determined, I know he wants to be in New York, and it’s not an easy place to play, but he has the mindset, he has the mentality. And I know he will do everything possible to get back and to get back to playing at a high level.”
Manning has been involved with Guiding Eyes for the Blind for nearly two decades. He took part in a “hand off” of a Labrador guide dog named Ten, named in honor of Manning. The dog was presented to Thomas Panek, the CEO and President of Guiding Eyes for the Blind, as his new guide dog.
“Never thought I’d receive a handoff from a Super Bowl champion,” Panek said.
“It was an honor when Guiding Eyes said they were going to name a dog Ten after my number was retired from the Giants,” Manning said. “Fast-forward to today and see that Ten not only made it as a guide dog, which not every dog has the traits to become a guide dog, but to be Thomas’ guide dog. That he is athletic and can keep Thomas athletic. Thomas runs marathons and Ten’s gonna be right by his side. I’m excited to know that.”